Tim Collins/Contributor

Drive down West Saanich Road and youB次元官网网址檒l come across two large white tents erected in front of an old farmhouse. ThereB次元官网网址檚 a sign advertising fresh corn for sale and as one drives into the parking area, you can see the heaps of corn stacked on a series of tables.

ItB次元官网网址檚 the latest crop from Sluggett Farms and the continuation of a family tradition dating back more than 140 years.

B次元官网网址淚 grew up in that house,B次元官网网址� said Larry Sluggett, pointing to the house behind the produce tents.

B次元官网网址淚 guess IB次元官网网址檝e been a part of this farm my whole life. Even though I worked as a forester for 30 years, I always came back to help my father on the farm over the years.

Sluggett, now 74 years old, inherited the farm along with his brother about 30 years ago and has carried on the family operation of the farm since that time.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 not sure whatB次元官网网址檚 going to happen in the future though. Both my brother and I have children, but none of them seem interested in farming, so I guess weB次元官网网址檒l see.B次元官网网址�

Still, the family tradition of farming is amazing.

B次元官网网址淢y great-grandfather came from England as a pioneer, and he plowed up 1,000 acres of land. It was a lot of land and quite a job to clear it B次元官网网址� they used oxen back then. I canB次元官网网址檛 even imagine how hard that was,B次元官网网址� Sluggett said.

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The farm was so large that it stretched from where Brentwood Village stands today to halfway across the Peninsula.

B次元官网网址淎t one point, I guess right up to the 1920s, this area was called Sluggett Station,B次元官网网址� Sluggett said.

But with each generation, the land was divided among the children and the once giant farm was sectioned off.

But Sluggett Farms is still a vibrant operation.

B次元官网网址淲e mostly do corn, pumpkins and squash now, and we employ about 10 people to help with the operation,B次元官网网址� Sluggett said. B次元官网网址淲e start planting corn about mid-April and weB次元官网网址檒l plant sections for about 13 weeks. That way we can harvest each section as it is ready and, that way, we have fresh corn right up to Halloween.B次元官网网址�

SluggettB次元官网网址檚 ability to follow that schedule is due, in part, to the fact that his land is irrigated with water from a 12-million-gallon pond that the family constructed on the property.

B次元官网网址淚 canB次元官网网址檛 imagine being a dry-land farmer, relying on the rain,B次元官网网址� Sluggett said.

As Sluggett looked out at his fields of corn, he mused about the changes that heB次元官网网址檚 seen in his time as a farmer.

B次元官网网址淔ifty years ago, Vancouver Island produced 80 per cent of what we consumed. These days itB次元官网网址檚 about seven per cent,B次元官网网址� Sluggett said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e losing a lot of farmlands to residential and to affluent people who want to move out to the rural areas to raise horses, or whatever. A while ago we had 10 acres come up for sale near here, but the price was pushed so high that no farmer could afford it. The Agricultural Land Reserve has helped to slow that down, thank goodness.B次元官网网址�

Another change that appeared to be coming but hasnB次元官网网址檛 yet materialized was the move to organic farming.

B次元官网网址淭wenty years ago, we were told by the Thrifty Foods people that farming would be 100-per-cent organic in a few years. That never happened, because the process is very onerous, and the produce is quite expensive,B次元官网网址� Sluggett said. B次元官网网址淎nyway, I tell people that IB次元官网网址檝e eaten non-organic food for 74 years and it hasnB次元官网网址檛 hurt me a bit.B次元官网网址�

ThatB次元官网网址檚 not to say that SluggettB次元官网网址檚 operations havenB次元官网网址檛 seen some changes.

B次元官网网址淲e used to do strawberries, but IB次元官网网址檓 getting older, and they are a lot of work,B次元官网网址� Sluggett said.

B次元官网网址淎nd we used to plant a lot of lettuce, but we lost 90 per cent of our crop for three years in a row to Canada Geese so we gave that up. WeB次元官网网址檇 have 600 of them hanging around our pond and feasting on what we grew, so no, we donB次元官网网址檛 do that anymore.B次元官网网址�

Sluggett also talked about finding help on the farm.

B次元官网网址淭here was a time when we would hire high school students, but we canB次元官网网址檛 find any now who want the work. These days we have a lot of workers from the Philippines or Mexico. ThatB次元官网网址檚 fine, though. They are very hard workers and do a great job.B次元官网网址�

But the biggest change in the area is the trend for more and more people wanting to move out to rural areas.

B次元官网网址淓verything is becoming more citified now as people want to move out of the cities. ItB次元官网网址檚 funny because, when I was young, it was the opposite. Young people in the country wanted to go to the cities.B次元官网网址�

But perhaps that particular trend has always been a point of contention.

A little research revealed that back in 1880, when SluggettB次元官网网址檚 great grandfather donated an acre of land to construct a school for the growing population in the area (there were five farms back then) one neighbour complained, saying: B次元官网网址淭he whole areaB次元官网网址檚 getting overpopulated.B次元官网网址� IB次元官网网址檓 moving up Island to get away from the crowd.B次元官网网址�

But for Larry Sluggett, all the changes and challenges have left him undeterred.

B次元官网网址淚 guess that, at my age, I could be thinking about pulling the pin, but I love farming and I love this farm.B次元官网网址�