Metchosin farmer Kit Warren traded in his muddy knee-high gum boots for a pair of dress pants and slacks last month.

He is not retiring from farming, just trying to pay the bills.

B次元官网网址淚 had to get a job to keep the farm,B次元官网网址� Warren said. B次元官网网址淚 am still working 16-hour days on the farm too.B次元官网网址�

Warren has farmed the Sooke Road property for several years, but this year is tough. He now sells cars to help supplement his income.

B次元官网网址淲e are in foreclosure, I need to get a mortgage,B次元官网网址� he explained. B次元官网网址淢y credit has gone bad in my venture to produce high-quality food. ItB次元官网网址檚 going to be a tough one.B次元官网网址�

HeB次元官网网址檚 turned to social media to gain exposure, offering draws for free eggs and pork. After two contests WarrenB次元官网网址檚 Facebook page, Shadow Mountain Farm, received nearly 2,000 new B次元官网网址渓ikes.B次元官网网址�

He has also booked several farm tours each Sunday for childrenB次元官网网址檚 groups.

Unfortunately Facebook B次元官网网址渓ikesB次元官网网址� donB次元官网网址檛 pay the bills.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e made mistakes and IB次元官网网址檝e taken this all on myself,B次元官网网址� Warren admitted. B次元官网网址淚 am trying to create a sustainable model by producing my own manure and growing vegetables. IB次元官网网址檝e invested $80,000 into this.B次元官网网址�

He has boars, baby pigs, chicken for meat and eggs as well some turkeys. Gearing up for summer, he has more than 100 different plants sprouting into seedlings. All of his plants comply with MetchosinB次元官网网址檚 new bylaw banning genetically modified organisms.

B次元官网网址淭his is a rugged West Coast farm, itB次元官网网址檚 what I could afford in 2006,B次元官网网址� said the 38-year-old farmer.

He is working on building more greenhouses on the nine-acre farm so he can produce more food.

B次元官网网址淲e need to be a team to do this. We all have different positions like the bee keeper, baker, and farmers for vegetables and livestock. We need to use all these skills together,B次元官网网址� said the farmer.

He hopes to sell some cars and use commissions to get his farm back in the black.

WestShore Chamber of Commerce CEO Dan Spinner said the chamber is currently looking into ways to support farmers in Metchosin. Agricultural amenities, such as another abattoir and a grain mill, would help, said Spinner, and there is the possibility of establishing a farmerB次元官网网址檚 co-op to support these ideas.

B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a certain amount of interregional co-operation we want to see if we can get going,B次元官网网址� Spinner said. B次元官网网址淏ut itB次元官网网址檚 a serious issue. B次元官网网址� We always say we want more local food, more organic food and then the farmers are disappearing while we say it.B次元官网网址�

During the winter it can be tough for small farmers, admits Metchosin farmer Tom Henry, editor of Small Farm Canada magazine. Keeping a farm profitable through all seasons is easier with year-round livestock he points out.

At Stillmeadow Farm, Henry sells his local pork, lamb and chickens. He partners with another farmer on the products. He also grows parsnips, leeks and beets in the winter.

B次元官网网址淚t really helps if your stuff is good,B次元官网网址� said Henry who also sells a winter holly crop that his family has spent the past 50 years developing. B次元官网网址淵ou also need to give your customers special perks for coming back each week.B次元官网网址�

For vegetable farmers who donB次元官网网址檛 have livestock, Henry suggests keeping in touch with customers over the winter and sending out emails when the crops are ready to harvest.

Henry says more farmers are using social media.