A haskap berry is hearty, self-sufficient and thrives in the northern Alberta climate. In that way, it has a lot in common with Kreg and Lee-Ann Alde and their family.

They currently cultivate approximately 2,400 acres of land along the western edge of the County of Grande Prairie, Alta., in the Rocky Mountain Foothills. They're the fourth generation to farm the land originally homesteaded by Kreg's family in 1926. Together, they grow canola, wheat, barley, and Kreg and Lee-Anne's passion project - the haskap berry orchard which grows on the original homestead land.

“It's kind of funny,” Kreg says when he thinks about it. “I didn't think I'd ever be doing what I am now, but there's always been the family farm. I just didn't think we'd take this strange turn in our life when my wife and I met back at Lakeland.”

A common story at Lakeland

Kreg and Lee-Anne are both alumni of Lakeland College, though neither came to study agriculture. Kreg was pursuing his dream of working for fish and wildlife and Lee-Anne studied conservation and reclamation. Both come from farming families.

“I'd heard good things about Lakeland College. We went down to see it and I fell in love with the campus and the dorms. It had that hometown feeling, that's why I wanted to study there," Kreg says. "The fish and wildlife program was outstanding as well, as far as graduating with field experience and finding work. It was a good pick for sure. My wife and I met in the dorms and we're still really good friends with people we met there today. I think that's a common story at Lakeland.”

After graduating in 1995, Kreg spent 20 years working in the oil and gas industry, both on contaminated sites and with wildlife, before taking over the family farm in 2015. During that transition, he decided to look into diversifying the farm to supplement the income it was generating.

“We thought with the farm succession plan we should supplement our income a little bit. We had already stumbled upon haskap berries back in 2009 and done a pile of research on them, so we started planting the orchard in 2012,” he explains.

Diversifying the family farm

The idea of adding a haskap berry orchard to the farm wasn't an easy one for his father to accept, but Kreg promised to take it slow to ensure the rest of the farm wasn't at risk.

“I can't tell you the exact words my dad told me,” Kreg laughs. “They weren't quite politically correct. He had a hard time with me making that decision. I told him it was probably no different than when he told his dad he was moving away from pigs and livestock to go into grain farming.”

Kreg's father grew more supportive after researching cottage wineries and other ways the orchard could supplement the income of the farm, and now he's one of Kreg's biggest supporters.

“I can't get rid of him,” Kreg says. “He's always wanting to help out. He's really proud to see how the farm has progressed and changed over time. We look back through our old pictures and see the way they used to farm, trying to just scratch out a living in the northern part of the province, which isn't really suited to farming. We look from that to where we are right now, and there's no question. He's really proud of where we're at now.”

An agri-tourism destination

Where they're at now is Broken Tine Orchard, home to 2,300 acres of traditional crops and 20,000 haskap berry plants. They operate a cottage winery with a tasting room, a haskap U-Pick, and sell farm-made haskap products which can be found in stores across Western Canada. They sell ice cream and topping, bulk berries, and their latest products are Friceys Prairie Fruit Pops, haskap and raspberry-flavoured creamsicles. The fruit pops were runners-up at the 2022 Made in Alberta Awards.

The Alde family has become a leader in the industry, setting up a corporation that allows multiple haskap sellers to collaborate and sell to a bunch of different markets. They have also been working to incorporate other flavours like raspberries into their offerings to support other local producers.

Most recently, they've been working at turning Broken Tine Orchard into a haskap berry destination, with a wine tasting cabin and gathering spot.

“The agri-tourism aspect is something that we've been developing over the last five years,” Kreg explains. “The consumers want to see local food and they want to have a story behind it. They want to know where their food grows and where it comes from. We want people to come to the orchard and not only pick the berries, but taste products made with the berries that grow here. Taste the wine or juice, baking or pickled berries. We always try to feature something different, so when people leave here, they're not only in love with the berries, but with all the different things you can do with them.”

Kreg hasn't completely left his fish and wildlife roots behind, as there is an aspect to what he learned at Lakeland on the farm as well. He works alongside fish and wildlife officers when it comes to the large number of grizzly bears who live in his area. He's also installed kestrel nests in the orchard so the birds will keep away the cedar wax wings, which would destroy the haskap berry crop.

Succession planning

After meeting at Lakeland and marrying soon after, Kreg and Lee-Anne have stayed connected to the college.

“It's a really good college,” Kreg says. “My boy Konnor went there and took agribusiness. I'm hoping his kids will go there too.”

Konnor graduated from agribusiness in 2021 and now works at a grain elevator near the farm, helping on the farm on weekends. Kreg and Lee-Anne's daughter Nevada is currently in Victoria, B.C., working as a journalist, but she remains interested in the farm and the orchard. Kreg says he's proud of her for her career but there's always a place for her at the farm.

“There's a lot going on at the farm and a lot of room for both of my kids to get involved,” Kreg says. “We're hoping they'll be involved with all the different businesses we've got going on and hoping the family farm will continue for another 100 years.”

Photos: Top - the Broken Tine orchard. Middle - Konnor, Kreg and Lee-Anne Alde. Bottom - the tasting cabin at Broken Tine Orchard.