Farming should be both fun and challenging, says Ard and Verna Hoogeveen of Verard Farms in Chilliwack, BC.
For them, it’s more than just a philosophy of farming, it’s a philosophy of life they put into practice early. As a young couple, the pair spent a year travelling the world, visiting both New Zealand and North America along the way. Upon returning home, they decided to immigrate to Canada.
“There were no opportunities in Europe and we thought Canada had the most opportunities for us,” Verna said.
Since both Ard and Verna were born and raised on dairy farms in Holland, they planned to become dairy farmers and spent their first two years in Canada milking cows for Verna’s uncle.
But their dream was to own their own farm and when their current farm became available, they jumped at the opportunity. At the time it was a mixed farm with both dairy and hog barns.
“Since we couldn’t afford cows and quota, we concentrated on hogs,” Ard said.
They were not unfamiliar with hogs. Ard’s father always had sows as well as cows while Verna’s father finished pigs in addition to being a dairyman.
The Hoogeveens started with a 100-sow farrow to finish operation 18 years ago and have since expanded to 300 sows. While that included a small multiplier herd, they are now transitioning the farm to become primarily a Topigs Norsvin multiplier herd to provide breeding stock for themselves and two other farms.
They decided to become a multiplier because “it’s a new challenge and there was a need,” noting it takes a year to transition to the new genetics.
They chose Topigs Norsvin because “they have proven to be very good in loose sow housing and that’s where the future is.”
Ard puts the emphasis on “future” as the Hoogeveens still use farrowing crates, saying “farrowing crates are built to save babies.”
They will eventually switch to loose sow housing but Ard notes there are “five options” and is waiting for others to work out the kinks “so we can see which option would work best for us.”
When that decision is made, the Hoogeveens will retrofit their existing naturally-ventilated barn rather than build new, which will likely mean cutting back to 250 sows.
“We are looking for quality, not quantity,” Ard explains.
Pigs have access to feed and water 24 hours a day. Although the majority of their feed consists of wheat, barley, peas, soymeal and some fat, the Hoogeveens have a computerized feeding system in their finishing barn so the specific diet can be changed regularly.

“From the day a piglet is born to the day it goes to market, it gets nine different rations,” Ard explains.
When the pigs are ready to go to market, they are shipped at night.
“The pigs handle better when it’s dark and there’s little traffic so they spend the shortest time possible in transport,” Ard said. “I don’t like to sit in traffic and I don’t think the pigs do either.”
As if a 300-sow farrow-to-finish operation were not enough work, the Hoogeveens also added a broiler barn and now produce 20,000 specialty Taiwanese chicken/cycle.
Then, when hog prices dropped a few years ago, they decided to branch into direct marketing. They started making a variety of sausages, schnitzels, chops and “farmer patties (farmer’s sausage in the form of a hamburger pattie)” and selling them out of their home and at area farmers’ markets.
“Rather than cry about low prices, we try to find a spark of hope,” Ard said, adding that by taking the product to the consumer “we gave people a chance to taste the best quality pork. We got people eating more pork and valuing their food more.”
Their products have become so popular, several local retailers now stock them. As a result, the Hoogevens now sell only from their home and at the Chilliwack Farmer’s Market.
Verna says selling at farmers’ markets involves a lot of education.
“People hear stuff but they don’t always get the details. They have assumptions that aren’t true,” she said. “We try to explain how we do things and how it’s done in Canada. I tell them here’s the meat and here’s the story.”
Her stock response to criticism is to tell the customer “if you don’t buy it, I’ll eat it myself.”
The Hoogeveens not only accomplish all they do with the help of only one full-time worker, they even find time to get involved in the industry. Ard is a director of the BC Hog Marketing Commission while Verna is president/co-ordinator of the Chilliwack Farmer’s Market.  •
— By David Schmidt