The Marcel Goguen Farm, a long-lasting agricultural heritage
This week, heritage is in the spotlight in New Brunswick, the perfect opportunity to learn about the rich variety of ancestral stories that lie in our backyard.
The Marcel Goguen farm in Cocagne, a member of Really Local Harvest, has been an excellent example for almost two and a half centuries!
The Goguen have plenty of stories to tell to the visitors of their farm, located in Cocagne. Managed by Marcel and Bernadette Goguen, the business was founded back a very long time ago… in the 1780s.
The son of the founder of Cocagne, Joseph Guegen Jr., received the land from the governor of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was before the founding of New Brunswick.
The land has been productive ever since. According to Marcel Goguen, the evolution of their farm reflects very well the evolution of the country’s agriculture, which began as a subsistence farm: “From what we can see from the documents, [the first concern] is to produce food for the family, firewood, etc.” he says.
It was from the 1910s and 1920s that this subsistence farm diversified: “They want to sell [goods] outside, to trade. After that, in my parent’s time, they produced eggs, then seeds, and then we finally [grow] almost exclusively commercial apples. We specialized more, that’s what made the difference.”
The connection to heritage and the land
For him, it’s a special connection to the land and the history that has kept his family producing on this land for so many years.
“The pride we have in our farm has always been important. [...] I believe there was really an effort that wasn't given up. Everyone wants to keep a connection to that past, so [...] maybe there is something in our blood that tells us not to give up our land.”
With this family succession, ancestral practices are perpetuated.
“We rotate the fields, we still make [our own] compost […]. There’s also a knowledge of the terrain, the climate, the weather when you can go and work the land. [There is also the fact] of waiting until later so that [the soil] doesn’t compact, to not do damage that would cause erosion, these are all the things that we learn « by osmosis » from our parents.”
He also remembers some advice from his family that helps preserve the structure of the soil.
“I remember back home it was important, we shouldn’t go on the fields too much [in the spring] because if it was wet it compacted the soil and the texture of the soil shouldn’t be broken.”
A well structured soil is also one of the secrets to keeping your soil productive longer, he says: “If you don’t do this, the soil is going to be hard and will become a crust if you work it too much. If you compact the soil, the water will stay on the surface. It kills the vegetation and it degrades the land as the years go by.”
These principles are not only unique to ecological agriculture, they have been known for a long time, he says.
From childhood to taking over the farm
Marcel Goguen has fond memories of his childhood spent on the family farm, but what stands out according to him is the sense of responsibility: “Everyone who lived at the house, whether it was the grandmother, or the smallest of the children, had a responsibility or a thing to do. So we always felt that we were participating in what was going on in the family.”
Growing up, he dreamed of moving and studying. It was only after spending a few years in Moncton that he decided to come back to the farm. “I missed the farm, and then interest in it gradually returned. In the summer I would come and then I would help my dad and my brother on the farm [...] so my interest came back. I had to be away to better appreciate it.”
A farm open to the public
Marcel Goguen farm offers a U-pick service during apple season. On the other hand, they’re not displayed as an orchard, but as a farm. “We always had a few animals [on the farm] to show people, and then there is always someone available to answer questions on the farm. Then, we have different objects, ancestral tools [on display].”
Among school visits, families and the elderly, everyone comes with a different purpose. “[The children] want to see the pigs, the horse, the chickens, the animals in a context of years gone by.”
The variety of farm animals is so surprising to visitors that Marcel Goguen jokes that there are as many photos taken on his farm as at the zoo.
“They only saw the white hens on television, which lay white eggs… so when they see a multicolor hen, they [ask themselves questions]. Our pigs are always a big draw, because no one has ever seen an old pig. They’re always amazed at the size, the appearances…”
For the elderly, it’s a little different: “It’s very nostalgic for [some] who grew up with these animals on the farms. We see a lot of people who want to tell us about their youth.”
COVID-19, just another crisis?
On another note, the Covid-19 crisis doesn’t compare to anything Marcel Goguen has experienced on his farm, despite the fact that he has seen other crises.
“At the end of the [apple] season, it went to « orange », and it went down a lot, a lot. The world knew more if it was allowed or not allowed, how we were going to handle it, so we had a drop in people’s participation.”
However, they have known setbacks.
“We had a total frost of the apples; we lost the harvest completely. It was a big loss that we’re still recovering from. We have struggled like all other growers, diseases, insects, but never anything that didn’t affect sales like the year of Covid-19 because our sales are on the farm. [If] people are afraid to come to the farm, you [certainly] lose income.”
But then who will take up the torch?
The next generation in agriculture is never a sure thing. It’s only in the last few years that they started to wonder how to keep the farm alive.
For the moment, the next generation of the Marcel Goguen farm is wondering if they want to do agriculture full time.
“Maybe they’re thinking of teaming up with each other and making a ‘second income’, but… most of them already have their jobs and stuff.”
There may, however, be some surprises.
“It certainly surprised my parents when I took over the farm. So, you can never say 100 %, but it’s expected that the land and the farm will remain in the family for another generation.”