By Taryn Riemer
When you think about what products are grown in Saskatchewan your first thoughts are likely along the lines of barley or canola.
However, there is a niche market in the province that could be on the rise in future years: garlic.
In Saskatchewan there are five main producers that grow garlic, and of those five, three process garlic into products such as pickled garlic.
M&M Garlic is one of the three.
The business is located 18 kilometers northeast of White Fox, a village about 130 kilometers northeast of Prince Albert.
Dave and Krista McBain, the co-owners, started the business in 1996 when they were looking for a change.
“We wanted to diversify the farm and I didn’t want to do shift work anymore,” said Krista.
Krista was working at Bunge, an oil crushing plant, in Nipawin, SK and Dave worked on their mixed grain farm.
“We went from about 35 lbs of stiff neck garlic and… an ice cream pail full of soft core,” said Dave. “We had an area there just east of the house that was not much good for anything else. It was a good piece of land, but a smaller area.”
The McBains spent approximately $500 on garlic in the first year to start the business.
According to Connie Achtymichuk, provincial vegetable specialist with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture, the province normally grows a hard neck garlic because it’s a little heartier then soft neck.
Garlic also needs specific conditions to be able to grow well.
“It can take about an inch of water per week, but it has to be warm enough so the water actually evaporates, gets out of the soil. It can’t sit in water, it’ll rot,” said Krista.
In the beginning it took some time for the McBain’s to figure out what market they were going to pursue.
“We tried selling it as a bulk garlic, but nobody was really into garlic back in those days,” said Dave.
The McBain’s then started to look into processing the garlic into products such as garlic powder.
They experimented with recipes in the early 2000s in their home and then did larger processing in a certified kitchen in Nipawin and at the University of Saskatchewan in the food centre.
“Going to Saskatoon helped us expend our ideas. Just because they had big pots and big appliances I guess that we kind of realized that we could do bigger batches,” said Krista.
In 2002 they made a $200,000 capital investment into the business to build a kitchen on their farm for processing.
This allowed the business to produce garlic products in bulk.
After they started processing in bulk, they got their product into local businesses in surrounding communities such as White Fox, Nipawin and Carrot River.
The family business has now grown to harvest 4,000 pounds of garlic a year.
“The local market is thriving and we think there’s actually room for export of garlic as well,” said Achtymichuk.
Dave and Krista, along with three employees, make up the staff, but their kids (Jami, Tyson and Kacey) have helped over the years.
“It was a family business, still is. Our kids helped out lots while they were growing up,” said Krista.
Some of their products include garlic jelly, pickled asparagus, dry minced garlic and their top seller fresh minced garlic.
Today, you can find their product across the prairies, including in Saskatoon, Regina, Lloydminster, Flin Flon and Provost, Alberta.
They also have travelled to trade shows in places such as Thompson, Manitoba and Edmonton over the years, but lately, they’re staying closer to home.
The business has been recognized over the years with two agriculture awards from the Nipawin and District Chambers of Commerce and a nomination for an ABEX award from the Saskatoon Chambers of Commerce.
The business also receives recognition from people who enjoy the product.
“A lady phoned the other day and thanked us for making the salsa. Her husband, that’s the only salsa that he’ll eat. It’s good to get that kind of message. So that happens quite often... a couple ladies have sent cards,” said Dave.
