Kai surveys the potatoes making their way up the conveyor belt with hard chunks of red dirt, rocks, and clumps of grass. He grins as he grabs a giant spud that’s almost as big as his face. His grandfather, Neil MacFadyen, plants a kiss on his cheek. Closely supervised by adults, the seven-year-old maneuvers around the equipment like an old pro as he helps grade potatoes at MacFadyen Farms in Augustine Cove on Prince Edward Island. Established in 1803, the seed and table potato farm has been worked by generations of the MacFadyen clan.

Neil’s daughter, Laura, and her husband Kevin Clarke split their time between homes in P.E.I. and Florida with their four children, Kai, Maverick, 5, Nova, 3, and Sully, 1, to be with family and help with the harvest.

“We grew up next to the farm. Get off the school bus, run to the farm, grade potatoes. It was the best part of the year,” said Laura. “Some people don't even send their kids to school. We do a little bit of both.”

“The best memories of being a kid are being on the farm, other than getting my hair caught in the potato harvester,” she laughs. “I think it's an important part of their childhood, more so than any school experience. So that’s why we’re homeschooling.” 

Kai lives and breathes farming. He has already helped drive a potato truck, and he knows about the different varieties of spuds, and where they’re going. 

“How many days till we dig potatoes?” he frequently asks his family up until the harvest season.

Kai shows up in the warehouse in overalls with the farm’s logo on the chest every day of the harvest before 7am. He rides in the harvester or helps long-time farm worker Dwight Sexton with sweeping up piles of dirt after unloading the potatoes.

Neil MacFadyen, who began working on his dad’s farm when he was about 13, started full time in his early 20s. He works the farm with his brother, Bill, both of their kids, and his grandchildren. Until recently, his dad, Gerald “Jeddie” MacFadyen, 99, still stopped by the warehouse and watched as his sons, grandchildren, and great grandchildren worked together. Until last year, Jeddie and his late wife, Joyce, hosted daily family dinners for the farm staff during the harvest season.

Until last year, Jeddie and his late wife, Joyce, hosted daily family dinners for the farm staff during the harvest season. The family is continuing this tradition to give everyone a chance to socialize during their break.

Neil credits his dad with guiding the younger generations as they took over managing the farm, and he loves having his grandkids around the farm.

“They follow you around, and they watch you. They see how things are run, and how maybe you don't have to get too worked up. I think they really, really enjoy the farming aspect of it, for sure,” he said.

“The oldest fella, Kai, he's just right involved in it,” Neil says. “He is pretty special. He'll ask so many questions in the run of a day.”

Nova climbs into a tractor with her uncle, Daniel MacFadyen. Maverick frequently rides with his dad in the potato truck, and Sully hangs out with his mom as she grades potatoes or watches over the older kids.

“Mav was around a lot more this summer… and he started to see Kai doing everything,” Neil says. “They were cleaning up the warehouse and they knew how to run the shovel and clean up. And Nova, the little girl, she’s a go-er! She's gonna be just like them, I think.”

Laura says her kids are learning about the dedication and drive required to keep a farm going to produce food for others.

“Not too many people know that [a lot of what] they eat probably comes from PEI potatoes, like french fries or chips,” she said. “They don’t even know that this is where it starts, the kids on the farm are not what they’re picturing when they’re eating their french fries.”

Kai, Maverick, and Nova all agreed they like working around their extended family. Kai says his favorite part is watching the harvester fill the trucks.

“They’ll never have to be forced to farm because they just have it in their blood,” said Laura. “They just love it.”  

Angela Rowlings is a photojournalist based in Charlottetown, PEI, and Boston, Mass. She is cworking on a project on the intersection of culture and climate on PEI, and also does creative portraits and commercial work. / Angela Rowlings est une photojournaliste basée à Charlottetown, et à Boston. Elle travaille sur un projet sur l'intersection de la culture et du climat à l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard, et réalise également des portraits créatifs et des travaux commerciaux.

This article appeared in edible Maritimes, No 17