The Cowichan Valley’s iconic 127-acre Fairburn Farm is up for sale for $2.95 million.
The property, located at the end of Jackson Road, was the first water buffalo dairy farm in Canada and the original 6,000 sq. ft. farmhouse, built in 1896, is currently operated as a popular B&B.
The property includes three homes, a 100-year-old cottage, acres of farmland and dozens of water buffalo whose milk is sold to Natural Pastures Cheese Company in Courtenay where it is made into Mozzarella di Bufala and other cheese products.
The farm has been owned by three generations of the Archer family and is currently owned and operated by Darrel and Anthea Archer.
Anthea said the couple is ready to retire and, while they have children, they are not interested in running the farm.
“We’ve had some bites from people who have sold their homes in Vancouver for large amounts and are looking for something different, but they really don’t know how to farm a property like this,” Anthea said.
“We want to move to a smaller property in Lake Cowichan and travel more. We’re hoping that a ‘gentleman farmer’ type will take the farm over and keep it in operation.”
The property is listed by Brian Danyliw, Engel &Volkers Vancouver Island.
Call 250-710-8779 for an information package or to book a showing.
Johnny Depp dons Westcoasttees shirt
Superstar Johnny Depp was recently spotted wearing a funky Hunter S. Thompson T-shirt from Duncan’s Westcoastees shop.
Jayson Ward, who owns the T-shirt shop located in Unit #5, 6961 Trans Canada Hwy., along with Maria Midgley, said a friend was working on the site of Depp’s next movie, Richard Says Goodbye, in Vancouver and decided to present him with a Hunter S. Thompson T-shirt from the shop.
Depp played gonzo writer Thompson in the 1998 movie Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the two men remained friends until Thompson’s death in 2005.
“Someone took a picture of Depp wearing the T-shirt and it appeared on a Instagram blog,” Ward said.
“It just took off from there. It’s from our popular ‘Strange Company’ brand that includes literary figures and famous historical characters.”
Duncan names new corporate director
The City of Duncan has announced that Paige MacWilliam is its new director of corporate services.
MacWilliam originally came from Pemberton to Duncan in early 2016 as its corporate services coordinator, and has been acting in the director role since July.
Duncan’s CAO Peter de Verteuil said the city conducted a thorough competition for the position, with many applicants, and felt that MacWilliam provided the best combination of knowledge, training and experience for the City of Duncan.
“The city is extremely pleased to have had the opportunity to select from such a strong list of candidates, and that Ms. MacWilliam was interested in joining our senior management team,” he said.
“This speaks to the city’s strong reputation for its organizational culture and corporate governance. Ms. MacWilliam’s knowledge of the local government legislation and strong policy background will be a definite asset to the city.”
TimberWest bronze for Aboriginal relations
The TimberWest forest company, which has operations in the Cowichan Valley, is being recognized for its commitment to improve relations with native communities.
TimberWest has recently achieved a bronze certification in the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business’ Progressive Aboriginal Relations Program for 2017.
The forest company is among 13 companies from across the nation who received certification in the program this year.
Established in 2001, the PAR program includes an online management and reporting tool that supports participating companies’ efforts towards progressive improvement in Aboriginal relations, and a certification program that confirms corporate performance in Aboriginal relations at the bronze, silver or gold level.