Alvin Filsinger’s journey started in 1940, when at the age of 12, he began working for his great-uncle on his 21 acre apple orchard in Burlington Ontario. With help being scarce during the war, Alvin came to the aid of his 75 year-old-uncle to help with the harvest. Enjoying the work and the fact that he loved fruit orchards, he became steadily employed by his uncle in 1941.
He was given responsibility for pruning, spraying, harvesting and marketing of the apples he grew. While his love for farming would stay strong, the agricultural practices used by farmers would change drastically during this time. At the end of the war, chemical companies saw a major decrease in demand for their product and began marketing them for agricultural use instead.
At a fruit growers’ meeting in 1945, an extension service specialist introduced the growers to D.D.T and pyrethrim insecticides. The first product Alvin tried was a new chemical fertilizer. Later, he applied D.D.T, even though he was concerned about the warning on the label that rubber boots, a rain suit, gloves, and respirator must be worn during application. His wife drove the open tractor with the 100-gallon sprayer attached to it. She drove ahead and Alvin hand sprayed the 600 trees. It took two days to finish the job.
The next morning Alvin’s wife was unable to get out of bed due to extreme fatigue and nausea. It took three days for her to feel well enough to get out of bed due to the exposure of D.D.T. Alvin was also not feeling well from the effects of the chemicals.
The next morning, he noticed an acre’s worth of soil covered in dead and dying earthworms from the spray, which also changed the composition of the soil, making it much harder and less fertile, and he discovered the bodies of dead birds. It was then that Alvin decided he had to make a change and began studying how to farm organically.
Later in the season, he noticed he was having trouble with insects due to the elimination of not only the problematic insects, but also the beneficial bugs that keep the others in check. He realized he was faced with a life-changing choice.
Alvin decided to sell the Burlington farm and relocate to Ayton, Ontario. Starting over with a new orchard took courage and sacrifice. New fruit trees would have to be planted, and it would take years before bearing any fruit. During this time, they would have to be cared for and protected from mice, rabbits, deer, and insects.
It took eight years before he had his first meaningful harvest of apples on his new farm in Ayton and even though it took a lot of sacrifice and hard work, he was very proud of what he accomplished. He would continue to farm his way and expand his orchard for the next 45 years until finally retiring in 2006.
The next year, 2007, was the first full year for Shaun Beker and his team. Today, the abundant birdlife on the farm is just one reminder of the legacy of Alvin Filsinger, whose passion was providing delicious organic apple products.
