Annapolis Valley farmer Earl Kidston inducted into Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame

After more than five decades in agriculture, Annapolis Valley farmer and agricultural entrepreneur Earl Kidston was inducted into the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Kidston was inducted during an Oct. 15 ceremony in Bible Hill, recognizing a career that has stretched from his family’s Port Williams farm to agricultural businesses and markets across Atlantic Canada and beyond.

“It’s a humbling experience,” Kidston said the day after the ceremony.

He said the induction gave him an opportunity to reconnect with old friends.

Kidston grew up on a family farm in Port Williams, where agriculture became part of his life at an early age. He participated in 4-H and raised hogs to earn enough money to buy his first car.

After earning an agricultural business diploma with high honours from the Nova Scotia Agricultural College in 1969, he returned to the family farm and worked alongside his parents and brothers to develop Dykeview Farms.

“We grew up on the farm, and of course it becomes part of your blood,” Kidston said. “You enjoy working with nature and with people.”

The family’s operations eventually expanded into Nova Agri and a range of agricultural enterprises involving vegetables, blueberries, strawberries, marketing, and other businesses.

Kidston now serves as senior advisor to the board of directors of the Nova Agri Group of Companies and as a director on the board of Green Diamond Equipment.

He said one of the accomplishments he is most proud of is developing strong teams and giving some key members an opportunity to become owners themselves.

“If you have ownership in something, it’s something that you have then too,” he said. “It’s not that you’re just working for somebody.”

The road was not always smooth.

Fires forced the operation to rebuild more than once, including a major fire caused by a lightning storm that destroyed a production facility and storage buildings.

Kidston said experiences like those reinforced the importance of learning from challenges, involving the right people and being prepared to change.

That willingness to change became a recurring theme throughout his career.

The family’s agricultural operations expanded into highbush blueberries, with Blueberry Acres growing to nearly 175 acres and reaching export markets including the United Kingdom and Iceland. Strawberry production evolved from conventional fields to tunnel and tabletop growing systems, while a former hog facility was transformed into Vital Berry Farms in 2020.

Kidston said the decline of Nova Scotia’s pork industry was one example of why farmers cannot assume the same business model will always work.

“We’ve had to be prepared to make change when it’s needed, because industries come and industries go,” he said.

Today, he said, technology is one of the biggest changes he has witnessed in agriculture.

He pointed to the family’s onion operation as an example. Kidston said new technology involving cameras and computer systems can detect defects inside onions that cannot be seen by the human eye during grading.

The investment allows the business to provide retailers with greater confidence in the quality of the product they are receiving.

“You have to keep evolving because you have to be able to compete with products from outside,” Kidston said.

That evolution has also included agricultural equipment.

Kidston helped establish Planters Equipment, which later joined with other John Deere dealerships to form Green Diamond Equipment. Green Diamond now has 15 John Deere locations across Atlantic Canada.

Kidston said the equipment business has complemented the farming operations by providing access to evolving technology and knowledge.

Kings-Hants MP Kody Blois said Kidston’s name was “always at the top of the list” when he first became an MP and sought out important connections to better understand the agricultural sector.

Blois pointed to the work of Kidston, his family and the teams at Dykeview Farms and Nova Agri, including innovations involving hydroponics, farm tunnels, and extending growing seasons, particularly for strawberries.

“When we think of domestic success stories, they’re a great example of a family owned business and enterprise that has innovated,” Blois said.

He also highlighted the growth of Country Magic and the operation’s role in fruit and vegetable production and processing.

“I think about them being the largest onion producer and processor in Atlantic Canada. Without them, we wouldn’t have that capacity here in Nova Scotia,” Blois said.

He said Kidston and his family have continued to reinvest in agriculture at a time when the industry is not always easy.

Kidston said agriculture has changed considerably since he and his brothers first entered the business, but the importance of having good people around him has remained constant.

“No one person has all the answers,” he said.

That is particularly important as another generation begins taking on larger roles in agriculture, he said.

Kidston acknowledged it can be difficult for young people to enter business today, but said finding people who are interested, engaged, and willing to embrace new technology will be important to the industry’s future.

He said farmers also have to understand their markets, maintain quality and remain financially viable while being willing to change course when circumstances demand it.

“You have to be prepared to change if the industry or the environment or whatever is pushing that way, and then you’ve got to find a solution,” Kidston said.

“If you can do that, then there’s lots of opportunities in agriculture.”

Earl Kidston has been recognized throughout his agricultural career. Some of the awards he has received include:

– The 1985 Motherwell Award as Outstanding Young Farmer of Canada.

– The 1995 Outstanding Nova Scotia Farmer Award.

– The 2002 Innovator of the Year Award from the Royal Bank of Canada.

– A 2013 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chamber of Commerce.

A look at the recent Nova Scotia inductees into the Atlantic Agricultural Hall of Fame.

2025 – Anthony Corsten.

2024 – Glenn Ells.

2023 – John Bragg.

2022 – James Borden.

2021 – Jack Sibley.

2020 – Bernard teStroete.

2019 – Gilbert Allen.

2018 – David Coombes.

2017 – David Dickinson.

2016 – Casey van de Sande.

2015 – Dick Huggard.

2014 – Leo Cox.