OUR HISTORY
From vision to harvest—our journey so far
The Early Years
The founder of Stable Harvest Farm, Syd Belzberg, began his journey in the horse racing industry in 1967. In 1989 he purchased the 65-acre farm to establish Budget Stables, which included a fully operational race track, barns, and a complete thoroughbred operation with 70 horses. Led by trainer Bud McDonald, the operation was successful in racing, breeding, and raising homebreds. In 2004, due to the government's increased emphasis on gaming and concerns about its impact on the racing industry, Syd made the difficult decision to move his operations from Budget Stables to Seattle and California.
A Life of Generosity
Before Stable Harvest Farm was even established, Syd was already actively involved in giving back to his community. Growing up in a Jewish household, Syd learned the importance of taking care of those around him. Through his years founding and running Budget Rent A Car, he generously donated millions of dollars to numerous charities, hospitals, and educational funds.
The Start of Stable Harvest Farm
Syd's deep-seated desire to feed people and educate children about agriculture became his driving force. He developed a profound appreciation for the farm-to-table experience and found immense joy in watching children learn about agriculture. In 2019, after an impressive 57-year career with Budget Rent-a-Car and Park-n-Fly, Syd retired. However, just two weeks into his retirement, he was eager to pursue his lifelong dream of cultivating organic produce, helping those in need, and educating the next generation at Stable Harvest Farm. Today, Stable Harvest Farm stands as a testament to Syd's unwavering commitment to his dream and his unrelenting passion for improving people's lives through agriculture.
Where We Are Now
Since our first growing season in 2020, Stable Harvest Farm has donated more than 600,000 pounds of fresh, organically grown vegetables to over a dozen food banks and community meal programs. What began with a 90,000-pound harvest has grown into an ongoing commitment to helping individuals and families facing food insecurity. In 2027, we plan to expand our food production even further, planting additional crops so we can provide more fresh produce to people throughout our community.
Education has also been an important part of the farm. Since 2020, more than 30,000 students have participated in over 600 classroom and farm visits, learning about agriculture, planting, harvesting, beekeeping, animals and the importance of understanding where our food comes from.
Stable Harvest Farm has also become a place for the whole community to enjoy. In 2026, more than 15,000 children and family members visited our popular petting zoo, which now includes chickens, sheep, pigs, alpacas, miniature horses, ducks, goats and kittens. We also welcomed many families, senior groups and community organizations to enjoy our colourful flower gardens, featuring zinnias, celosias, strawflowers, sunflowers, snapdragons, statice, impatiens and dahlias.
This year we also commissioned a magnificent 30-foot carved totem pole, which will be erected at Stable Harvest Farm as a striking new landmark and a lasting feature for visitors to enjoy for generations.
