Reading Time: 4 minutes Two years after he began making cheese commercially on his New Hamburg, Ont. dairy farm, Adam van Bergeijk admits he is pleased with their progress. “We’re close to our targets,” he says. But van Bergeijk also admits it’s been a long haul to get to this point. About 25 per cent of the milk from […] Read more
The goal is gouda
Adam and Hannie van Bergeijk got their top-quality Gouda cheese into Sobeys, but only by overcoming a series of roadblocks
Dragonfly Garden Farm is ‘buzzing’ with activity
Eight years ago, the Wilhelm's struggled to get their farm off the ground. Now, they're working toward $1 million in sales
Reading Time: 5 minutes While many dreamers might spend their whole lives thinking they’d like to farm but never do it, Cindy and Mike Wilhelm made it happen. In fact, only seven months after making the decision to farm, they were the proud owners of a 70-acre farm near Chatsworth, Ont. that they named Dragonfly Garden Farm. Eight years […] Read more
Heritage on the move
How to keep farm and family together when you uproot after 170 years on the same ground
Reading Time: 7 minutes Farm succession is never easy, but for the Johnston family, bringing the next generation into the dairy business has meant extra challenges. You might even say it has meant miles and miles of challenges. After their family had farmed near Brampton for 170 years, Frances and James Johnston figured the time had come. Toronto was […] Read more
New life for rural churches
These rural churches are finding strength and a new sense of mission in their rural communities
Reading Time: 6 minutes In the early days of European settlement, churches played a pivotal role in rural Canada. In fact, says Rev. Dr. Cam Harder, an ordained Lutheran minister and theology professor at the University of Saskatchewan, churches were the key to the cultural life of a community. The same was true in the East, where traditionally the […] Read more
From a modest start
In corn and soybean country, Tim Barrie scores a hit with value-added retailing
Reading Time: 5 minutes You notice it as soon as you meet him. Tim Barrie takes the time to really listen. In fact, it’s this willingness to listen that may be the most important factor in the success of his Barrie’s Asparagus Farm and Country Market, where he sells value-added products made with the asparagus he grows. If it […] Read more
The paperless farm
These search, share, and backup solutions will help you take the next step
Reading Time: 4 minutes Although predictions of a paperless office date back to the 1970s, paper use actually doubled between 1980 and 2000. However, since 2000 paper use has been on the decline. Not only will you save space, paper, and money, but proponents of paperlessness say you can also improve your productivity because you’ll be able to find, […] Read more
World crops
We used to call them ethnic crops, but the new name shows just how big the hottest trend in food is growing
Reading Time: 5 minutes The face of Canada is changing, and it may mean new market opportunities for farmers. According to the 2011 Canadian National Household Survey, one in five Canadians was born in another country. While in the past, newcomers had to adapt to traditional Canadian foods, increasing global trade means “new Canadians” are now able to source […] Read more
The organic boom continues
The sector says it desperately needs more farmers
Reading Time: 4 minutes With sales reaching $3.5 billion in 2012, Canada is now the fourth-largest organic market in the world after the U.S., Germany and France, according to a comprehensive study by the Canada Organic Trade Association. Nor are sales showing any signs of slowing down, says Matthew Holmes, executive director of the non-profit association that represents organic […] Read more
Better family meetings
Increasingly, the best way to thrive as both a family and a family farm is to hold structured, effective meetings
Reading Time: 5 minutes With bigger farms, communication among everyone on the farm team gets more critical every year. These are multi-million dollar businesses, after all, and it is becoming painfully clear that our farms need to give serious thought to how they operate, just like other businesses that generate the same kinds of receipts. “We can’t just wing […] Read more
A place for women
Yes, many women are making progress on the farm. But not enough women, and not fast enough
Reading Time: 4 minutes Women may have been the first farmers, but it has been a long trek to climb to the top in today’s agriculture. Finally, however, women are making progress. Census data show between 10 and 20 per cent of farms are operated by women. Plus, on many more farms, women are key players taking on the […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
