Farmers Faces

Agriculture is our lifeblood and new ideas nourish and keep it strong. Farmers investigate new crops and ways to add value to traditional crops, because farming is agri-business, whether an acre of organics or 100 acres of soybeans. But farming is people, too. And consumers have never been more interested in where their food, fibre and pharmaceuticals come from. In this spirit we introduce Farmers’ Faces, brief profiles of old and new County farmers and growers.

	Falconer Farms Jenny Keith and Peter Hill run Falconer Farm their way, and their way is organic. To a casual observer the fields look a tad wild. Wildflowers run riot, but herbs thrive there too, plus wild fruits and vegetables, and there’s a definite method to their maybe madness. More ...
	Honey Pie Farms Bay Woodyard says she is more gardener than farmer. But words like herbalist and even apothecary come to mind, too, because Bay makes soaps and lotions and soothing ointments as well as herbal jellies, teas and honey. More ...
	Betty and John Chambers “We’re moving to the County, and we’ll live off the land …won’t our lives be grand…” The Frere Brothers song pokes fun at city people who go country, but Betty Chambers doesn’t mind. She came to the County to farm, and she’s loving it. More ...
	Renata Claudi Renata Claudi is a biologist who has spent years researching ways to combat invasive species like purple loosestrife and zebra mussels. She nurtures her own little corner of the world, an organic homestead on County Road 35 containing several different ecosystems including hardwood swamp, cedar bush and areas like oak savannah. More ...
	Honeywagon Farms Sandi and Ed Taylor run Honeywagon Farms in Picton, just down from the road from the Waring House. Ed used to work summers as a lifeguard at Sandbanks Park. Decades later, after teaching careers that took the couple may places, most recently to Northern Ontario, Ed returned to the County to farm. More ...
	Simpson's Strawberries Sylva Graham bought Simpson's Strawberry Farm in 1978 and just never changed the name. Despite more than 100 varieties becoming available since then, Sylva sticks to her favourites, and County chefs and berry lovers just keep coming back for more. More ...
	Greenridge Farms Each year asparagus lovers wait with bated breath for Brian Beatty's ASPARAGUS sign to appear. His customers range from the lady next door to giant Loblaws Direct and the County's finest chefs. More ...
	Lynn Leavitt Lynn Leavitt knows his beef. The fourth generation farmer is focused on the future, but still favours some old fashioned ways. His Angus cows are naturally raised on the East Lake family farm. They have sweet hay to munch on and are raised with no added hormones. More ...
	Del Gatto Estates, Bella Vineyards Fourth generation winemaker Pat Del Gatto remembers as a young boy "hauling boxes of California grapes for my father." Now Pat and his father grow their own grapes together on their vineyard on the County's southeast shore. The traditional family vineyard has so far produced an award-winning Geisenheim and an outstanding Zweigelt red. More ...
	Fosterholm Farms Harold Foster established Fosterholm Farm in 1924, but the family's County roots go much deeper, back to the United Empire Loyalists. Cliff and Dean Foster are the father and son team running the farm today. More ...
	Grand Bay Foods One-time commercial fisherman Brian McCormick, his wife Linda and their team run Grand Bay Foods where 1½ million pounds of freshwater fish are processed every year for customers around the world and around the corner. More ...
	Lakeshore Farm Market Wayne and their son run the farm, Judy and her daughter run the shop with Sandra and a summer student. Every day they bake bread, muffins and old-fashioned donuts and stay open right up to Christmas Eve selling more than 1,000 homemade fruitcakes. More ...
	OurOwn Dairy Farm Walter Miller is proud to be the “first generation” on his Hillier farm. He and wife Val have 130 cows, with 60 milking animals and 180 acres of corn and alfalfa to feed them. More ...
	The Fish Lake Garlic Man Ted Maczka, is the County’s legendary Garlic Man. He’s on a mission is to make Canada self-sufficient in garlic. He’s been called “the Johnny Appleseed of Garlic” for giving away garlic seeds and freely sharing his enormous garlic knowledge. More ...
	Lighthall Vineyard Alice and Peter are tough. Together alone they tended vineyard, hammered in 5,000 stakes, netted the vines, defended them against weeds, frost and raccoons. More ...
	Laundry Farms Terry has farmed all his life in the County. He bought his father’s farm and he and Jean now work 400 acres together. Their roadside stand on County Road 1 just outside Picton is a glorious autumn sight. More ...
	Capricorn View Farm Sonjia and Dino are building themselves a future and a large goat herd on a retrofitted dairy farm on Christian Road. Selectively breeding for meat and for milk, they had 80 kids born their first year in the County. More ...
	Vicki's Veggies Vicki was raised on a County farm but worked her way around the world for 10 years, before coming home in 1999 to plant a garden that grew into a little farm - complete with chickens and ducks. More ...
	Everdean Farms Everdean Farms was established in 1974 and named for the farmers' two sons, Everett and Eric Dean Rutgers. The brothers have worked the farm all their lives and bought it from their parents in 2002. More ...
	Windatt Cherry Farm The Windatts have been growing fruit for almost 50 years on West Lake Road, and Reg (seen here by his 1920s cherry pitting machine) says "I must have put a million pounds of rhubarb through the slicer." More ...
	Ostrander Orchards Since United Empire Loyalist days, Ostranders have played their parts in County history, from running lake boats to farming. Warren was raised on the Waupoos farm and took over when his father died young. “We’d only been married two years,” says Betty. More ...
	Hagerman Farms Established in 1905 by Lyle's grandfather, Hagerman Farms represents all that is good about families and farming. Even first-time visitors to the County know the Hagerman name by the time they get to Picton. More ...
	Campbells Orchards Diane and Colin Campbell grow apples just about as far north in the County as you can go. Colin’s father established Campbells Orchards on Rednersville Road in the 1970s, but the farm’s reputation for great apples goes back much further. More ...