OUR STORY
4th Generation Family-Owned Business
It all started in 1920 when a school teacher, who hated teaching, packed up his family and left Meaford, Ontario to buy farmland south of Rice Lake near where is wife had been born and raised.
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Over a century later we're still here and still farming.
ABOUT FARLAND RIDGE
It's uphill.
Everything is uphill from something else until you get to the very top of the Ridge. And then you'll remember you forgot your...
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Located overlooking the south shore of Rice Lake, the Ridge is 70 acres of grassland, wild fencelines, and woodland. It's a vibrant and bustling place and includes an orchard, bee hives, a large vegetable garden, berry bushes, free range laying hens, and forageables like wild mushrooms, wild grapevines ,and hawthorns, which are all used to feed our family. In the spring we tap maple trees for sap to make maple syrup and in the fall we press apples for cider.
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The most important part of the farm however is the pastures where we can produce an abundance that we can offer to others and which allows us to pay the bills. Here we raise cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys, all grazing in rotation, each being supported by the land and each improving land in their own way.
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There is also a herd of itinerant goats running amok. Ignore them.
Introducing the 4th (&5th) Generation
Shawn and Marta
Shawn is the 4th generation of his family to farm Farland Ridge. Growing up here he wasn't terribly interested in farming but enjoyed building things - a passion that would lead him to study engineering and settle down in Ottawa. Sudden nerve damage in both hands led to a diagnosis of a rare form of Willis-Ekbom Disease. Discovering that physical labor helped with the symptoms and staved off muscle loss, a return to farm life seemed like a good idea. He still enjoys building and tweaking the farm infrastructure but the care of the land and the animals is now his main preoccupation.
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Marta is new to farm life, but she's secretly always had horse girl dreams. She was a city girl until her family had the opportunity to move to the country while she was in high school. Marta met Shawn in her first year of University and spent their life in Ottawa working in the fitness field and competing in amateur strength sports. She was introduced to the cows by being told to "stand here and don't let them get past you," at the time some of the cows still had horns!
Needing a change after struggling with severe burnout and wanting to support Shawn, a move to the farm became the next big life leap.
Much more comfortable with the cows now and lucky enough to finally have a horse of her own she is slowly getting the hang of this farm thing.
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Credit: Carolyn Lewis / Photography With Care