Farmers are important to Norfolk County. We are Canada’s most diverse agricultural region. Meet our farmers on their farms through these interviews.
Christine Bauman – Matz Fruit Barn
Christine Bauman is one of those hands-on farmers, and has the sunburnt face and work-worn hands to prove it. Since 1990 when she bought the farm her parents established in 1962 and where she grew up, she has laboured tirelessly to make it a success and provide a living for her family. Orchards cover approximately 15 of her 21 acres, where she produces sweet cherries, peaches, apricots, five types of pears and 14 varieties of apples. On most of the rest of her acreage she grows pumpkins, squash and gourds, two kinds of melons, tomatoes, peas, eggplant, peppers, spinach, cucumbers, shallots and some herbs. Unable to source good local garlic for her market, she recently began growing her own and now has it for sale. Of course, careful husbandry of the land means that it is not all in production at any one time. Cover crops of sorghum and oats nourish some fields in preparation for planting in succeeding years. MORE
Gregory & Victoria Boyd – Heritage Lane Produce
Gregory Boyd has always wanted to be a farmer. As the sixth generation of Boyd farmers to live and work there since 1873, he returned to his family’s Century Farm from the University of Guelph with his BSc degree and a dream. Unwilling to grow tobacco as his grandfather had done, and not seeing a sustainable future in the grain crops the farm currently produces, Greg researched the viability of growing fresh fruits and vegetables without the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides, and selling them directly to local consumers . Three years ago he carved six and a half acres for himself from the farm’s two hundred and fifty, and began to plant the first of the twenty-eight varieties he now grows. MORE
Anita & Steve Buehner – Bonnieheath Lavender
Steve and Anita Buehner are farmers – “re-purposed”. Both grew up on tobacco farms, eventually becoming tobacco farmers themselves. Since transitioning out of tobacco they have devoted themselves and their farm to a brand new purpose – growing lavender and wine grapes – and they are pursuing this new direction heart and soul. Bonnieheath was the name of the house next door where Colonel William Heath was born and raised. When he purchased the adjoining property at the turn of the twentieth century, he called it Bonnieheath Fruit Farm, according to documents found in the attic of the Buehners’ house . After emigrating from Holland in the 1950’s, Anita’s parents bought the hundred and eighty acre property which Anita and Steve, in turn, purchased from them in 1990. Steve, whose background is Belgian and German, was a fourth generation tobacco farmer. MORE
Judy & Marvyn Chambers – Chambers Maple Syrup Products
In 1977, when Marv and Judy Chambers rented 50 acres of government-owned sugar bush near their farm, there was no plan to make maple syrup central to their lives and livelihood. For 30 years Judy’s retired father managed the sugar bush, while Marv focused on the production of the maple syrup and operating the dairy farm established by his grandfather. These farmers continued to tap their trees every spring and make some syrup to sell. In 1987, when they learned the parcel of land containing their sugar bush was to be sold, they bought it. Over that first decade the Chambers’ syrup grew in popularity among local consumers. People coming out to buy it were asking them, “When are you going to open a pancake house ”, and they began to envision it as a logical next step. In spite of the refusal of bankers to lend them money (“not a viable business”, they said), and well-meaning bureaucrats trying to discourage them when they applied for the necessary permits (“We already have one in Norfolk; you’ll lose your shirts”), they decided to go ahead anyway and construction began in November of 1998. MORE
Frank De Leebeeck
Frank De Leebeeck is a third generation Norfolk farmer. Along with 140 acres of rented land he now has a total of 340 acres under cultivation. At the top of Frank’s list of what he considers his greatest successes is his fine family. He and Chris raised their children to “face life’s challenges” and to “respect others”, and are proud of the adults they’ve become. MORE
Bryan & Cathy Gilvesy – Y U Ranch
Most farmers look at a crop field and see profit, or hope to. When farmer Bryan Gilvesy looks over his 44 acres of native tall-grass prairie in Norfolk County, Ont., on Lake Erie, he sees truly green fields. By planting this ancient “crop,” which once covered much of Southern Ontario and is now one of the most endangered in North America, he is also showing that farmers can become leaders in combating climate change. These native grasses thrive in draught, extreme heat and poor soils. The roots, which plunge up to 16 feet into the ground, can sequester as much as 1.8 metric tons of carbon per acre. MORE
Sharon, Fred & Thomas Judd – Meadow Lynn Farms
The Judd farm has been in Fred Judd’s family since 1946 when another Fred, his grandfather who had emigrated as a teenager from England, bought it and named it Meadow Lynn Farm. The current proprietor, the second Fred Judd to farm this land, grew up in the hundred and seventy-five-year-old farmhouse, working the land and tending a herd of thirty Jersey cattle with his father, Ron. Twenty-seven years ago Fred and Sharon married, and now another Judd, their 23-year-old son Thomas, is being groomed to take over. Last December Thomas finished the course work for his B Sc degree from the Ontario College of Agriculture at Guelph. He graduated this past spring, and he has been employed full time on the farm since January. Although he helps wherever he is needed, his main responsibility is the farm’s forty Jersey cows. Morning and evening he attends to the milking and all the associated chores in the milk house. Along with care and feeding of the cows, routine ‘veterinary’ tasks such as injections, and the myriad other concerns of a dairy farmer, he has the weighty responsibility for the farm’s breeding program. This is no small matter when one considers the influence of breeding on yield which, in turn, comprises a crucial part of a farmers family income. The Judds have continued to raise Jerseys because the butterfat content of their milk is high relative to the volume of milk produced. MORE
Ray & Brenda Lammens – Spearit Farms
Norfolk County is Ontario’s foremost producer of asparagus, and over the past thirty years Ray and Brenda Lammens have grown and sold a significant amount of it. Ray Lammens was raised on the three hundred acres his father, an immigrant from Belgium, purchased in 1955. Mr. Lammens Senior’s forebears were all farmers; Ray’s mom grew up on a farm in Kingsville in Essex County. Brenda, too, is from a long line of farmers and entrepreneurs. She spent the first six years of her life on a farm near Woodstock, Ontario before moving to Prince Edward Island and eventually returning to this area. MORE
Bill Nightingale Jr. – Nightingale Farms
Nightingale Farms, one of Norfolk County’s thriving commercial growers, was established in 1950 by Frank Nightingale. In 1980, it was taken over by the next generation of farmers, Bill Sr. and his wife Caroline. It passed into the hands of the third generation of Nightingale farmers in 2003, when Bill Jr. took over the helm. In 1950 there were 35 acres under cultivation. Today the combined operation encompasses 1,300 acres, 95 of which are dedicated to the growing of organic produce under the Norfolk Organics label, which was established in order to meet high consumer demand for quality, affordable organic produce. Completely separate, the organic acreage has been under cultivation for seven years, finally producing certified organic fruits and vegetables three years ago. MORE
Jason Persall – Pristine Gourmet
Jason Persall is a member of the fourth generation of Persalls to farm in Norfolk County. His great-grandfather began with a traditional mixed farm. When they took over in the 1930s and ‘40s, his grandfather, then his father, brought their own ideas, specializing in chickens, particularly breeding stock. Because Jason wanted “more than growing” out of the farm, and wanting “to make the most of” what he grew, processing was the next natural step for him. MORE
John Picard – Ramblin’ Road Brewery Farm
John Picard has a degree in Economics from Western University. He has been a product developer, a marketer and, most recently, a brewer. At heart, though, John is a proud farmer with roots deep in the soil of Norfolk County. After leaving university in 1983, John says the country and farming “called me back”. His grandparents were tobacco farmers, and his parents grew corn and soybeans on their farm near Windham Centre. John worked in tobacco from the age of 13 until he was 21, so he knew intimately the back-breaking toil that farming entails. MORE
Rick Posavad – The Good Bread Co.
When Rick Posavad moved from Burlington in the Greater Toronto Area to Wilsonville in Norfolk County four years ago he did not foresee things developing as they have. A former music teacher and an ordained minister, he was looking for a “retirement farm” where there was enough land for him to grow a “kitchen garden”. It was very early in the spring when he looked at the property. He says he didn’t care for the house, and the five acres were covered in snow, but a “strong impression” had somehow brought him there and compelled him to purchase it. Rick is from farming stock. His grandfather emigrated from Yugoslavia in 1926, and purchased five acres near where Burlington Mall now stands. His father was also another in a long line of farmers. Rick has always had a strong interest in horticulture and botany, and says he believes he was “born to be outside” and to have dirt under his fingernails. MORE
Travis Price – Price′s Produce
Most days you’ll find young Travis Price tending his roadside market at the entrance to the family property. His friendly, upbeat personality can make your day! He’s happy to tell you his is the first farm market you’ll encounter on Highway 3 traveling between Niagara and Norfolk. Travis has diplomas in International Business, Niagara College, and Small Business Management from Mohawk College in Hamilton, and he has taken a welding course and has his Chemical License that certifies him to handle sprays. But his heart is on the family farm, where he believes he has found his life’s calling growing and selling what he can produce from the soil. MORE
Juli & Bob Proracki – Round Plains Plantation
In recent years Norfolk County has been racking up an impressive number of stories of farmers who have successfully transitioned from growing tobacco into other crops. Bob and Juli Proracki of Round Plains Plantation have one of the best such stories. They grow sweet potatoes – once something of a rarity here. These days, people are aware of the powerful nutrition packed into these delicious, versatile tubers, and Norfolk is Canada’s largest producer. The Prorackis grow theirs without the aid of any chemicals, and supply them directly to their customers – both raw, and processed into mouth-watering prepared foods. MORE
Andrew Stonkus – Stonkus Apiaries
Five years ago Andrew Stonkus established a beekeeping business on his family’s farm near Delhi, Ontario. Andrew and his three siblings grew up on the 200 acres originally farmed by his grandparents, Ben and Antonina Stonkus, who emigrated from Lithuania in the aftermath of World War II. They grew tobacco there for about twenty years. When Andrew’s parents, Ray and Kathy, purchased the property approximately twenty-five years ago they went on growing tobacco. In 2009, after almost fifty years as a working tobacco farm, it ceased operation. For five years Andrew has been producing his delicious, nourishing Country Road Raw Liquid Honey. He sells his product mainly from the charming ‘Honey Hut’ at the entrance to the family farm, but it’s also available at Foodland in Port Rowan, and the Nor-Lang Market in Langton. MORE
Jason & Shirley Su – Su′s Farming
Shirley and Jason Su bought their 49 acres in Norfolk County in 1990. Shirley had no experience of farming. A graduate of the Foreign Language Institute in her native China, she worked as an English teacher and translator before coming to Canada. Jason had some experience as a small-scale grower in China before he came to join a brother who was living here. Shirley, who arrived from the Chinese Mainland on a work visa in 1989, was granted permission to remain after the tragedy of Tiananmen Square. Given the opportunity to stay, her feeling was, “Why go back ” She was living in Toronto at the time, where she and Jason met. When the Sus were looking for a small acreage to buy, they saw an ad in a Chinese language newspaper that led them to their present property. The real estate agent who was showing it to them happened to mention there was good fishing and hunting nearby. At that point Jason, who is an avid fisherman and hunter, became very interested. MORE
Blair & Livia Townsend – Ontario Popping Corn Company
Descended from early United Empire Loyalists settlers in the area, Blair Townsend is a third generation Norfolk County tobacco farmer. In 1985 during a market downturn, his father and three associates, all tobacco growers, were looking for a way to combine forces and diversify. After considerable market research, they decided to plant popping corn. The variety settled upon was white hull-less, a “finicky” crop because of its weak stock and specific drying requirements. It also rots quickly in the presence of too much moisture. However they were convinced the sandy Norfolk soil, with its excellent drainage, would provide close to ideal conditions for success, and they were right. When Blair and Livia bought the company and took over in 1988, they were still growing tobacco on their farm, with popping corn providing only secondary income. Slowly but surely, with effort and increased marketing savvy, popping corn overtook the tobacco until, in 2007, they made the decision to make it their main business (although they do now grow soybeans in rotation). Because of growing demand, ten to 15 percent of their popping corn crop is now organic. From the initial single type, the selection has grown to eight different varieties of popping corn, and Blair and Livia ship it all over. MORE
Peter, Chris, Charlie and Wayne Welsh – Welsh Brothers
Norfolk County is the leading grower of sweet corn, and Welsh Brothers produce and sell a large amount of it, as well as asparagus. Their brand is known for quality throughout the Province of Ontario and well beyond. The Welsh family has been living and farming in this area since a forebear in the paternal line settled in the Oakland area in 1855. It was Wayne and Peter’s grandfather on their mother’s side, though, who began growing sweet corn in Norfolk County on a commercial basis and sweet corn has been the mainstay of the family business ever since. Their father’s father purchased the site of what is currently Welsh Brothers main farm. When their father grew up he bought his own property nearby. MORE
David and Jenn Van De Velde
Wholesome Pickins farm market is a relative newcomer to the on-farm retail scene in Norfolk County. Situated on a 112-acre property on the outskirts of Delhi, it is the latest incarnation of a tobacco farm first owned by David Van de Velde’s great-grandfather. David’s father has lived all his life in the same house on the farm and, aside from his years away at university, the farm is the only home David has known. He and his young family now live in the other house on the property. MORE