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Norfolk County Ontario’s Garden
Norfolk County Tourism

The Judds

QUICK PROFILE

WHO: The Judd Family

WHERE: Simcoe

WHAT: Berries, Vegetables,  & Jersey Cows

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 the 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.

Fred Judd, a graduate of the agricultural program at Ridgetown College, oversees all the field work on the farm.  In addition to his involvement in their strawberry operation, he grows winter wheat, sells the grain and uses the straw as bedding for the cattle.  He also grows corn and soybeans, and all the hay necessary to feed their cattle.  Ron, Fred’s 83-year-old father, still insists on cutting the hay himself, perched aboard his 1945 WD tractor.

The Judd farm has become well known locally for delicious, juicy, pick-your-own and farm stand strawberries. Raspberries and a variety of vegetables have been grown at Meadow Lynn since the 1940’s, but since 1984 strawberries have taken on increased importance. Today thousands of strawberry plants cover five and a half acres.  The twelve different varieties planted this year, two of them new ones, represent next year’s harvest.  One of those new ones is a later season variety which, Sharon hopes, will extend their season.

Although the whole family is involved, the strawberry operation is mainly Sharon’s bailiwick. Along with her many other duties on the farm, Sharon researches strawberry varieties, places the orders, sets runners, weeds, cultivates and waters, hires, trains and supervises staff, and handles the marketing.  Fred looks after soil preparation, planting, irrigation, and uses his special training and expertise to manage the pest-control program.   From soil preparation in mid-April until the plants are put to bed in mid-November, there is almost always some aspect of strawberry cultivation demanding Sharon and/or Fred’s attention.  While some of it can be fit in around the many other responsibilities of the farm, Sharon says, “During May and June, I live and breathe strawberries”.

Every summer right up to the present the Judds’ two daughters, Sarah, 21, and Susan, 19, have been involved in all aspects of strawberry growing and sales.   Sarah and Susan are both students in the ‘Management and Organizational Studies’ program at the University of Western Ontario.  Their proud mother notes that over the years she has seen the nature of their involvement change from ‘hands-on’ in the field and market to more of the management, customer-service aspects, putting into practice the skills they are learning at school.  This year the Judds offered customers the convenience of paying by debit card for the first time.  Sarah took this on as her particular project, training staff and doing an analysis of the benefits versus the cost of providing this service.  The girls are so used to planning their summers around strawberries Susan jokes that, wherever she ends up working, she’ll have to take her two weeks holidays during the harvest so that she can come back to the farm and pitch in.

During the strawberry-growing season, twelve workers are employed in the fields and market, seven university students and five off-shore workers.  There are two other employees during the height of the busy season, one who helps in the barn, the other functioning as assistant to Sharon in the administration of this family business. It is Sharon’s job to hire, train and supervise these employees, in addition to doing all the necessary paperwork, payroll, etc.  Before strawberry sales begin employees are taken to the field to taste the labelled varieties and learn about them so that they, in turn, can pass on the information to customers and answer any questions they might have.

Special events are held on the farm during harvest.  At least once in the season (other times by special request), the public can “Walk the Crop” seeing and tasting the different varieties, and, afterwards, be treated to Sharon’s special strawberry soup.  There is also an annual Open House, offering face-painting for the kids, wagon rides to the dairy barn, recipes, and a barbeque put on by the 4-H Calf Club members and their parents.   Strawberry juice and jelly, both homemade by Sharon, are available for sale.  Sharon says this event gives people the chance to see a working farm and learn that Meadow Lynn “is more than just strawberries”.  Sharon sells her frozen juice and jars of jelly at the farm year-round.  The delicious strawberry gelato from the vendor at the Simcoe Farmers Market is flavoured with juice from Meadow Lynn.

During the winter, when there might be time for some well-deserved rest, Sharon is instead occupied with tasting and learning about new varieties of strawberries.  In addition to touring various growers, she attends an annual growers’ convention, and last year presented an address to teach others about running the kinds of events that have been so successful for Meadow Lynn Farm.

The first year the Judds were married they harvested their first significant strawberry crop, and both the marriage and the business have thrived.  While Sharon counts the fact of their “survival for twenty-seven years” as success, she is justly proud of their having grown “from nothing”, to the high-value, bustling enterprise they have today.  Sharon earned her degree in Recreation and it’s evident that her marketing expertise, organizational abilities and people skills have been instrumental in growing the business.  Although most people would find the unceasing activity exhausting, Sharon says enthusiastically, “Harvest is the most fun time!”, while acknowledging that most of the work before and afterwards is pretty “quiet and mundane”.

Success doesn’t come without challenges and the Judds have their share.  In common with other farmers, they struggle with Mother Nature and the up-and-down nature of markets.   Staffing issues also present challenges.  While it is relatively easy to recruit people to staff the market and help customers in the pick-your-own area, finding people willing to do the back-breaking field work is more difficult.

Like all farmers, Sharon and Fred get up every morning with the fresh energy needed to tackle another non-stop day.  Sometimes the biggest challenge is just figuring out which of several chores should be given priority – in Sharon’s words, “What needs looking after first?”  For Sharon, once the strawberries have been harvested, it’s time to turn her attention to her own large vegetable garden, from which she cans and freezes all the vegetables the family will need for the rest of the year.  When she’s not doing that, she’s taking care of all the administrative details of a modern working farm, or helping in the fields, unloading wagons, assisting in the milk house – she’s even the relief milker when Thomas is away.    How she finds the time is a mystery to anyone looking on, but she’s involved in her community in many ways, as well; among other things she’s a past-president of the Norfolk County Fair and Horse Show.  None of this seems to daunt her, though.  She grew up on a farm herself, and has a vast appreciation for the inter-generational interaction and co-operation that keeps most farms going.  Each generation teaches the next what they have learned, passes on their skills and shares the labour.  In turn the younger members teach their elders more modern methods, share new ideas and contribute their labour to the enterprise.

When asked what motivated him to continue in the family’s farming tradition Thomas Judd, not surprisingly, cites “the quality of family life” and says, “It’s the only place I can imagine raising a family”.  He appreciates that farming is perfect for someone like him who is self-reliant and likes being around animals.

Sharon Judd is optimistic about the future of agriculture in Norfolk County, seeing “lots of potential to grow”.  She is encouraged by Norfolk County’s pride in their farmers and their efforts to promote agriculture.  She approves of the marketing initiatives that help to sustain farmers and introduce them to their urban neighbours.  Optimum success, however, will depend on changing people’s attitudes to the food they eat.  Were consumers to understand the power of their food choices, she believes, and that “cheaper is not always better”, it would result in real change.  She says, “People ask themselves, ‘What difference can I make?’” without understanding that they can, in fact, be a huge influence on the future of our farmers and our food supply.  She’s encouraged by the numbers who are now shopping at the growing number of farmers’ markets, but thinks they could go even further.  “Ask the vendors who grew this”, for example, as sometimes their stock comes from the food terminal in Toronto, or perhaps even farther away.  Her son Thomas is a trifle more pessimistic about change.  He wonders if consumers will really change their habits in sufficient numbers unless it’s forced upon them by necessity, or without demand being stimulated by government policy.  He knows that change can come through consumer education, but the question remains, will it be soon enough to help our farmers

Overall, however, the Judd family seem happy to be farmers.  They could be using their considerable intelligence, eloquence and passion in any number of different fields of endeavour, but when you meet and talk with them, it’s impossible to imagine them doing anything else or living in any other way.


 

More Information: Meadow Lynn Farms