Farm Tours and a Country Inn

From the country...

The gorgeous harvest table at Mad Maple Farm

Roast chicken sprinkled with salt

Fried green tomatoes and a root vegetable pickle

Arugula salad

Apple gallette with blue potato ice cream!

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to tag along with Fleming College students from the Sustainable Agriculture program on a tour. Our first stop was Fiddle Foot Farm in Mansfield Ontario. We were greeted by Graham Corbett & Amy Ouchterlony. Their operation mirrored our farm in many ways so it was nice to meet some fellow youngsters toughing out the farming thing too. We seemed to have a lot in common. Graham and Amy have only been on their land for 1 year which was very impressive considering that they are servicing farmers markets and a CSA (weekly produce box membership program) of 60 people.

Next on the roster was The New Farm in Creemore Ontario. There we met farmers Brent Preston and Gillian Flies. Their operation is a more established farm concentrating on salad greens, cucumbers and root vegetables. They concentrate heavily on marketing their produce. They have some great annual fund raisers and have partnerships with other businesses. I consider them to be a bit of a mentor farm and something that we strive for here on our farm.

Then we ate lunch at the newly opened Mad Maple Farm and Country Inn where the wafting aroma of roast chicken greeted us as we made our way up the driveway. The lovely Miriam Streiman treated us to a local feast with produce from both farms that we visited, the feast also showcased uniquely milled flour from K2 Milling, honey from Osprey Bluffs Honey Company, and a ginger/sea buckthorn beverage from Meredith's Ginger Syrup. The meal was delicious, served family style on a beautiful harvest table in a kitchen that would make any cook wring their hands in envy.

The weather couldn't have been any better. The scenery was really breath taking, with rolling hills that went on forever. A really lovely place to live in Ontario. The tours were a great way to see how other farms operate (and a great excuse to get away from my own farm) and to connect with other people who make sustainable, organic farming a way of life as well.