Everyone knows we love our rooftop farm—but we’re far from a one-farm restaurant. We’re passionate about great farming and great ingredients, so we’re always on the lookout for the best producers in our region. Farmers like Nancy Self of Tamarack Farms, Jeffrey Linton of Linton Pasture Pork, Kara Enright, of Enright Cattle Co., and Guillermo Anderson of Flora Grey. These are farmers who care about their land and their livestock, who work toward sustainability, and who help make our food taste great.
Now that the Ontario farming season has wound down, we wanted to gather these farmers together for a virtual roundtable to learn more about what they do, how this past season was different than any other, and their outlook for the future. Read on for a peek beneath the soil of Ontario’s best farms.
What makes your farm special?
Nancy Self, Tamarack Farms: Tamarack Farms is dedicated to the long-term stewardship of our 390-acre working farm in Northumberland County. We are rehabilitating land that had been fallow for more than 50 years. We make award-winning, certified organic maple syrup. We grow a wide variety of unique heirloom vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. We raise Certified Animal Welfare Approved and non-GMO sheep and heritage breed pigs.
Jeffrey Linton, Linton Pasture Pork: At Linton Pasture Pork, we take pride in the fact that every animal is born and raised on the farm. They flourish on grains grown on the farm, and graze grasses, legumes, and a plethora of biodiversity. Real pastured pork.
Kara Enright, Enright Cattle Co.: We are a family owned and operated farm firmly committed to sustainability. We take great pride in ensuring nothing goes to waste. While beef is our main business, we make tallow products from our fat and have our hides tanned here in Ontario and hand crafted into gorgeous leather products.
Guillermo Anderson, Flora Grey: A merriment of herbs, cut flowers, and ornamentals organically grown for the improvement of soils, livelihood, and community. Flora Grey seeks to connect the everyday with the delicious natural beauty that surrounds us.
How do you work toward sustainability and ecological farming?
JL: Variety. Nature is variety. Our pigs’ diet reflects the variety of grains and the diverse species growing on the farm. Every year it gets more diverse, with the plans of never stopping.
NS: Complimentary plantings in the garden, zero chemical sprays on the farm, rehabilitating the soil with manure, protection of wetlands, keeping bees—all of these are integral to our dedication to stewarding the land and leaving it healthier than when we found it.
KE: We rotate our crops and grow a variety of crops including a significant percentage of grass and perennials. These perennials act as carbon sinks—their roots store large amounts of carbon and in the process improve the soil. The soil grows lush feed, the cattle eat the feed, their manure fertilizes the soil, and the cycle continues.
What challenges have you faced this year, with the pandemic shutting down many restaurants and markets?
NS: We work almost exclusively with chefs because we think they are the “thought leaders” in food. The pandemic has resulted in a heightened awareness of how food is grown and raised, and where it comes from. While inside dining has been restricted in Toronto, we have the support of chefs in the surrounding areas such as Prince Edward County and Niagara on the Lake.
Last year, we started a program for our chefs and their cooks: an internship on the farm in the market garden, with experience with livestock as well. This could not happen this year, and as a result, we have been shorthanded in the garden.
KE: We basically lost the majority of our customer base when COVID hit, as many restaurants shut down. We had systems in place to create efficiencies for wholesale sales and a small percentage of retail sales.
GA: Certainly, decreased demand from chefs and restaurateurs who I believe I would have been able to sell more of our produce to. We faced many challenges that also had nothing to do with the pandemic, so there’s that also.
How have you adapted this year?
GA: We ended up relying primarily on wholesaling cut flowers and ornamentals, which helped lots! We were also able to start moving some of our produce through local retailers and restaurants up in Grey-Simcoe area later in the season once things got going again then, as well as offering edible bundles and boxes directly to some awesome folks.
KE: We had a lot of families reaching out to us panicked about food and wanting a safe method to get it. We were able to pivot and provide contactless home deliveries of our beef as well as other local farmers’ products. A lot of extra labour is required to package our beef into smaller portions and to sort and package each home order. This extra need for labour came at a time when it was extremely hard to find help, and we knew very little about the virus and how it spread, so we were all paranoid to be around each other!
JL: We’ve always believed in not putting all our eggs in one basket so to speak. So, if the restaurants weren’t taking product, everyday people still need to eat and shop at their local butcher.
What do you foresee for the next year? Do you have any new plans?
NS: We will continue to listen carefully to our chefs to ensure we grow and raise food that they want to use. Consumers will continue to focus on a trusted source for their food.
JL: We grew many acres of “zero input” grains through the pigs grazing and the biodiversity in our pastures in the last year. It all goes back into the soil and adds nutrients to the next, growing edible grain for the consumer. We will be adding more varieties of grain this spring.
KE: We are working to add more products made from our fat and leather. On the edible side, we would like to add a few new fresh beef products and continue to collaborate with more local producers to add even more variety to our farmer’s box that is currently available online.
What is the best part about working with Avling and other similarly minded restaurants?
NS: We always want to work with smart people who will challenge us. Avling, with their dedication to their food and beverage menu, rooftop farm, and their commitment to quality makes us better farmers.
KE: We love how Avling values working directly with local producers to offer their customers the best food possible. Avling has a nose-to-tail philosophy which works directly into what we are producing—an entire animal, versus cases of a specific cut.
GA: The fact that we are similar-minded! That we believe that food is best enjoyed when it’s grown on healthy soils that happen to be close by.
JL: They get us. We jive. We are all on the same path.