Our Story
Our farming adventure began in the Spring of 2015 when we bought a 15 acre farm in Innerkip, Ontario. We have since moved to a 75 acre farm just outside of Woodstock, Ontario.
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Carl's childhood passion of animal husbandry was given new purpose when our family made a conscious decision to change the way we related to our food. Growing up, Andrea developed an early love of gardening and cooking from her family. Now some of our childhood passions and interests have taken on new meaning in our family's quest to eat locally and sustainably. As our farming adventure continues, we are loving that each day brings new opportunities for learning. We invite you to join us as we continue to seek greener pastures!
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From our Family to Yours,
Carl & Andrea VanRooyen
Corryn, Maiya & Jaedyn.
Check out this fun slideshow of our family working with the animals on the farm. Special thanks to Carolyn Bentum Photography for taking the photos and to Tony Wiersma for putting the video together.
What's in a name
While searching for a name for our farm we stumbled upon the phrase “Greener Pastures”. This familiar phrase grabbed us immediately as our farming goals all centered on pasture based farming techniques (Pastured Pork, Pastured Poultry and 100% Grass Fed Beef).
Greener pastures also holds an environmental meaning for us. To us, being “green” farmers involves using ecoogical farming practices, allowing our animals to exhibit thier natural behaviors, and paying close attention to the natural limitations of the ecosystem we inhabit.
The Cambridge Dictionary defines 'Greener Pastures' as “a new place or activity that offers new opportunities”. This definition especially excited us as what we were pursuing was exactly that – a new property where we intend to explore the opportunities of ecological farming.
The longer we farm, the more our understanding of relationships within nature deepens, the challenges we face alter but still continue; and growth, both in the physical sense as well as our personal growth, expands. We are acutely aware that perceiving how nature balances requires intense focus and that constant adaptation, creativity and pausing to observe are all important aspects of ecological farming. As we continue on this farming adventure, we daily recognize that having "greener pastures" is our goal, not our claim.