WELCOME TO
THE NEW AGE OF FARMING
BY COURTNEY DEN ARD
For centuries, farmers have learned to adapt to their changing environments by taking on new practices and new technologies. In fact, it’s not a stretch to say that modern agriculture would not be where it is today if someone hadn’t have said, “let’s just give it a try and see what happens.” Two Ontario farmers, whom you’ll read about below, are shining examples of this mindset in motion. Hollis English of Murphy’s Farm Market & Bakery and Dave Kranenburg of Kendal Hills Game Farm are redefining what it means to be successful in 2022 and they’re doing so by venturing into a new age of farming that merges lessons from the past with visions of the future. These are their individual stories. We hope you enjoy.
Hollis English Murphy’s Farm Market & Bakery Hollis English grew up as the oldest of five children on her family’s farm in Alliston. The operation, which was started by her parents Mark and Shawn Murphy in the early 1980s, shifted throughout the years from potato production to a full-fledge farm market and back to potatoes by the time English was studying landscape architecture at the University of Guelph. Upon graduation, English moved to England for a year to work as a nanny and it was there she realized she had a strong desire to re-open her family’s farm market and bring it into the next generation alongside her siblings. “I didn’t ever feel an obligation to continue farming, but my parents were thrilled when we wanted to take it on,” English said. In 2010, Murphy’s Farm Market and Bakery was opened and with that came some big changes for the business. Putting in a scratch bakery was something that had never been done before, but it’s a move that has been well received by consumers. Expanding deeper into agri-tourism was another step the
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