Welcome to the New Age of Farming

WELCOME TO

THE NEW AGE OF FARMING

BY COURTNEY DENARD

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

“When mom and dad started it wasn’t normal to charge admission, there wasn’t a climate for social acceptance around that. It took a little bit at the beginning, but a lot of farm markets are doing this,” English said. Now, English and her brother Calder Murphy run the farm market and bakery with help from their brother Connor Murphy and an annual staff of 30-40 people. The business, which is extremely active on social media, offers pick-your-own, seasonal produce, fresh baked goods, holiday events, field trips and more. English said what sets her family business apart is the amount of attention they purposefully give to those who work for them. “It’s so essential to care for your staff in a way that you would want to be cared for,” she said.

You can find out more about Murphy’s Farm Market at www.murphysfarmmarket.com.

Dave Kranenburg Kendal Hills Game Farm

Dave Kranenburg grew up all over Canada! His father was in the military so every two to three years, Kranenburg’s family would move to a new location. Southern Ontario, specifically, felt most like home and when it was time to pick a post-secondary school, Kranenburg chose to study zoology and criminal justice at the University of Guelph. About six years ago, Kranenburg and his partner Emily Tufts relocated to Tufts’ parents’ farm in Clarington and through a succession plan, worked together to revive what was once a game bird farm. Kranenburg didn’t have a background in farming so he said, “it was a huge learning curve.” Over time, Kendal Hills Game Farm was accepted into an artisanal chicken program and the farm now raises laying hens, ducks, turkeys and quail. Pigs are raised in partnership with a neighbour and mushroom production is also underway to create a closed loop, pastoral system for it all.

“In the span of 48 hours, I lost 95% of my revenues so I needed to find an alternative,”

Kranenburg ran the farmers’ market hustle for the first few seasons and there was always a small e-commerce component to the farm but after the pandemic hit, the business model had to pivot quickly. “In the span of 48 hours, I lost 95% of my revenues so I needed to find an alternative,” Kranenburg said. Literally overnight, Kranenburg invited a group of farmers to join a virtual farmers’ market and it took off in a big way.

“It was absolutely insane the first few months. We would get 500-600 orders in the first 15 minutes. We crashed the site a couple of times,” Kranenburg said. The platform, now called Graze & Gather, creates an online connection between consumers and 100 small producers. All items ordered are delivered directly to buyers’ homes and farmers are paid upfront for their products. In January, the company launched its wholesale distribution division that will create even more connections between farmers, restaurants, chefs and consumers. You can find the online store at www.grazeandgatherfood.ca.