At Whispering Pines Farm and Garden, John, Liz, Jesse and Jessica work toward maintaining chemical free land that is farmed in the ‘old ways’ of natural holistic management, which ensures continued land regeneration as well as improved animal health and welfare.
All of our animals are born on the farm with the exception of poultry. They are raised chemical free, GMO Free, organically and naturally. The cattle and sheep are grass fed with a small amount of sunflower meal, oats and peas to increase their protein during the winter months. We also supplement free choice, with natural GMO free vitamins/minerals, Redmond’s Salt, Prebiotics, diatomaceous earth and seaweed from Bio Ag Consultants. The animals are treated with homeopathy and herbs when necessary.
The hay we feed is grown on our own fields which are sprayed with compost teas, black earth and seaweed for fertilization and to build carbon in the soil. If we need to out source for hay we look for optimum quality. All of our meats are processed Gluten and Nitrate Free, with the exception of Octoberfest sausage which is clear-ly marked on the ingredients label.
Raising food for the table is a labor of love from our family to yours .
John, Liz and family
Our Cows
John is proud of his heritage and especially of the fact that the bloodlines of the family’s original herd are still preserved over 100 years later, as a closed herd of cattle that he and Liz raise on their farm today. John’s family lived in what is now Simcoe County near Elmvale from late in the 1800s. They were beef and pig farmers. The beef cows were milked to supply cream to the local dair-ies, as each community had their own dairy in those days.
They were also a member of the local “beef Ring” which sup-plied year round fresh meat for the families involved.
One family would bring in a steer/cow to be killed and the meat would be split evenly among the families who belonged to the Beef Ring. Then when it was time to have more meat, another family would bring an animal in and so on. Because there was no “refrigeration” at the time, it was easier for eve-ryone to keep a smaller amount of meat stored to be eaten before it had time to spoil. We offer a Meat CSA (Community Share Agriculture) program providing quality farm raised meat to your family on a
monthly basis, including beef, chicken and pork.
Our Pigs
This is how we raise our pigs, in a natural stress free, free range environment. They have lots of space outside to root and carry on as pigs love to do, weather permitting. Abby, our donkey enjoys watching over the various animals. Mama and Papa pig enjoy each others company as they wallow beside the water tough.
Our Sheep
Katahdin, Romanov, Ile-de- France
A lot of extra care goes into looking after many breeds of sheep.
They require shearing and hoof trims. Sometime during lambing season in the winter, the baby lambs need to come into the house for warmth and/or extra feeding. In 2017,we purchased a flock of purebred Katahdin sheep. They are gentle hair sheep with great mothering skills, resistant to parasites and don’t need shearing.