Ontario OYF to be Recognized at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show
Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show and Ontario’s Outstanding Young Farmers have partnered to recognize dynamic, innovative farmers at the show this year. Finalists make presentations to a panel of judges at the Farm Show. The provincial winner represents the province at the national recognition event.
The day will begin with the finalists giving a presentation to a panel of judges, and then a lunch reception will be held for alumni of the program, finalists and Ontario OYF sponsors in the Special Events Tent. At 1 pm, farm show attendees are encouraged to visit the Special Events Tent to listen to the finalists public presentations. The Ontario OYF award will be presented at 3 pm in this tent.
“By hosting the event at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show, we hope that more people in the industry will be able to watch presentations, engage with finalists and learn about this amazing program.” – Dana Thatcher
Hear more about each of these farmers on September 10th at 1 pm in the Special Events Tent at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show.
Kendra and Steve Bloomfield – Bloomers Family Farm
Bloomers Family Farm is a partnership between Kendra and Steve Bloomfield and is located northwest of London in Ilderton, Ontario. Having grown up on his family’s farm, Steve had a dream of owning his own farm, and in 2002, that dream became a reality. Steve began with a modest cow/calf herd and he sold freezer beef to local customers. When Kendra joined the farm in 2007, the business continued to grow and prosper. Bloomers Family Farm was outgrowing its space and the decision was made to build a new multi-purpose building that included an on-site store. In the past 13 years, Steve and Kendra have grown the cow/calf herd, opened a store, and started a poultry flock for egg and meat production. They also grow corn, soybeans, wheat and hay for cash crops. Custom services include hay cutting, round and square baling, and wrapping. Commercial property maintenance, and snowplowing are offered as well. Kendra, Steve and their four children are pleased to offer home-grown, healthy, local products to their growing customer base and are happy to be a truly farmily-run farm. Steve and Kendra are quite active volunteering within the Ilderton Agricultural Society, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, 4-H, various sporting groups and their local church and school.
Jan & Jony Roos – Roos Dairy Goats
Jan and Jony Roos both grew up on farms in the Netherlands. They loved farming, it taught them how to be responsible and caring, even from early ages. When their parents emigrated to Canada, Jan and Jony knew they wanted to farm and Canada offered them more opportunities than their home country. Jan started custom field working at an early age of 13 and when he and Jony met they wanted to diversify and they looked at various options. They purchased a herd of dairy goats as that industry offered so much potential for them – there are no quota requirements, and they are a small animal to work with.
The Roos built a barn in 2007 to accommodate 500 milking goats, and they quickly out grew the space and the farm grew by leaps and bounds over the next few years. By the summer of 2018, Jon and Jony were milking 2500 dairy goats and is now one of the largest dairy goat operations in Ontario. They currently have 12 employees on their farm today. Their goats are milked in a new state of the art, 100- stall rotary parlour, which is much more efficient than their previous system. All of the crops grown on the farm are used for goat feed. As the farm is so large, billy goats are used to breed the does. With the potential for thousands of kids per year to be born on the farm, the Roos devised their own app so they can manage the kid herd more effectively. This allows the employees to access information through tablets and everyone stays up to date.
Jan and Jony have been active in many organizations. They both focused their time on forming the Ontario Goat organization. Jan has volunteered with GPAC GayLea Foods and the GayLea Foods Management Club. Jony has donated her time at the Bethel United Reformed Church and has helped out with the Vacation Bible School. They are blessed with 4 children, Julian (8), Joanna (6) Janine (4) Jessica (2.5).
Ben Tomory – Pefferlaw Creek Farms
Pefferlaw Creek Farms is a family run Ontario farm business with a rich tradition of maple syrup production that runs long through the Tomory family. Brothers Ben and John work on the farm full time with the hopes of their other brother Tony, joining them in future years. The brothers have been making maple syrup since they were young boys at their family woodlot in Stouffville and they are hoping to grow the business into the largest maple syrup producer in the province.
All of the maple syrup is produced at the family farm located near Uxbridge, Ontario. The family farm is 200 acres with a significant portion of farm land and about 40 acres of sugar bush. They work with a number of other local landowners and three other forests within a 30 km radius of the farm, which make up the sap collection network. For a total of about 160 acres of sugar bush, the sap from these forests is all brought back to the home base where it is processed into maple syrup. Reverse osmosis technology helps ensure a high quality product is achieved. The Tomory’s are very active on social media which has helped tremendously in marketing their syrup. The syrup is now certified organic and the brothers have also partnered with a distributer in Western Canada to move more product to new markets. In addition to maple syrup production, the brothers also distribute maple syrup equipment. This has led to consulting and installation services for other maple syrup producers within Ontario.
Ben has been a board member with the Ontario Maple Syrup Producers Association. He has also volunteered as a Scout Leader with Scouts Canada and as a Youth Group Leader with his local Catholic Church.