….the care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope.”
– Wendell Berry The Art of The Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays
These words guide us as we put our hands to the task of farming our family farm. In the last 20 years alone we have lost 25,000 Ontario farms. They have disappeared into urban housing or swallowed up by larger farms. Large farms have become nearly 6 times more numerous as current legislation favours and support them. Yet we have witnessed the loss of half of our small farms with acreages of 130 -240 acres. A United Nations paper stated that hope for the world lies in re-establishing small family farms as agribusiness has failed miserably in its claims to feed the world. We share this view.
At a time when so many families have to leave their farms it gives me great joy and hope that our farm remains in our hands. It gives me great hope and joy that our customers support us in every possible way and that interest grows daily. In 2006 when the decision was made to take the farm from its beginnings as a hobby farm, and small producer to a full working farm we could not imagine that in less than 5 years we would have grown to a CSA membership of over 70 families. Nor did we imagine that we would be at three weekly Markets. How quickly 1/2 acre of organic vegetables has now become 5 acres of organic vegetables!
As you can read in the Roots page of this website we have strong and abiding roots that will sustain and nourish our farm. But it is Adrian’s hard, every day in the fields work of seeding, weeding and watering that grows our business. With Niall taking on livestock management for the farm the next 5 years will be astounding.
So take hope in Wendell Berry’s words. Take hope that you, through us as our customers, are able to cherish and care for our earth; nourishing it with organic and ecological practices.
Welcome to our website – welcome to Willo’Wind!
Elizabeth
What a great photo! So happy to see this website up and running. The words made me tear up. Everything you say is so true and I am so grateful for all the work that makes Willo’Wind the gift to the world that it is.