About Us
Who we are
We are Patrick and Anna. Together, with our 2 children, Joel and Clara, we moved from Ottawa in 2019 to a 60-acre property in Alexandria, Ontario. Driven by a desire to be a part of the local food movement, we came here dreaming of starting a small-scale, family-run, organic vegetable farm.
In 2020, we put our dream in motion and we started Dream Small Farm. We ran a 40-member CSA program and raised pastured heritage turkeys for Thanksgiving.
Since this time, we have continued to focus on providing our community with a source of fresh, organic produce and ethically raised meat and eggs.
In addition to our mission of providing our community with a source of fresh, sustainably grown food, our goal is to ensure that everyone in our community has access to it. With this in mind, we created Grow it Forward, a Farm to Foodbank initiative that aims to raise money to provide our local Foodbank with fresh vegetables from our farm. For more information or to donate to this program, visit our Grow it Forward page.
Piggies!
Peter Pickles and Leonard Cohen-Pickles came to us as wee little piglets in the fall of 2023. These two sweet souls are Kune Kune pigs, which is a docile, small breed of pig. Peter and Lenny are trained to sit for their treats (Peter more than Lenny) and they adore belly rubs. We plan for them to live a long and natural life on our farm. Customers are welcome to say hello to Peter & Lenny when they visit during our farmstand hours!
Chickens!
We have 60 laying hens on our farm (and a rooster called The Sheriff). They have free access to pasture every day, where they spend their time foraging and competing with the pigs for all of the tasty veggies that come their way. Our hens (and rooster!) are fed exclusively certified organic feed; their eggs can be purchased at our farmstand - self-serve 24/7 during the season, and by appointment during the winter months.
And a Mastiff!
And, of course, what farm is complete without a farm dog?
Meet Minnie, our beloved farm mascot, guardian and spirit booster extraordinaire!
Our Team
It takes a village to grow a field of vegetables and we couldn't do it without our amazing team! We have a combination of full time and part time staff and are grateful for each and every one of them.
Our Farming Practices
We value the health and wellbeing of our crops and of our animals. We value our own health and that of those we feed. We value the health of our community and that of our land. We believe that by following organic practices to produce local food, we can support all of these values. In 2022, we obtained Local Organic Certification through Pro-Cert and, in 2023, we successfully transitioned to COR (Canadian Organic Regime) certification.
In addition to organic practices, we are also passionate about regenerative agriculture. We believe in minimal tillage, cover-cropping, crop rotation and creating as diverse an ecosystem on our farm as possible in order to work with nature, rather than against her. Our goal is to incorporate these practices into our own farming practice and to leave our land better than it was when we found it.
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