Hawthorne Farm

Cookstown, Ontario, Canada

10-25 acres

About

Message
  • Opportunity available:
  • Business partnership
  • Lease
  • On-farm employment
  • Available facilities and equipment:
  • Irrigation capacity
  • Agricultural machinery
  • Housing
  • Irrigation equipment
  • Preferred arrangement model:
  • Lease
  • Partnership
  • MOU
  • Available acreage:
  • 10-25 acres
  • Soil type on farm:
  • Clay loam
  • Current farming practices:
  • Ecological production, but not certified
  • Current land use:
  • Market garden
  • Fallow
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit/berries/grapes
  • Preferred farming experience for farmer:
  • Practical farming experience (including work as a farm intern or employee)
  • Desired farming practices by a new farmer:
  • Biodynamic
  • Ecological production but not certified
  • Agricultural products I am interested being cultivated on my property:
  • Flowers
  • Fruit/berries/grapes
  • Herbs
  • Livestock
  • Seeds, seedlings or nursery stock
  • Vegetables
  • Years experience of new farmer:
  • 6-10 years
  • 3-5 years
  • 1-2 years

Farm description

My name is Heather. My husband and I have just under 19 acres near Cookstown, ON and are looking for people who might be interested in farming our land together. Until we purchased the land 8 years ago our property had not been used for farming for a long period of time. Eventually we would like to have a farm market on site that sells a variety of different products.

Farm opportunity

The top 5 acres of our property is open field, the middle a combination of open areas, scrub bushes/trees, older pear/apple trees and the bottom section is often wet with open areas, some cedar trees and dogwood bushes. The majority of the soil on our property is clay loam. Over the past 8 years we have had a large personal vegetable garden. Our family grows garlic and we have been steadily increasing our numbers and sales. We also sell flowers on and off at a roadside stand on the corner of our property. In the spring we grow and sell plants - mostly vegetables and herbs with a few types of flowers thrown in. Eventually we would like to expand to try and sell cut herbs, spices/salsas/jams/apple cider, and potentially even eggs/honey. We have an older International tractor with plow/tiller, greenhouses - hoops only at this point the next step is plastic, irrigation hoses and sprinkler systems run from the house to the garden/greenhouse area. Although we do not have a barn, we have an old, very large 20’x150’ former chicken coop near the house that could potentially be repaired, repurposed and supplied with hydro and running water. We have started to establish berry bushes and new fruit trees on the property. There are options for housing and we would be happy to discuss those with you. Dogs are welcome, we have a lovable golden doodle here already, but any dogs need to be people (including kids) and animal friendly. We have a diverse skill set and are open to different ideas about our property. We believe in practicing sustainable farming and land management practices and do not use pesticides/herbicides. We are located in an ideal location next to a busy road, 15 minutes away from Barrie, 45 minutes to the GTA, close to a number of farm markets. Eventually we would like to open our own on site small farm market that will sell a variety of goods including baked items. Both my husband and I currently work full time off the property and the reality is there are just not enough hours in the day to do everything we want with our property. Growing up on a family beef/cash crop farm outside London, I was able to see the advantages of sharing ideas, work and resources on the farm with family and neighbours. I believe with the right partners, cooperative farming can be very successful for all parties involved. Although we are not interested in selling our land, we are interested in developing long lasting business partnerships with like minded individuals whose farming practices and products, e.g., livestock or produce, would compliment our farming practices and the items we are selling. If this sounds like an opportunity that would be of interest to you, please get in touch with us and we can go from there.