For both my family and Beretta Farms, National Farmer’s Day (October 12th), has always provided reason to celebrate and reflect on sustainable Canadian agriculture. For me, this means recognizing and supporting all of the dedicated ranchers who work with us and do the most to provide ethically-raised and nutritious proteins for families across Canada.
Since we started Beretta Farms 26 years ago, we have been devoted to providing Canadians with organic and all-natural products. Sustainable farming means growing crops and raising livestock without the use of antibiotics or added hormones or steroids. This is a method that I strongly believe in and continue to practise daily, at Beretta Farms.
In 1992, my husband, Mike, and I bought a farm in King City, as newlyweds. We were dedicated to learning everything about the farming industry and raising our livestock ethically and organically without the use of antibiotics, added hormones or steroids. In 1995 we lost our barn and our livestock in a fire, but we were fortunate enough to start over with the help of a neighbouring Mennonite community.
We were forced to start over, but we were not discouraged. We decided to move closer to an urban area, which was a strategic business move. Over the next several years, we were making regular deliveries to large retailers and independent grocers within that urban area. Eventually, our organic, hormone and antibiotic free proteins were in such high demand that we had to adjust our business model to keep up! However, we decided to branch out and include several other ranchers across Western Canada with the same values as us.
Now, with over 40 trusted Canadian ranchers families to add to our own, we are incredibly grateful to have been successful in our mission to provide Canadian families with wholesome protein alternatives. I believe in sharing what matters and for Mike and I, that means making sure our proteins stay organic from our farm to your table.
It’s a great feeling to know that I can create my family’s favourite dishes using wholesome, healthy ingredients. I’m grateful to be able to share some of my most sought-after recipes to help make everyone’s meals a little more special.
Thank you to Harrowsmith for providing a wonderful platform to talk about sustainable farming and sharing some of my favourite recipes.
Happy Farmer’s Day!
At Beretta Farms, we pride ourselves on raising our animals much like we raise our own family – with care, compassion and commitment. We have expanded our network to include other family farms across the country who we know and trust. These farms were hand selected for our animals to be raised on, as we know they adhere to the same rules and beliefs that we do, along with passing several strict annual audits.
