News from the Goodness Me! Organic Farm

Did you know Goodness Me! has our own organic produce farm? Located in Campbellville, Ontario, our farm is run by two brothers, David and Meiring Beyers, who are incredibly passionate about organic farming. Through their hard work and passion, Goodness Me! is able to obtain local, certified organic produce that’s grown for and sold exclusively at our stores.  

What made us decide to get an organic farm? We care about product standards, and about providing the best product for our customers. We want to be a store and a business our customers are proud of. When it comes to produce, this means three things: we want it to be certified organic; we want it to be local whenever possible; and we want it to be reasonably priced. Growing our own produce on our own organic farm was one way to go above and beyond with these goals.  

David and Meiring do all of the work on the farm themselves with one assistant. They plant local organic seeds, till the land, study weather and soil patterns, protect the plants, harvest the vegetables, and do the whole cycle over again. Here is an update from our friends from early May:  

"Warm dry Spring weather means a lot of things are happening at once on the farm, David has his hands full between field work and constant greenhouse attention. Earlier we showed you the Kale seedling development in the greenhouse [...] those seedlings were transplanted very recently and are making their field debut along with similarly more frost hardy kin of Cabbage & Swiss Chard. Garlic from last years fall planting doing well too. We'll aim to keep you informed of their progress so that you can track them from seed to your plates. Also look out for news on the development of the rest of the Spring seedlings such as cucumber, salads and many more. Enjoy, David and Meiring"

 I had the chance to catch up with our friends on the farm and ask them a couple questions Here are a few of the questions that answer anyone who asks: why should I choose organic?  

Q: What made you decide to grow organically? 
David: My background was in conventional farming, so I know both sides very well. I started to be astounded by the amount of chemicals going out conventionally, and it really bothered me. I also had lots of headaches and couldn’t sleep. Eventually I thought, this is not the way. I don’t like inhaling this stuff, let alone working with it, eating it, and selling it to others. My conscience couldn’t take it anymore.  I started thinking if it could be done organically, why not? It’s easier, it’s way more healthy, and you feel better. So I started getting more into organics. It just makes sense. It’s so easy. And it’s in the heart.

Meiring: The original vision for us was very simple: the challenge to try and make sure that at the end, when we step away from this, the land is in a better state. With conventional farming, you get to a point where you’re extracting so much and you’re putting so much artificial stuff in the soil that eventually, the organic matter is gone. Then you’re in a nutrient deficit cycle so you can’t grow anything anymore if you don’t put anything synthetic into the soil. That is a global issue.  

Q: What’s the most rewarding part about farming organically? 
David: It’s tough to know where to start, because everything is rewarding.  It boils down to an insane amount of work, which is something we’re all very proud of. I think it’s something to give back to the community, and I think that’s really important to us. It’s for the people, for the earth, and about being good to the environment.