It begins with a young couple, who unexpectedly fell in love with farming.

We are Liz + Matt: the hands and hearts, who started Joyfully Organic Farm over 10 years ago. We began with an earnest passion for nature, hard work, building community, and making change.  And there it was… Farming. It had everything we were looking for; it was a real and concrete way to work at creating change. 

We dove deeply into vegetable agriculture. Over the next few years we fervently studied respected farms, worked under mentors, and researched the best and most successful methods for small scale organic vegetable production.

Through those years we began to plan our own operation. What we would grow? How we would grow it? Who would be our customer? We planned it all out, except for one very important thing:  we were landless. As first generation farmers, we had met our match; access to farm land. We needed to find land that was affordable.  The market was sky rocketing each day, and the land needed to be suitable for good organic farming. Good farmland is a precious and finite resource, which Southern Ontario is quickly running out of.

It was a steep obstacle to overcome, but we were hooked and would not back down. Our sights were set high and we were willing to climb some high mountains to see our intentions through.

We put up flyers, we put up ads, we spread the word far and wide. The land hunt that ensued was the most challenging part of our farming  journey. We considered countless properties and land-access arrangements.

We followed farmland leads anywhere we could. We met all kinds of people - doing all kinds of things - with all kinds of ideas. There are stories we can’t even begin to tell.  At the end of most leads we found dead ends. Somehow we kept our heads up during the slue of disappointments.  

We had to believe that we would find something. And we are happy to say, we eventually did. In our long pursuit, we slowly met and built relationships with the two uniquely aligned community members who we rent land from today! After many thoughtful conversations over kitchen tables, we were entrusted to steward their land. And we’ve been doing so - with great care and pride - ever since.

After developing these land-access relationships, we’ve been able to grow - in every sense of the word. We’ve put into practice the best and most successful methods for small scale organic vegetable production. We’re growing food with big nutrition, big colour, and big flavour! We’ve also grown our reach in our communities.

Over the years, we’ve been blessed to have built a large and loyal base of customers who are excited about eating well and eating locally! And, our farm team has grown to include other like-minded young farmers, who also want to effect change.

We continue to be in love with farming. We love who it calls us to be each day.  We the farmers may be called to be an ecologist, a mechanic, an artist, a manager, an activist, an inventor, a public speaker, an entrepreneur, or a teacher. Each day the farm challenges us to become the best version of ourselves.

We are excited to continue the growth of Joyfully Organic Farm. There hasn’t been a dull moment yet ;)

Stay up to date on our story of farming, by joining our beloved newsletter: