You can find some at the following online shops:

• Jarvis Fresh Fruits and Trees
• Red River
• Donna’s Produce
• Fain’s
• Carson Ann’s Syrup

You can also grow your own ribbon cane by ordering plants from Chewing Cane.

If you make ribbon cane syrup for sale, please write us with your business information so we can list you here.

Buying locally-grown foods helps your local economy, and reduces greenhouse gases by keeping transportation to a minimum. And when you get to know your local family farmer, it gives you the trust that you’re getting the freshest, healthiest meats – direct from the source.

LOCAL MEATS HELP YOU TRUST YOUR FOOD SAFETY

When it comes to buying meat, stocking your fridge directly from the farm means you know exactly where your food comes from, and how it’s treated on the way from the fields to your plate.

Most large-scale factory-farming operations use synthetic growth hormones, antibiotics, and high-protein feeds – and raise their animals in confined pens – to get the fastest growth rates and the biggest profits. And supermarket products like ground beef can contain the meat of up to a thousand cattle.

With increasing concerns being raised over food safety, farm-direct food sourcing is becoming a growing trend. If you know your farmer, you can trust the way your food is raised and prepared.

At our own farm, our beef is processed at a local, family owned and government-inspected butcher shop. Our butcher is a long-time family friend who knows exactly how to give you the best cuts out of a side of beef. Immediately after cutting, the meat is fresh-frozen, which keeps it safe from bacteria. And the ground beef is made from prime offcuts of only one animal at a time.

LOCALLY-GROWN FOODS ARE GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Buying locally-grown food is a great way to help the environment. The less distance it has to cover to get to you, the less fuel gets burned, and the less carbon dioxide goes into our atmosphere.

If you get to know your farmer, you can also find out about their attitude towards the treatment of their fields. At our farm, the pastures are free from any herbicides, fungicides or insecticides, so there is no possibility of any residues of these substances appearing in your food. Just high-quality, great tasting beef, like our grandparents used to eat.

BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR FARMER!

Customer-oriented farmers are always delighted to get to know the people who are eating their produce, and are usually happy to show you around their farm. They genuinely want you to see how much care and love goes into raising your food.

When you have a good relationship with the people who grow your meat, you can trust the quality of what you’re eating, and know that everything that goes into it is healthy and natural. So no matter what happens, you have a safe, reliable source of food nearby.

Farmers are friendly people. Finding a local farm source for your meat is not only good for the environment and your family, it may even make you a new friend.

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Trish and Dean Scott produce naturally-raised, dry-aged beef from their family farm in Ontario, Canada. If you are within the province of Ontario, you may want to order some of their gourmet beef online at www.whisperingmeadows.ca.