2011 NEWSLETTERS

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 ~ Here We Grow Again!!
  • Despite the cold and snow, big things are happening on the farm - this is the time of year when we hunker down and lay out plans for the direction that the farm is going to be taking for the future...and what plans we have made!!!
  • Not only are we looking into using high tunnels (which are a greenhouse alternative, and something that Steve went on a seminar to learn more about),  but we are also putting in a commercial kitchen for processing our products!  This means you can expect more of our delicious preserves, relishes, pickles and chutneys in 2011!!  Lastly, we are transitioning a portion of our land to Certified Organic!!  To become fully organic there is a long process (one that you can feel free to discuss with Steve ad nauseum), but this essentially means we are on our way to being Certified Organic - not a huge stretch as we already farm in this manner anyway!
  • The other plans that we made regard our CSA program - this is always being fine tuned with the helpful input of our members and suggestions from those who would like to become a part of the program.  Therefore, we have now enlarged our delivery area to encompass the downtown Toronto area west of the DVP, south of the 401 and east of the 427!!!!  This will be available for a mere $8 (+HST) weekly, which totals $184 (+HST) for the entire season of our wonderful produce!
  • All of our other current delivery areas are $5 (+HST) per week totally $115 (+HST) for the season - so no change from last years' pricing!
  • Here's what you all have been waiting for....our 2011 Summer CSA Program!!
  • The prices for the shares are:
  • Summer Vegetable CSA Share - 23 weeks in total.
  • $350 picked up - single share
  • $645 picked up - double share
  • Vegetable prices have not changed since last year.  Additional charges for delivery apply, as outlined above.
  • Greenhouse $65  (8 weeks) *consists of cucumbers and tomatoes
  • Eggs $125   (full cost for 23 weeks)
  • Meat $500 - 6 months in total (6 pick ups)
  • Poultry $290 - 6 months in total (6 pick ups)
  • *  We will start accepting sign-ups starting February 1st.  All egg, poultry and meat shares will be available to current customers between February 1st and March 1st.  After March 1st, we will open up any remaining egg, meat and poultry shares to new customers.
In other news....
  • We are working with our new cattle herd.
  • Planning for the 2011 season; ordering seeds and plants.
  • Few baby goats born
  • We have had 2 part time help for our first winter ever, making things more productive around the farm!!
  • More educating ourselves by attending the Guelph Organic Conference, and receiving farm business training in St. Louis!

MARCH/APRIL 2011 ~ It May Be Snowy, But We Are Busy!!!
  • Although it seems that winter is hanging on longer than we'd all like, we are taking advantage of the sunnier days to begin planting some of our crops, in the greenhouse!   Our tomatoes, onions, lettuce, peppers, eggplant, cauliflower, and broccoli are in plug trays being lovingly nurtured through these chilly days and nights!
  • As mentioned in last months' newsletter, we are commencing the plans to build a kitchen on the farm!  This will provide us with a commercial space to produce our delicious jams, jellies and preserves, as well as relishes, pie (fruit and meat varieties), and other baked goods.  This is really exciting as it has been a dream of ours to eventually be able to create a dedicated culinary space such as this one on the farm!!!!
  • Also after attending a weekend long seminar on the use of high tunnels, Steve has purchased enough to cover an entire acre.  These will be constructed and in use by mid-May.  Essentially the benefit of using these tunnels is that we can grow our more delicate crops without the use of any sprays!  This is a big step in our commitment to being fully organic.
  • Our workers will be arriving from Mexico in mid-April - we hope the weather improves by then otherwise they are going to be completely in climate shock!!
  • Lastly we want to remind you to sign up now for our amazing Summer CSA Programs!  Our vegetable, egg, meat, hot house and poultry shares are still available but filling up fast!!  Check out our newly enlarged delivery area - we are now not only delivering to our regular areas, but have included downtown Toronto!!  As well, we have included a separate delivery price for those who would like to have their meat and poultry shares delivered to their doors!!  Just a few adjustments made because of recommendations of our CSA customers.
  • Keep checking our website as we are hosting our annual open house on
  • May 29th, 2011
  • and have already started to plan our delivery dates for the CSA!

MAY 2011 ~ OPEN HOUSE!!!
  • Well spring has finally sprung on the farm ~ I think we were all wondering when it would finally arrive!  Its been cold..but now starting to warm up thankfully!   Seeing some growth and the planting is marching along nicely.  Not only are most of our crops sprouting happily, but also we have had lots of baby animals appear to join our farm family!  All the animals will be on the fresh grass this week..which they like very much!  Just like us, they enjoy the tender baby greens of the springtime!
  • Of course the biggest news for us is that we are hosting our Annual Open House on the farm May 29th, 2011 from 1pm - 4pm!!!  This is always such a fun time because not only can past members reconnect with the farm, but new members can become acquainted with us.  As usual we will have plenty of delicious food and beverages for the whole family, Steve will conduct field tours to discuss what's going to appear in the Summer 2011 CSA boxes, and Lisa and the Cooper's Farm staff will be on hand to discuss any aspect of the farm, with all our guests!  Make sure that you mark this in your calendars!!!
  • We are still signing up members so be sure to get yourselves signed up so you can take advantage of all this summer season has to offer!
  • One of our CSA members has published a new book and it features Cooper's Farm!  The book itself is found online so click here to read it!!!
  • Want to work on a farm? Check out this site for details on a job opening here on the farm. We are losing our farm hand Greg.  He and his family have purchased their own farm near Beaverton and they are going to give farming a go. We wish him all the best!
  • Our construction projects like the growing season have been slow to get going. The high tunnel greenhouses were supposed to arrive this week but are now coming in June. Our farm kitchen project has hit a snag as well but nothing we can't figure out. We have some new poultry houses to build plus some other small projects to keep us occupied along with growing a crop.   Just like any business, farming and farm management has its inherent ups and downs too!

JUNE / JULY 2011 ~ Things Are Getting Busy!
  • Finally we have received some warmer weather which means our tender crops such as strawberries have finally ripened and are ready for picking!!!!  The strawberry fields are open for u-pick and the berries are appearing in our CSA boxes this week!
  • The kitchen is underway and we have already installed a waste water holding tank and the container which will magically be transformed into our very own prep kitchen where we will create such items as Lisa's jams and jellies, hot pepper relish, poblano sauce, Zephyrana hot sauce, fruit and meat pies and many more treats!!!
  • The high tunnels whose locations have been marked out in the northwest fields, have been held up by Canada Customs but should soon be installed on the farm!  This will enable our raspberries and other crops to receive proper ventilation while being sheltered from excess moisture and pests.  These tunnels will hopefully enable us to go one step beyond Organic and become a no-spray farm for some of these crops that would otherwise need treating with organic-grade sprays.
  • Lastly we have chosen a design for our 2011 corn maze!!!!  This maze is in conjunction with the Heart and Stroke foundation and $1.00 from each maze admission will be going to this worthy foundation.  A perfect pairing in our eyes - the Heart and Stroke Foundation promotes healthy eating with a diet rich in fruits and vegetables...and frankly that's our specialty!
  • Hope everyone has had a chance to come out to the farm and see all the wonderful changes occurring!

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2011
  • The most exciting (and most anticipated news) for this month is that the "Uxbridge Maze" will be opening on August 27th (weekends only until September  24th)!!!!  The 10 acre maze will feature the "Heart & Stroke Foundation" this year, and $1.00 from each on-farm admission will go towards this worthwhile foundation.  As in past years, there are three main paths that you can take to explore the maze:  the shortest is ideal for our younger visitors and will take only approximately 20 - 30 mins to navigate, the medium difficulty route will take 40-50 mins, and the hardest route 50-60 minutes.  Don't worry about getting totally lost (although a little confusion is all part of the game!) as we have 'cornundrums' posted throughout the maze to help you along your way, as well as our 'Corn Cops' to help out when you are impossibly lost!  Bring the whole family and come to the farm to get lost!
  • The other exciting news is that our high tunnels are finally finished!!!  Although they were a lot of work to install, these tunnels will help us with our more tender crops and protect them against harsh weather conditions so we have better looking crops that will ripen quicker!
  • Things are progressing well with our farm kitchen and today as I write this, they are pouring concrete around the outside.  By the end of the month, we should have a place to start creating our delicious preserves and other delectable treats!
  • We have added some new and fun activities to the farm play yard!  Come check out our horse swings, combine slide, and play sand mountain!
  • Well the drought in July really caused some problems here on the farm - despite our irrigation, we have experienced our first long gap between corn picking.  Thankfully this is only temporary and we should commence picking once again next week!
  • We are excited to be hosting  Chef Deb Rankine, author of "The Fridge Whisperer" cookbook series will be doing a cooking demo right on the farm, so come and join us on Sunday September 4th.  Keep your eyes on our calendar and/or Lisa's weekly emails to gather more details about this wonderful event!

OCTOBER 2011 ~ Fall Fun!!!
  • Well things have been so busy here on the farm that we are nearing the end of October and I am only just getting the newsletter online!
  • The on-farm activities and corn maze are another huge success this year!  Thanksgiving weekend was so beautiful and we saw thousands of visitors!!!  Remember, we donate $1 of each on-farm admission to the maze, to the "Heart & Stroke Foundation" as this worthwhile cause is the theme of our 2011 corn maze.  So why not do something fun and great for your heart and navigate the maze?  Not only are we open late every Saturday night until 10pm so you can travel the maze with a flashlight for a greater challenge, but we are hosting our annual "Kids' Trick-or-Treat Maze" on October 29th and 30th!!!  Kids, come dressed in your costumes and receive candies as you go through the maze!
  • The high tunnels are an amazing success as we STILL have u-pick strawberries, raspberries and tomatoes under them!!
  • As well the big news on the farm is that our farm kitchen IS OPEN!!!  The smells coming out of there are making our stomachs growl - not only do we offer hamburgers (made from our pasture-raised, hormone & antibiotic free angus grade beef), but also fries, hotdogs, baked goods and vegetarian soups!!!  Come and try out our delicious foodstuffs, each contain Cooper's fresh produce & meats!!!
  • Our winter CSA program and brand new online order form is finally ready!  We will enter all of the people who are on the waiting list for our meat and vegetable shares, and then will open up the online form to those who want to receive the winter/spring CSA shares!!
  • Fall is here and we are getting the rest of the root crops out of the ground and into storage.  The next important (and time-consuming) job is to plant our garlic.  It is time consuming because we have to break apart all the bulbs to seed sections and get them ready for the ground....a big job but SO worth it.  If you have tasted our garlic, you will know exactly what I mean!!!
  • There are only 2 more weekends for the maze and 3 more pick-up/deliveries for our summer/fall 2011 CSA .  The hot house shares will start again for weeks 22 & 23!!!

NOV / DEC 2011 ~ Endings & Beginnings!!
  • Well November saw the end of another wonderful CSA season and we thank all of those who participated in our survey.  The results are what help us shape our programs in the future so your input is valuable to us!  We hope to see you back next summer!
  • November also sees the beginning of our Winter/Spring 2011/2012 CSA programs!  While we obviously aren't planting and harvesting items from our fields, the vegetable program consists of all those lovely root/storage vegetables, that are perfect at this time of year, with some fresh items such as sprouts!  Our meat share is also starting up with some wonderful additions from our very own farm kitchen!  So even though there will soon be snow on the ground (instead of this very heavy frost that we have been experiencing!), things are still 'growing on' at Cooper's!
  • "Hasta luego" Fillimon, Chencho, Jairo, and Florencio!!!  They headed home to Mexico on November 11th.  The tasks they perform on the farm are invaluable to our operation and we also enjoy their company...we look forward to seeing you all next year!!!
  • Steve and Justin will be working on cleaning out the barns and spreading the manure/compost, fixing fences at Steve's Dad's place for the cattle, combining the grain corn (including the maze), and lots of general clean-up all before the snow flies.
  • Steve & Lisa have a little away time planned too.  They are heading to Brandon, Manitoba for a few days of relaxation (they always pick exotic places! ha ha!)   Seriously though, they are heading out west to hand-off the award of "Canada's Outstanding Young Farmers for 2011" ~ it has been a fantastic year for Steve and Lisa and although they are unable to win this accolade again, they will remain outstanding farmers in all of our hearts!
  • Please note the new farm store opening hours (every other Saturday from 10am to 3pm).  The dates are listed and updated on our home page for your convenience.  We look forward to having you all visit us on the farm during these quieter winter months!
266 Ashworth Road  .  Zephyr, ON  .  L0E 1T0    905.830.4521    steve-lisacooper@coopersfarm.ca