At Homestead Organics, we are family. Tom Manley, Isabelle Masson, and their son Yannick make it their personal business to do organic agriculture properly. We are convinced that the production of organic food is the sustainable and profitable way to meet the needs of the population in concert with the needs of our planet.

Everything started on the home farm in Berwick, Stormont County, eastern Ontario. The farm is in the family since another Thomas Manley, Irish immigrant, acquired the crown allotment in the mid 1800's. He cut down the trees for the first time on his 100 acres. 

Generations of Manley's successfully raised their families and developed the farm. Murray and Carrie had turned it into a leading edge and growing dairy operation. But something was wrong with this picture.  Things changed in the 1990s.
Yields stagnated. The clay was turning into gravel under the sun. Input costs were rising along with stress levels.

 

 Murray searched for alternatives, eventually reaching out to advocates of organic agriculture. He attended conferences in Canada the USA, read many books, and visited with other farmers. He tried to cut the chemicals in 1984, but he had to fight the weeds. He finally went organic "cold turkey" on 400 acres in 1985 and certified in 1988. He also sold the cows and dedicated the land to organic cash crops in the process.

Over the next decade, the lessons in organic farming were hard and costly. The example of Murray and Carrie was powerful as they helped other farmers make the conversion. Their oldest son Tom and his wife Isabelle watched from a distance, comfortable in their jobs in Montreal. The inspiration eventually paid off. Tom and Isabelle left Montreal in 1997. The family business was re-organized with Murray and Carrie keeping the land and Tom and Isabelle taking over the processing.

 

Homestead Organics was moved to the old abandoned feed mill in Berwick in 1997. The mill was re-tooled and it received 500 tonnes in its first year. The business every year, with new grain bins, more equipment, extra staff, and expanding markets. Now, 13 years later, the mill has about $1 million in infrastructure and it receives 6000 tonnes per year.