The “Long Road” to farming

Aug 20, 2014

New partners in farming, Jonathan Davies and Xiaoeng Shen, opened their Long Road Ecological Farm just last year and the business is quickly catching on. The farm is located south of Harrowsmith at Murvale. This is the first season that the two have been offering up their organically-grown market veggies for sale at the Frontenac Farmers Market's two new locations.

Recently at the Friday market, which takes place every week from 3 to 7pm south of Harrowsmith, the two had for sale not only the usual market veggies - cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, beans, greens and other fresh organically grown produce, but also their pastured, organically fed meat and eggs plus a number of other unique specialty items that include Chinese dim sum-style dumplings, steam buns, sweet egg tarts and more, all home made from their own organic produce.

Both men, who did not farm prior to opening the business, have farmers in their families. Jonathon, who hails from Alberta, had relatives who farmed. He studied arts, taught English overseas and worked for a number of not-for-profit organizations in Toronto prior to opening the business.

Xiaoeng, who grew up in China in a small rural village near Wuhan, said he watched his mother farm there from a young age. He left China and studied geomantics and engineering at the University of Calgary, which was where the two met. Johnathon said that it was while they were in Toronto in 2013 that he and Xiaoeng took a four-weekend workshop last year with FarmStart, an organization that runs out of Guelph, Ont., which offers workshops all over Ontario to those interested in learning more about farming. The two were looking for a business venture where they could both enjoy more physical outdoor work. “After that workshop we took out a space at the McVean Incubator Farm, a community farm located in Toronto where we had a chance to grow our own produce and learn from a number of farmer mentors there,” Jonathan said.

It was after that that the two decided to get into farming full time and purchased the property where their business is now located. “We knew that we were both really keen and being young and strong, we knew we were able and willing to put in the hard work involved.”

Long Road Eco farm is located on a 36 acre property and they are currently farming one acre as a market garden. Signs on Road 38 now mark the farm and when not selling at the Friday and Saturday markets they sell directly from their farm gate from 9am-7pm. Currently they are also experimenting with growing shitake mushrooms, which they hope to be offering up to customers as well. So far the business is steadily increasing, with many customers now returning either to the farm gate or the farmers' markets. While farming is the businesses primary focus, Xiaoeng is also offering dim sum cooking classes at the farm. For more information visit www.longroadecofarm.ca.