| Aug 29, 2018


Becky Williams and Mark McCrady enjoy their summers. Becky no longer goes out to work in the corporate world and Mark is a grade 8 teacher at Loughborough Public School, so they both get to spend time at home with nothing much to do except tend to their animals, grow some flowers, and make some improvements to the 90 acre farm property that they purchased 8 years ago.

The thing is, however, the approach they have taken to farming is labour intensive, and requires constant innovation and adjustment, so there isn’t a lot, or any, time to lounge around.

They raise purebred Berkshire pigs for meat, which is not that uncommon among the artisanal farm community, but the breed of cattle they raise, Dexter, is.

And the choice of Dexter is tied in with the intensive pasturing program they have developed on their property, where fully 83 of the 90 acres are being used for agriculture. They tap some of the Maple trees on the other 7 acres to make syrup for their own use, so there is very little wasted space on the entire property.

Dexter cattle are a heritage breed originating in Ireland, and the first you notice about them is their size.

“They are 2/3 the size of most other breeds, and they are ideal to raise as grass fed animals,” said Mark McCrady as we walked through the herd when I visited the farm last week at the end of another busy day for the farming family.

The animals are looking very slick, with rich reddish-brown, black or dunn coloured coats, lots of muscle, and they are indeed smaller than more common breeds. The average Dexter cow is 40 plus inches tall and weighs approx. 750 pounds. Even when compared to some of the smaller beef cattle breeds such as Hereford they are light. Herefords cows can weigh 1,000 pounds, and larger breeds such as Angus are heavier yet. Some breeds such as Charolais jump up from there, to 1,500 pounds or more.

“My son is into a breeding program, and you can see his cattle over there,” Mark said, pointing to some larger, mixed cattle in another small, fenced in pasture, “but for the beef that we market, Dexter is ideal.”

Many breeds of cattle do not produce optimal meat when raised entirely on grass, according to McCrady, and their diet is often supplemented with grain and corn before they go to market. But one of the features of the Dexter cattle is they need less grass and hay to begin with, and their meat is rich, flavourful and naturally marbled without needing grain or corn at all.

(I tried a sample of the Maple Ridge Dexter beef, and  Berkshire bacon, purely for journalistic purposes of course, and the flavor and texture is unsurpassed, approaching the richness of moose meat).

Becky and Mark practice rotational grazing which means they move their herd frequently through small sections of pasture, sometimes daily, to do this they make liberal use of a movable electric fencing system they have put in place.

“That way the animals are always eating the freshest grass. They will always eat the best grass first, but by keeping them in smaller sections they tend to eat everything at that point we move them on to a new section. By moving them to a new section, the grass the cattle just grazed can recover and regrow more quickly and will be grazed again later in the season,” said Mark and Becky while explaining the pasturing system they use on their farm. This is combined with altering both the cattle, pigs, laying hens and the meat chickens they raise on different fields. They also use green manure crops to rejuvenate the fields. over the 8 years that they have been on the Maple Ridge property, these techniques have resulting in soil improvements in what was certainly not prime agricultural land. They even maximize the fertilizing value of the manure; pig, cattle, and chicken, as part of the integrated operation.

They are so committed to the quality of their land for pasture, that they purchase much of their hay to keep more land for pasturing.

A lot of what happens on the farm, springs from the relationship the McCrady family, which includes sons Ben and Mitchell, his with the property itself.

Mark recalls that when they were starting out as a family in the early 1990’s they looked at the property, which is one of three farms in a row that have similar 1820’s vintage limestone houses on them. Mark said they were originally built by the McRory family, one of whom was the first Reeve of Loughborough Township.

“At the time the house needed a lot of work, and we were not ready to take all that on as well as our careers and family, so we bought a smaller property on Stagecoach Road, where Becky could have horses. But we never forgot about it.

And 15 or so years later, horses brought them back to the Alton Road farmhouse.

“The owner called me to come up and look at one of his horses, and afterwards we sat at the kitchen table, and he said he couldn’t keep this property anymore. We made a deal at the table, with the only catch being the sale of our Stagecoach Road property. But that happened really easily as well, and here we are.”

The property has required a lot of work over 8 years to get to the state it is in now, and the work continues, but the main commitment to treating animals well and practicing regenerative farm practices has been a driving force for the family farm.
Maple Ridge sells most of their meat, their main product, to a core group of consumers who order through their website (www.mapleridge-farm.ca). They deliver to homes in Kingston and people pick up at the farm as well. Often, new customers come out to see the farm and learn a bit about how the meat is produced.

For the last three years Maple Ridge has also been growing and selling flowers and foliage to florists and market bouquets to grocery stores in the area, putting their farming energy and principles into another enterprise, one that springs from Becky’s background. They use the greenhouse at her mother’s farm near Glenburnie for seeding some of the flowers that they plant out in the early summer.

“There is a big movement towards local flowers along with local food,” said Becky.

Maple Ridge supplies flowers for weddings and other events in season, adding another layer to their business.

It all adds up to a lot of activity and effort on the farm, including keeping honey bees, raising chickens for meat and eggs, and more.

Becky puts out a weekly blog for the Maple Ridge email list, and the farm has developed a loyal following while keeping out of the public eye for the most part.

But that will change a bit when they take part in Open Farms Infrontenac on September 9th  from 10-4pm. For information about the tour, go to infrontenac.ca/openfarms or you can check out their website at www.mapleridge-farm.ca. They are also on Instagram at Mapleridge.farm

Becky Williams and Mark McCrady enjoy their summers. Becky no longer goes out to work in the corporate world and Mark is a grade 8 teacher at Loughborough Public School, so they both get to spend time at home with nothing much to do except tend to their animals, grow some flowers, and make some improvements to the 90 acre farm property that they purchased 8 years ago.

The thing is, however, the approach they have taken to farming is labour intensive, and requires constant innovation and adjustment, so there isn’t a lot, or any, time to lounge around.

They raise purebred Berkshire pigs for meat, which is not that uncommon among the artisanal farm community, but the breed of cattle they raise, Dexter, is.

And the choice of Dexter is tied in with the intensive pasturing program they have developed on their property, where fully 83 of the 90 acres are being used for agriculture. They tap some of the Maple trees on the other 7 acres to make syrup for their own use, so there is very little wasted space on the entire property.

Dexter cattle are a heritage breed originating in Ireland, and the first you notice about them is their size.

“They are 2/3 the size of most other breeds, and they are ideal to raise as grass fed animals,” said Mark McCrady as we walked through the herd when I visited the farm last week at the end of another busy day for the farming family.

The animals are looking very slick, with rich reddish-brown, black or dunn coloured coats, lots of muscle, and they are indeed smaller than more common breeds. The average Dexter cow is 40 plus inches tall and weighs approx. 750 pounds. Even when compared to some of the smaller beef cattle breeds such as Hereford they are light. Herefords cows can weigh 1,000 pounds, and larger breeds such as Angus are heavier yet. Some breeds such as Charolais jump up from there, to 1,500 pounds or more.

“My son is into a breeding program, and you can see his cattle over there,” Mark said, pointing to some larger, mixed cattle in another small, fenced in pasture, “but for the beef that we market, Dexter is ideal.”

Many breeds of cattle do not produce optimal meat when raised entirely on grass, according to McCrady, and their diet is often supplemented with grain and corn before they go to market. But one of the features of the Dexter cattle is they need less grass and hay to begin with, and their meat is rich, flavourful and naturally marbled without needing grain or corn at all.

(I tried a sample of the Maple Ridge Dexter beef, and  Berkshire bacon, purely for journalistic purposes of course, and the flavor and texture is unsurpassed, approaching the richness of moose meat).

Becky and Mark practice rotational grazing which means they move their herd frequently through small sections of pasture, sometimes daily, to do this they make liberal use of a movable electric fencing system they have put in place.

“That way the animals are always eating the freshest grass. They will always eat the best grass first, but by keeping them in smaller sections they tend to eat everything at that point we move them on to a new section. By moving them to a new section, the grass the cattle just grazed can recover and regrow more quickly and will be grazed again later in the season,” said Mark and Becky while explaining the pasturing system they use on their farm. This is combined with altering both the cattle, pigs, laying hens and the meat chickens they raise on different fields. They also use green manure crops to rejuvenate the fields. over the 8 years that they have been on the Maple Ridge property, these techniques have resulting in soil improvements in what was certainly not prime agricultural land. They even maximize the fertilizing value of the manure; pig, cattle, and chicken, as part of the integrated operation.

They are so committed to the quality of their land for pasture, that they purchase much of their hay to keep more land for pasturing.

A lot of what happens on the farm, springs from the relationship the McCrady family, which includes sons Ben and Mitchell, his with the property itself.

Mark recalls that when they were starting out as a family in the early 1990’s they looked at the property, which is one of three farms in a row that have similar 1820’s vintage limestone houses on them. Mark said they were originally built by the McRory family, one of whom was the first Reeve of Loughborough Township.

“At the time the house needed a lot of work, and we were not ready to take all that on as well as our careers and family, so we bought a smaller property on Stagecoach Road, where Becky could have horses. But we never forgot about it.

And 15 or so years later, horses brought them back to the Alton Road farmhouse.

“The owner called me to come up and look at one of his horses, and afterwards we sat at the kitchen table, and he said he couldn’t keep this property anymore. We made a deal at the table, with the only catch being the sale of our Stagecoach Road property. But that happened really easily as well, and here we are.”

The property has required a lot of work over 8 years to get to the state it is in now, and the work continues, but the main commitment to treating animals well and practicing regenerative farm practices has been a driving force for the family farm.

Maple Ridge sells most of their meat, their main product, to a core group of consumers who order through their website (www.mapleridge-farm.ca). They deliver to homes in Kingston and people pick up at the farm as well. Often, new customers come out to see the farm and learn a bit about how the meat is produced.

For the last three years Maple Ridge has also been growing and selling flowers and foliage to florists and market bouquets to grocery stores in the area, putting their farming energy and principles into another enterprise, one that springs from Becky’s background. They use the greenhouse at her mother’s farm near Glenburnie for seeding some of the flowers that they plant out in the early summer.

“There is a big movement towards local flowers along with local food,” said Becky.

Maple Ridge supplies flowers for weddings and other events in season, adding another layer to their business.

It all adds up to a lot of activity and effort on the farm, including keeping honey bees, raising chickens for meat and eggs, and more.

Becky puts out a weekly blog for the Maple Ridge email list, and the farm has developed a loyal following while keeping out of the public eye for the most part.

But that will change a bit when they take part in Open Farms Infrontenac on September 9th  from 10-4pm. For information about the tour, go to infrontenac.ca/openfarms or you can check out their website at www.mapleridge-farm.ca. They are also on Instagram at Mapleridge.farm

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