Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario - EFAO

WED, JUN 24 @ 12-1 PM

The Seed Growers Meetup is an informal lunchtime gathering for farmers, seed growers, plant breeders, and anyone curious about saving seed. It’s a space to connect with others working with seed, share what’s happening on your farm or in your garden, and talk through the questions and ideas that come up throughout the season.

Register at efao.ca/event/july-seed-growers-meet-up-2026/

SUN JUN 21 @ 3:30 - 7 PM | Mount Forest

Join us for a tour of Aldergrove Farm to see how they grow organic vegetables and cut flowers for market on less than twelve acres. Participants will get a first-hand look at their production systems and hear about their story, including some of the decisions and lessons learned over the past ten years.

Following the tour, participants are invited to stay for an informal potluck dinner to connect with other new and experienced farmers.

Register here: efao.ca/event/tour-potluck-aldergrove-farm/

June Member Spotlight: Nikki & Stuart Oke of Rooted Oak Farm 👩🏼‍🌾👨🏻‍🌾

"In some ways, this community has really been at the centre of our success. We have spent a lot of time volunteering through different farm organizations and different causes. We have been able to successfully parlay some of those networks and relationships into being able to access information, sometimes be able to access resources, or just being able to use word-of-mouth networks of people in order to find solutions for ourselves as the business has grown."

For years, Nikki and Stuart have been active contributors to ecological farming education, advocacy, and community-building across Eastern Ontario. In the Summer issue of Ecological Farming in Ontario, they share the story of building Rooted Oak Farm, growing a thriving CSA, and the relationships that have helped them along the way.

Here's a sneak peek at their Member Profile, which just arrived to mailboxes in the Summer issue of Ecological Farming in Ontario. View previous issues at efao.ca/magazine.

Want every issue delivered right to your mailbox and access before the general public? Become an EFAO member at efao.ca/join.

📸 Photo recap from last weekend!

We spent the day at Ignatius Farm touring three unique small-plot enterprises: Origin Native Plants, Piccolo Farm Organics, and Marnie Lee McCourty's willow-growing project for basket and casket weaving.

We wrapped up the day with a hands-on workshop focused on orchard soil health and practical strategies for building resilient soils, led by Matt Soltys of The Urban Orchardist and Meaghan Mechler, PhD, in partnership with Ignatius Farm.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for a day of learning, discussion, and farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing. 🌱

THU JUN 18 @ 1 - 3 PM | Kincardine

Join us for an afternoon at Franklin Farm as Tom shares the lessons from his early years of farming.

Located just five minutes from Lake Huron, the 100-acre Franklin Farm consists of 50 arable acres, 25 acres of pasture, and a 25-acre riparian zone surrounding a creek and small waterways. Tom and Christine focus on managing the property’s diverse ecology with the help of a small cow calf herd and a 12-paddocks rotational grazing system. The arable acres are dedicated to growing organic grains and cover crops that continue to build the soil health across soil types that vary from heavy clay to sand.

We’ll walk the fields to see the newly planted no-till organic soybeans, check in on the winter wheat, and observe the cow-calf herd during their early pasture rotation.

This is a great opportunity to share insights into balancing a steep learning curve and a tight budget with a steadfast commitment to ecological health on the farm.

Register at efao.ca/event/franklin-farms-2026/

Norm Lamothe of Woodleigh Farms dba Cavan Fresh is one of several farmers out collecting soil and biomass samples from their spring cover crops as a part of the Plant Available Nitrogen Network. Their goal: a tool to help farmers better calibrate how much additional nitrogen is needed for a cash crop based on cover crop nitrogen availability.

Their work with EFAO is a part of Living Lab – Ontario, a five-year innovation project that brings together farmers, organizations, researchers, and other experts to co-develop, test, and evaluate beneficial management practices (BMPs) that address climate change challenges in livestock and cropping systems.

WED JUN 17 @ 6:30 - 8 PM | Elora, ON
Pride Picnic at Spiral Farm

Gather at Spiral Farm for an evening Pride picnic! Get a tour of this human-scale market garden, take in the beautiful scenery while enjoying some food, and connect with your fellow QT-pies. This will be a laid back evening get together to build community and take it easy together.

There will be food and drinks on offer, but please bring something to share if you can! Tables and chairs will be provided along with a shade tent for heat or rainy weather.

Register at efao.ca/events or through the link in the bio.

Last week was Ontario Local Food Week and we're still celebrating the farmers growing food across Ontario and their local communities.

Want to see your farm on the map? EFAO members are eligible to be listed in the directory. Learn more about membership at efao.ca/membership

Looking to support local farmers and enjoy fresh, seasonal food? Through the EFAO's member directory you can discover member farms across Ontario. Many of our members sell directly to their communities through CSAs, farmers' markets, and on-farm stores. Visit efao.ca/directory to find farms near you and learn more about what they grow and sell.

Tell us: Where do you connect with local food? Share your favourite farm, market, CSA, or local food initiative in the comments!

COG is calling on the Government of Canada to reverse the termination of the Organic and Regenerative Research Program at the Swift Current Research and Development Centre and protect the continuity of Canada’s only dedicated long-term federal organic agriculture research program.

We have confirmed that ongoing and planned research projects remain affected by the termination of the program, including projects expected to continue or begin during the current growing season but not permitted to proceed. These include work related to soil quality and health, regenerative crop production systems, crop yield and quality, and evaluation of farmer-bred wheat lines.

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food issued unanimous all-party recommendations calling on the government to reconsider the cancellation of the Swift Current program, table an action plan for affected research, and pause and reverse agricultural research closures announced in January.

There is still time to prevent irreversible damage — but only if the government acts now.

Read our full statement at the link below:
https://cog.ca/blog/aafc-continues-with-plan-to-terminate-canadas-only-federal-organic-research-program-despite-all-party-warning/

Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan
Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network
Canadian Federation of Agriculture
Choose Canada Organic
Common Frontiers
Agrobio Québec
Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario - EFAO
Farmers For Climate Solutions - Fermiers pour la transition climatique
Food Secure Canada / Réseau pour une alimentation durable
Friends of the Earth Canada
Growers of Organic Food Yukon
Manitoba Organics
National Farmers Union / L'Union nationale des fermiers
Ontario Organic
Organic BC
Prairie Food System Vision
Prairie Oat Growers Association
Régénération Canada
SaskOrganics
Sask Wheat
SeedChange / Sème l’avenir
Young Agrarians

Confronting a dreaded farm task, the team at Fertile Ground Farm conducted a variety trial that measured the picking speed and ease of different varieties.

Read the report here to learn what varieties they picked: efao.ca/wp-content/uploads/EFAO2023_BushBeanTrial_March92026.pdf
And visit the Research Library for more reports: efao.ca/research-library/