Free-range Love at Linc Farm

T]here they were, grazing in the meadow. Enjoying the evening breeze and the gentle sunlight, wrapping up this hot summer’s day. As we rolled by, a few popped their heads over the fence and stared at us with googly eyes and humane-like smiles.  The excitement spread quickly amongst the field, and soon enough, our car was followed by their jolly echoes of “baaahs”.   

A happy bunch of lambs and rams, roaming freely and cheerfully greeting guests. The kind of welcoming crowd you wouldn’t expect when entering a meat farm.

But this farm, is one-of-a-kind.  

Nestled behind Southbrook Winery, Linc Farm has become the talk of the town. This Pig and Lamb operation has quickly built its fame in just over one year, for producing high-caliber meat and setting the highest standards of sustainable and holistic farming.  

Last weekend, Juliet – co-warden of Linc Farm with her husband Martin – invited us to tour the property and offered us a glimpse into this bucolic heaven. 

After our grand entrance into the farm property, we made our way to the barn where we spotted Juliet sharing some adorable PDA with two gigantic black horses.

“You’ve made it!” Juliet jubilantly shouted once she saw us, as if she had been expecting us like old friends.

Golden hair, bright smile, witty eyes mounted under pea green glasses, a Roots t-shirt and cut-off jean shorts. This 27-year old woman is every bit the modern Canadian farm-girl every little girl would dream to become.

We shared just a few words with her and already I could feel the passion in her eyes and humility in her heart. And it looked like she was as impatient as we were to start exploring the farm.  

Juliet first introduced us to her hugging buddies: Jasper and Toper, two horses from New Liskeard, Northern Ontario. These two majestic mounts were emanating power, wisdom and serenity, all at once. They actually made for the perfect guardians of this enchanted kingdom. Sadly, they will soon go back to their native town, and Juliet will definitely miss “these big bums”, as she describes them.  

We then made our way through the field, off to the ewes (mothers) and lambs’ paddock.

Linc farm is today home to about 200 sheep, and counting. The first flock of sheep made its appearance in the field in 2008, when Southbrook adopted livestock to graze the vineyard, nibble on the low-hanging grape leaves and fertilize the vines. Over the years, this biodynamic practice has become essential in the production of Southbrook wines, but also time and money consuming for the winery staff.  Last year, after coming back from Austria where they completed their Masters’ Degrees with specialization in animal welfare, Juliet and Martin got offered the opportunity to take over the farming operation full-time.

They gladly accepted the challenge.  

Sustainability and animal welfare are unquestionably the backbone of Martin and Juliet’s operation.

From spring til fall, the sheep are moved twice a week around the vineyard and to different hay fields, giving them constant access to nutritious pasture. In the winter, they are fed hay from the farm’s certified organic fields. 

Particular attention is also given to fostering the bond between the sheep and their offspring.  The ewes at Linc farm are notably selected for their strong mothering and nurturing abilities.

Juliet proudly informed us that, while the national average of lamb births per ewe is 1.5, Linc farm holds a 2.1 average. One will make its own conclusions, but I myself like to think it is undeniably the outcome of the ewe’s well-being and contentment.

Speaking of which – as we entered the paddock, one thing was quickly made clear: these sheep sure know what it’s like to be smothered in love and cuddles. And they’re not shy to ask for it. If you come, prepare to get your pants nibbled on, your shoelaces pulled and your backside playfully headbutted a few times. They beg for rubs… big time!

As we returned the favor and started to pet the sheep, we found our hands totally enticed by the touch of their wool. Turns out, these ewes are also masters at producing superb high quality wool – that could reach a commercial selling point of about 25$/pound. I admired the swanky texture and colour and could not help but think that these sheep were real beauties from the inside out.

Juliet has so many sheep stories and anecdotes up her sleeves. She is a real entertainer and could go on and on about Stinkerbell, the sneaky lamb who pooped all over her bathroom, or Kaiser Franz Joseph, the vigorous ram. But I don’t want to share too many stories with you here, as I really think you should to go hear them for yourselves.

Quiz, a pristine Great Pyrenees sheep guardian dog, and her girlfriend Lady were there too. Calm and composed, the two friendly beasts came to catch a few rubs, but quickly ran back to their responsibilities. Since on duty, the two have been doing a tremendous job at keeping their heard safe and stress-free, said Juliet.  “A good sheep guardian dog is not based on how many coyotes they have killed, but how many they have not killed”.

We eventually managed to pull ourselves out from this woolly ecstasy, and then reached the cusp of a 15 acre forest – the home of the pigs.

Boris (the Duroc boar) and his ladies (“the Maria’s”) are impressive in size, but turn into big chumps as they run to Juliet and beg for hugs.  What a delight to see this happy family of muddy pigs. They sure look happy, pampered, and well-fed.

As Juliet explains, the pigs get to munch on non-GMO grains, peas, nuts, pumpkin and sometimes even quench their thirst on delicious fresh whey (kindly given away by Upper Canada Cheese). Last but not least, they get to feast on all the grape skins after the end of the harvest at the winery (pig or not, that sounds delicious).

The pigs also roam freely across their woody forest and several acres of pasture. Juliet recalls a day when she and Martin spent an hour searching for the pigs, reaching a stretch of land that hadn’t even been explored by the animals yet. I guess it doesn’t get more free-range than that.

Even in the cold days, the pigs are just as happy living freely in their patch of forest. “They nest into their huts, burry themselves in hay, grow a nice coat of winter fur and snuggle up like sardines” explains Juliet. Seems like a pretty cozy way to spend winter, if you ask me. 

Animal life is pretty sweet at Linc Farm. Juliet showers “her babies” with love and care, and clearly, they send that love right back at her. It leaves no doubt that the wardens of this farm are passionate about their work, but first and foremost, about their animals. 

Juliet and Martin wish to develop the educational aspect of the farm. “It’s important to show people where their foods come from” says Juliet. They have opened the farm to walking tours, and I urge you to go visit them.  Meat lover, vegan, local or urbanite, we could all learn from them. They are of this breed of hard working people who are actually doing things the way they say they’re doing it… Which tends to be pretty rare, especially in the food industry. Plus, they love to show off their animals (who could blame them for that?).   

Meat is definitely not my most beloved food, but if I knew that all animals were treated the way they are at Linc Farm, that would probably be a game changer. Happy animals make for delicious meat – I have never been so certain of this.

This visit to Linc Farm gave a new dimension to my grasp of farming and animal conditions. I am glad I got see that humane practices can not only exist in animal farming, but most importantly thrive and succeed. Linc Farm leads by example, and I hope it gets to inspire others within and beyond the Niagara Region. 

As I said, little Linc Farm built its fame in just over one year. And they deserve every bit of the praise.

I genuinely wish them all the best; and I am already eager to pay another visit to Jasper the horse, Quiz the dog, Stinkerbell the lamb and Boris the boar.  

Vist Linc Farm or Southbrook Winery to learn more, and book your walking tour. 

And if you want to enjoy the exquisite meat they produce, they sell whole and half lambs, and their pigs by the whole, half or quarter. Visit their online shop or, even better, go see them at the St Catharines Farmers Market (Marquet Square on Thursdays) and at The Market @ The Village (Niagara-on-the-Lake on Saturdays). They sell delicious sausages too (check out this recipe we created with it, it was delish !).  

Linc farm offer a beautiful selection of natural sheepskins, yarn and rovings (from their grass-fed sheep), and wool blankets (made of the wool they shear and then custom woven by MacAuslands Woolen Mill).  These are available at the winery, online or at the Farmers Markets.