The Farm:
Windy Hill Organic Farm is owned by Alyson Chisholm. With the help of my dynamic farm team I produce organic fruits and vegetables, raise chickens and keep a small herd of dairy goats on my farm in McKees Mills, New Brunswick. Windy Hill has been in business since 2009, growing a variety of produce and marketing directly to the local community.
Windy Hill Organic Farm is 45 acres of partly cleared, partly wooded land bordered by the Little Bouctouche River on one side and highway 115 on the other. The land is high and dry and the soil is a light sandy loam. I cultivate about 4 acres of land, half in cover crops and half in vegetables and have another 6 acres in pasture and hay. I have a small herd of mixed breed goats for my own supply of milk, yogurt and cheese, sell a small amount of goat meat and also raise a few chickens for meat and eggs. A large part of Windy Hill Farm is left uncultivated to provide habitat for wildlife and we plant flowering plants to encourage beneficial insects.
My passion is growing vegetables and I produce a very wide variety (see the CSA link for a list), including some heirloom varieties, and also save some of my own seed. To extend the growing season for as long as possible, I use reusable plastic mulch, plastic tunnels and row cover. I have over 25 years of experience growing vegetables in British Columbia and New Brunswick and am constantly learning new methods thanks to lots of reading, attending workshops and sharing knowledge with other local farmers.
I sell my produce mainly through a CSA, our own farm stand and also at the Bouctouche Farmer’s Market. I’m a proud member of the NB chapter of the National Farmer’s Union, ACORN, Canadian Organic Growers and am registered with EcoCert’s organic certification program.
Farmer Bio:
I am not from a farm but came to farming through my love of animals. I studied Animal Science in university, spent a year working on a farm in New Zealand, then 3 years teaching agriculture in Botswana, 2 years running a school farm in Lesotho and 3 years managing Oxfam’s Rural Development Program in northern Albania. Back in Canada I moved west and joined a group of people in BC to buy and run an organic farm in the Fraser Valley. I worked on dairy, beef and sheep farms through my university years to help pay my way, but discovered the joy of growing vegetables in my 11 years farming at Glen Valley Organic Farm in BC. Now I get to satisfy my animal affinity by raising goats and chickens and also enjoy the challenges of growing annual vegetables, perennials and tree fruits.