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WHO WE ARE
We are Tish and Ted Smith. Each of us has taken our own path to get here. Over the years we have lived near the Tex-Mex border, on James Bay, and many points between. Both of us are retired Registered Nurses. Ted also has a background in photograghy and fish and wildlife technology. We have raised a family of six children and now only the youngest, Jessica, remains at home on the farm. We are surrounded by a myriad of barnyard creatures and a houseful of dogs, perhaps the most noteable of whom is Echo, aka "Hero of the North Channel", who is credited with saving Tish's life this past summer.We also benefit from tremendous amounts of off farm help from our extended family. Our farm is 250 acres located on the south central part of beautiful Manitoulin Island. Our family oriented farm has been in operation for five years. In those five years there have been many dramatic changes to the farm. We are now one of the largest organic (uncertified) market gardens in the Manitoulin/Sudbury area. We hope to continue to expand and improve in the years to come.
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OUR PHILOSOPHY
The philosophy of Gypsy Family Farm is manyfold. The most important aspect of this philosophy is caring for the land. We embrace an all natural, polycultural approach in running our farm. We draw our inspiration from concepts such as 'organic', 'biodynamics' and 'eco-farming' without being limited by the "rules" of any one discipline. Our farm is more about embracing a lifestyle than about being "just another job".
Another aspect of our philosophy is to support and promote other local businesses when possible and to encourage education at all times. One very important aspect of this education is helping people put a face on their food. We have done this for several years now by encouraging our customers to come to the farm. We want them to see their food growing and to ask questions. Unfortunately, our current corporate food system has resulted in a massive gap between producers and consumers. Our efforts are directed toward bridging this gap.
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OUR GOALS
We hope to be able to educate people about the importance of caring for our environment. Gypsy Family Farm will continue to stress the importance of supporting local farms as well as other local businesses. Most importantly, our main goal is to be able to continue to provide the type of high quality product that our customers deserve and have come to expect. We will do this while always maintaining our environmental standards and fulfilling our role as land stewards.
Eenie, Meenie, Minie and Moe enjoy a giant pumpkin!
You can keep up with happenings on the farm by reading Ted's weekly (except in the winter) Garden Gossip column in The Recorder, Gore Bay's newspaper.
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