About Us
“Here at Calabogie Rustic Farm it’s not all about production, it’s about taking your time and doing it right, and giving you the best product we possibly can.”
Calabogie Rustic Farm is located just outside the village of Calabogie, Ontario. This 100 acre farm comprises mixed bush, pasture for horses, ten acres of crops and a small mixed fruit orchard. Mike Graham runs the farm with his family, and together they harvest organic vegetables & fruit, maple syrup and honey.
Mike didn’t grow up on a farm, but his mother did, and her brothers and sisters all farmed, so he grew up spending lots of time on farms. Years later, through a series of events that one might call fate, Mike started his own farm in the Ottawa Valley.
Growing Calabogie Rustic Farm
The Graham family’s farming journey began in 2003, when they purchased this little piece of paradise. The intent with this purchase wasn’t to farm, but Mike quickly realized how very special the land was.
From 2003 onward Mike developed a small custom woodworking business with his team of Percheron horses and his sawmill. He managed the forest carefully, using horses for transporting felled trees to minimize damage and optimize future growth. For years Mike built handcrafted harvest tables, and custom solid wood furniture.
Mike also worked with the forest to produce one of nature’s tastiest bounties – maple syrup! With his wife and kids, Mike taps approximately 500 trees on their property every spring. Their operation applies practices that have stood the test of time – using the horses to collect some of the sap and Mike boiling it in a wood fired evaporator.
While they grew the woodworking business and produced maple syrup, Mike, his wife and their children were also growing food in their garden for themselves, their family and their friends. As the years went by their small family garden grew into 10 acres of crops, and now boasts a small mixed fruit orchard and honey bees.
Growing Organic
Mike and his family believe in organic farming and in not using pesticides or chemicals for insects and weeds. They don’t want to eat something that has chemicals on it, and don’t want to sell it to customers either.
This year will be Calabogie Rustic Farm’s first year in the GEO-O program and first year in their journey to being a certified organic operation. Despite their newness to the process, because Calabogie Rustic Farm really has been growing organically since day one, the transition has been smooth, and they will have lots to offer this spring and summer, and for years to come.
They’ve planted heritage varieties of apples, plums and pears in the orchard that are northern hearty. In the coming months they’ll be busy with Maple Syrup season, and converting part of the woodworking shop into a farmgate store where they sell their honey and maple syrup, as well as locally roasted coffee, artisanal cheese and gourmet foods. We’ll be able to continue buying their honey and maple syrup from retailers around town, and, come spring, to buy fruits and vegetables at the farm!
Calabogie Rustic Farm (Calabogie, On )
Meet Our
GEO-O Farmers!
GEO-O stands for Growing Eastern Ontario Organically, a three-year, on-the-ground initiative to support farmers to transition to organic through mentorship, financial incentives, and on-site experiential learning. GEO-O builds on COG’s earlier Organic Success initiative to provide farmers much more in-person, on-site, and farmer-to-farmer training. GEO-O is a first of its kind experiential learning-centred approach in a specific region.
COG will compare the outcomes of GEO-O to similar efforts across the country in order to bring further benefits to the entire Canadian organic sector.