About Us
In 2011, Brenna returned from Denmark with her now husband Mathias, to start a market garden using organic methods. Brenna and Mathias’ two children, Svea and Peter, put four generations of our family on the farm.
I’m Brenna! I am the market gardener at my family’s farm – Hedgeview Farm. Together with my supportive family and friends, I am entering my 11th season of producing field grown organic veggies for our local community in Pembroke.
I love long days in the field, connecting with families during CSA pick up, and the hustle at the amazing Carp Farmers’ Market. I have a developing passion for garlic and we are slowly developing this as a main crop on the farm.
Hedgeview Farm is a 3rd-generation mixed farm with a small scale market garden. We are focused on producing quality, nutritious produce, through sustainable agricultural practices. We grow over 100 varieties of vegetables and some fruits on a 2 acre plot.
We market our vegetables at the Carp Farmers’ Market and also locally through our on-farm CSA Veggie Basket program. We also offer a large selection of organically grown garlic for table and seed, which is available in August.
Our History
Hedgeview Farm was a dairy farm owned by George and Hazel Matheson. George’s parents bought the farm in 1915 (est. 1875) and George was raised here. Together with his wife Hazel, George bought the farm in the 1940s.
George and Hazel were looking for a family to come work on the farm, for they themselves did not have children.
In 1953 Brenna’s grandparents – Ruth and Albert Jansen were sponsored to come to Canada from Bremen Germany (Ruth fled Latvia during WWII), to start a new life with their baby Christiana.
In 1969 Ruth and Albert Jansen bought the farm from George and Hazel and gave the farm the name, Hedgeview Farm. Together with their 3 children (Christiana, Benita and Gary), Ruth and Albert ran their dairy farm.
In 1982 Ruth and Albert sold the dairy farm to their son Gary and daughter-in-law Sharron. For 24 years, Gary and Sharron ran the dairy farm together with their 3 children – Emily, Paul and Brenna until 2006, when they sold the cows and quota.
In 2011, Brenna returned from Denmark with her now husband Mathias, to start a market garden using organic methods. Brenna and Mathias’ two children, Svea and Peter, put four generations of our family on the farm.
In 2020, we are celebrating 10 years with the market garden and going strong!!
Growing Organic
I joined the program because I was looking for extra support with the process to become Certified Organic. Like many farmers, I find it tricky for me to leave the farm in the summer to see what others are doing and network/collect information/seek support. I believe I am the only (soon to be) certified organic market garden in Renfrew County, so I knew it would be difficult for me to travel to see other certified farms. Aside from the networking opportunity, I was mainly interested in accessing and receiving support from the team’s agronomist to aid with soil health.
I am only finishing my first year with the program but it’s been a very personal experience and the GEO-O team has been readily available to me for support and to help answer questions. The webinars are also very personal and friendly. It feels like a true support group. I know the GEO-O team is overlapped with COG (many familiar faces from the Eco Farm Days in Cornwall) and so the same comments go for COG. While I was originally hesitant to join because of the time commitment, the program has not been overwhelming at all. The support pieces have all been digestible and relevant in both day-to-day operations as well as the longer term planning that farmers do over winter.
For those thinking about transitioning to organic, I would recommend that you be confident in your record keeping system before embarking on the certification process, otherwise it may feel too time consuming. I also recommend connecting with other certified farms to support one another. Finally, I recommend building a relationship or connection with COG to have someone in your corner. The certifying agencies are there to apply the rules and audit you. COG is there to support you, provide resources and help answer questions.
I was a member of COG already and I was contacted by the admin for the GEO-O program.
I am still in the process of completing my first year with the program but I have already found much value. The webinars have helped me become more versed in organic certification and the organic standards. I am working on a soil fertility plan as well as other field based plans with my agronomist and thanks to my business consultant, I now have a current business plan and am overcoming my fear of Quickbooks. Finally, this program has facilitated networking opportunities and personal connection with other farmers across my region.
I don’t find that the certifiers are “against” the farmer in any way. In my experience they have been friendly, supportive, and want to see us achieve certification…. but they are not allowed to advise you on any matters. That is where COG and the GEO-O program comes in… advice and support, “in your corner”.
– Brenna Jansen
Hedgeview Farm ( Laurentian Valley, 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.