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Who We Are
Vale Farms is a family farm located between Vernon and Lumby in the Okanagan Valley of beautiful British Columbia, Canada.
Vale Farms was started in 1975 by Charlotte and Michael Ruechel, when they immigrated to Canada from Germany. Since then, the farm has slowly grown, so has the family as they had 4 children (Julius, Emily, Charles and Lorna). In 1999 we began to transition into being Certified Organic and began to direct market our meats at farmers' markets and at one health food store in Vernon. Today, we sell our meats to a number of stores and restaurants and attend 3 farmers markets throughout the Okanagan. While we originally started with just started with beef, we now raise hair sheep (Dorper and Katahdin), grow garlic and have a small orchard of Sea Buckthorn berry bushes! In 2007, we started purchasing beef cattle from other family-run, certified organic grass-fed farms and finishing them on our wonderful grass! Read about the farms we buy from below.
In 2006 Emily and Don also started Cedar Bridge Kinderhouse on the farm, a Waldorf-inspired preschool and kindergarten. Check out www.cedarbridgeschool.org to see what the school is up to!
Our Mission
To promote strong and healthy families and to provide our community with a choice of nutritious quality farm products while culitivating the holistic balance between land, animals and people.
Producers who we purchase cattle from:
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Bastion Ranch Bastion Ranch is a 500 acre working cattle ranch situated on the shores of beautiful Shuswap Lake. Begun in the 1940’s by Edmond Miège, this multi-generational family farm was cleared with help from horses, and they raised cattle and crops. Today, David Miège and his family continue to farm the land with the same commitment to tradition and family with which the farm began.
Their certified organic, grass-fed cattle are an interesting and likeable variety of breeds including Black Angus, Murray-Grey and Scottish Highland! Not only do these breeds produce wonderful meat, but they also thrive in the climate of the Shuswap, where they roam free out on pasture. Check them out at www.bastionranch.com. Big Bear Ranch Big Bear Ranch, owned by Rainer and Gigi Krumsiek, is located just minutes outside of Horsefly, BC, in the foothills of the beautiful Cariboo Mountains, with hundreds of lakes and streams in the surrounding area. On their 2000 acre ranch, which is a mixture of certified organic pasture and forest, they believe in the importance of a holistic balance between the land, animals and people. This starts with naturally fertile soil to grow a variety of healthy plants that their/ animals graze to provide nutritious and great tasting meat.
Their humane animal husbandry includes low stress handling techniques and grazing on big pastures. They raise Angus/Hereford-cross cattle, Tamworth-cross pigs, Bronze Breasted Turkeys, and Rhode Island-cross chickens. They also breed and train Icelandic Horses and grow their own vegetables. All of their animals are pasture raised and the cattle are grass-fed and grass-finished. Their cows calve on green grass, their pigs grow up in large pastures with trees and wallows, the chickens and turkeys are truly raised free range and the horses roam in big meadows. Check out this busy and dynamic farm: www.bigbearranch.com. |
Jerseyland Jerseyland Organics is a family owned and operated dairy in Grand Forks, BC. Ric and Vickie Llewellyn, the heart and soul of Jerseyland Organics, settled there in 1985 with a purebred herd of Jersey cattle, and they became organic in 1994. This made Jerseyland BC’s and Western Canada’s 1st “organic” dairy and Western Canada’s 1st producer of organic cheeses and yogurts. The Llewellyns became an organic dairy because of their strong beliefs in animal-welfare, the nutritional health of the animals and the consumer, and their concern for sustainable agriculture. They raise all their own Jerseys from several cow family lines that they have had for many years, and know their doe-eyed, fawn colored cows by name. The Llewellyn’s don’t believe in animal auctions and feedlots, and are proud to be certified by the BC SPCA for their humane animal stewardship. Jerseyland’s beef animals (Jersey-crosses) are also certified organic and grass-fed their whole lives. You can be sure that the animals on this farm are contented, happy cattle!
Dally Ranch Ron and Barb Dalhuisen, along with their kids (Alisha, Miranda, Rebecca and Gideon), moved to Cherryville in 2003, and have been farming the “Dally Ranch” ever since. They are kept more than busy with their herd of certified organic, BC SPCA certified cattle, a small flock of laying hens, hay making and even a family milk cow. Situated at the foot of the Monashee Mountains, the Dally Ranch is a beautiful location complete with snowy peaks and forested ravines. Raised exclusively on grass, their Black Angus cattle graze the wild hills and forests around the ranch, and are allowed to exhibit their natural behaviors.
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Also see:
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For more information or to arrange farm tours:
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Kelowna Farmers' Market