About Us

"Soil is our legacy"

Woodleigh Farms Ltd. was founded in 1902 and is located in the beautiful rolling hills of Cavan near Peterborough ON. We are a multi-generational (6th generation) family run business with a diverse set of offerings. These include maple syrup, a vegetable garden, and greenhouse operation (plants, seedings, perennials) as well as a diverse crop production which include the harvesting of firewood, corn soybeans, wheat, oats, straw, and hay. We are committed to ensuring that all the environment impacts are considered when making decisions in our operations, and we follow organic and sustainable practices with our garden, greenhouse and maple syrup operations. 

In recent years we have shifted away from traditional methods of agriculture to what we feel are more regenerative and sustainable practices. These include crop rotations (better diversity), less use of commercial fertilizers (increasing organic sources), the use of cover crops (feeding the soil year round), managing our inputs (variable rate technologies to place fertilizer only where it is needed) as well as use of clean energies (solar generation, composting of waste products as a soil amendment) as well as no-till practices throughout our operations (reduction of soil compacting and CO2 emissions).

We are dedicated to soil health and ensuring our owned and rented lands are in better shape than when we received them so that future generations may continue to thrive and prosper.

Tradition Starts Here
Our forefathers established their roots in the Community of Cavan Monaghan in the mid 1800's, and settled at the current Homestead in 1902.

A Family Affair
The current senior farmer is Don Winslow and his wife Margaret who took over farming operations from Don's parents in the late 1970s. Today Norm, his wife Emily, their three children and Emily's brother Colin all play an important role in the day-to-day activities on the farm. Long-term and seasonal employees share the Homestead with the family, making Woodleigh a great place to grow, work and play.

Fire of 2018
On July 18, 2018, a fire tore through the main Homestead, destroying grain storage facilities as well as 5 livestock barns. Following the fire, the family decided that future operations would shift away from livestock production.

Out Of The Ashes
With the spirit of everything old is new again, Woodleigh Farms is striving to move towards a more mixed and diversified operation. This includes the expansion of cropping practices, as well as the construction of a new passive solar greenhouse, to be used year-round for food and horticulture production

Leadership

Woodleigh has always been an innovator and early adopter of new practices and technologies. Woodleigh has always been a prominent member of the farming and local communities, participating in leadership roles and numerous organizations. It is a provincial leader when it comes to soil health and initiatives partnering with numerous organizations on research-based projects and has active relationships with Ecological Farmers of Ontario, the Ontario Soil Network, University of Guelph, and Trent University. Recently Woodleigh has been chosen as an enhanced research site by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association for their ONFARM Applied Research program.

© Nullam malesuada erat ut turpis