Liskeard’s new farmers are taking on the role of ‘price givers’ in the farm to table movement

Nancy Frey and her husband Alain Breaux of Temiskaming Shores have enjoyed a whirlwind of success since they began building their food business, Breaux Family Farm, after a devastating barn fire in 2019.

There have been many milestone moments for the farm over the past few years, including its “official” creation in 2023 as a separate operation from the Breault Stock Farm that operates next to it.

Other successes include their online store opened in 2021 and an on-site store built in 2022 with a freezer and freezer trailer, funded by a Sustainable New Agri-Food Products and Productivity (SNAPP) grant from the Rural Agri-Innovation Network ( RAIN).

Today, Breo Family Farm is a major local food hub and market in the Temiskaming area and beyond.

The sales speak for themselves. Their number one and number two sellers, beef and chicken, are up 75 percent and 200 percent, respectively, compared to last year. Pork sales increased by as much as 300 percent.

“What we do really resonates with people, and the growth is proof of that,” Frey said from her farm home, which sits on a beautiful 110-acre piece of prime farmland near downtown New York City. Liskeard.

“We can’t keep up with the demand,” said Frey, who has sold about 1,300 chickens this year. “We run out of eggs every day.”

Frey attributes the resonance to the rapidly growing local food movement and the quality and availability of pasture-raised meat products.

“We have people from North Bay, Timmins, Quebec,” Frey said. “We have a large footprint because no one else is doing it at the scale that we do.”

The success is also due to Frey’s business acumen and willingness to meet the needs of the local market.

While the 2019 fire was a “huge loss” for Breaux and Frey, it gave them the opportunity to rebrand and reinvent their business model.

Frey, who currently works part-time for a nonprofit, honed her business savvy through a career in banking. Because of her experience, she was hesitant to take on debt to rebuild the farm so close to retirement.

“I knew we needed to do something different,” Frey said. “My husband will put his head down and work harder, and I’m like, ‘We have to work smarter.’

It was Alena’s daughter, Jessica Cooper, owner of the family farm, Cooperstead Farms in Callander, Ontario, who first proposed selling direct to the buyer as a farm-to-table business in addition to selling livestock in southern markets. .

Frey found the potential of the farm-to-table model attractive because, like many farmers who often find themselves at the bottom of the corporate food chain, Breault Stock Farm was struggling to make ends meet.

“A lot of farmers are connoisseurs,” Frey said. “And I wanted to set prices… I don’t want to just take what the big guys will give me for all the work we do.”

Frey drew inspiration from Southern farm-to-table companies whose success she saw on social media. Frey went on to say, “It was a classic case of lemons turning into lemonade.”

Frey started small, selling ground beef and beef stew at the local Riverside Farmers Market. But it quickly expanded into products such as roasts and steaks to meet customer demand.

Success in the market sparked the idea of ​​commissioning a professionally designed store website for Breo Family Farm, which caused sales to jump 300 percent in its first year.

The site sells individual portions of steak, roasts, liver, hamburger patties and lean ground beef. It also offers boneless, skinless chicken breast, bacon and smoked ham, Christmas turkey, peppers, beef and pork sausages, and bison.

In addition, the website features a huge variety of big box beef options, as well as many delicious homemade recipes, including world-famous ribs, breaded pork chops and chicken pot pie from Frey’s grandmother, who owned Frey’s Hatchery in St. Jacobs , Ontario.

All the meat sold in the store, whether from the Breaux family farm or nearby farms, is pasture raised, which is an important part of the business philosophy.

Frey and Breaux, who come from farming families, believe that raising animals on pasture is critical to the health of the animals and, as a result, to the nutritional value of their meat.

In commercial farming, meat birds are often kept in large barns, while laying hens are usually kept in small cages.

Following the website is a farm store that features items from a variety of local vendors, including fresh seasonal produce, canned goods, unpasteurized honey, and homemade barbecue sauces.

He also sells specialty skin care products made from beef tallow, processed and packaged by Frey on the farm.

SEE: A Day in Farm Country draws curious crowds in support of Temiscaminga agriculture.

Frey initially shied away from selling perishable local produce at the store, but quickly changed her mind when she saw the demand.

Prices for produce such as cabbage, lettuce, corn on the cob, potatoes and strawberries often rival those of thrift stores such as Wal-Mart. The farm store also offers discounts on last week’s produce.

Becoming a community shopping center was not an original part of the Breaux Family Farm’s business model, but Frey realized the benefits after initially taking over Cooperstead Farm’s pork and turkey operations. After selling out of their entire bacon supply within 24 hours, they decided to expand sales to meet demand.

“(The farm store) was a collaborative effort,” Frey said. “And the store helps other farmers, young farmers who are intimidated by retail.”​

Brough and Frey have no plans to change their business model to acquire a larger farm in the future. They hope to improve the current system by focusing on cost control.

“This is the stage of a business where the biggest mistakes are made—during rapid growth,” Frey said.

Ideally, she would also like to see the farm contribute to ongoing efforts, led by the region’s municipalities, to develop agritourism in the area, including networking between fishing camps and cabin rentals.

Frey and Breaux also dream of creating a true succession business, one day passing on the legacy of the Breaux family farm to the next generation.