The Farm - History

Our farm was settled in the 1870s when this part of southern Ontario became open to homesteading. The settlers came up the Saugeen River, which is how we chose the name for our farm.

We started farming here with two families in 1989 on 400 acres and milked cows and raised a small beef herd following bio-dynamic principals. We certified the farm organic from the very beginning, though there was no economic incentive for the milk or beef produced. Coming from Germany, where the organic farm movement was already far more established, we thought about processing our milk to make organic foods more available to customers and we decided to use our quality milk to make the best yogurt we can. At that time a couple of producers in Quebec and Pennsylvania were starting to do this so we visited their farms in 1991 and 1992.

The idea took shape and after working through plenty of red tape and much soul-searching, in the fall of 1993 we stared digging the foundations for the yogurt house. The plant opened for production in September 1994 with very modest beginnings.

Now we have been at it for almost 12 years and not very much has changed other than almost all of our cows' milk is made into yogurt and the barn and yogurt house are working at capacity.

As for our success, we have to thank you, our loyal customers!