In 1958, Sikko and Aultje Oegema and their seven children made the long journey to immigrate to Elgin County from the Netherlands. They purchased a farm just outside of present day St. Thomas in Talbotville, and together they began their farming venture in Canada. They started off by raising some hogs and growing tomato and sugar beet crops, and in 1959 they began raising turkeys, and over the years their sons Heiko and Tom grew the turkey and cropping aspect of the farm. On December 5, 1992, the Oegema family officially opened The Turkey Shoppe, an on-farm store where they could offer customers fresh turkey products direct from the farm. In 2004, Heiko's sons Mike and Wayne took over the turkey operation. 

For many shoppers, the question of ethical meat begins with a label. Free-range. Pasture-raised. Hormone-free.
Helpful words—but incomplete ones.

At the heart of ethical meat is something far simpler and far more meaningful: relationship. Knowing who raised the animal. Understanding how it lived. Being able to ask questions—and get real answers—from the people who did the work.

That’s where farmers’ markets matter.
​
At Horton Farmers' Market, buying meat isn’t a transaction hidden behind packaging. It’s a conversation. And those conversations create transparency that no label ever could.

​At Good Food Farms, farming is more than a livelihood; it's a mission. Tina, farm owner and manager, launched this farm-to-table social enterprise rooted in a deep respect for the land, food, and the belief that how and where our food is grown is one of the biggest contributors to both human health and the health of our planet.
 
Their current focus is on producing high-quality, free-range, pastured chicken, but their vision for the future stretches far beyond poultry. Tina has plans to scale up and get into more niche crops. Excitingly, they plan on opening their new farm store in Lucan toward the end of the year, allowing them to grow and build something sustainable, rooted in community, and sharing good food farmed right.

Janis and Mark Harris of Harris Flower Farm & Pastured Pork purchased their farm in 2011, but Janis actually started growing flowers in 2008 on her parents farm. Janis, along with her sisters, grew up on McSmith’s Organic Farm with their parents Cathy and Gary McSmith. Janis’s paternal grandparents were also farmers, running a successful dairy cow operation, dating their family farming back to the 1950s. Janis was working as an optician when she met country boy Mark, and she wanted to show him that even though she was no longer working on the farm, she still had her farming roots. “I wanted to prove that I was still a country girl, I wanted to grow something to sell,” Janis said. “My parents were main season vendors at the Horton Farmers’ Market, so my mom suggested I grow gladiolus and sell them at the table beside them.” Not long after that, Janis and Mark bought their farm, and Harris Flower Farm and Pastured Pork has been a staple of the St. Thomas and Elgin County community ever since. ​

In 2017 Steph started to explore feeding their dogs and cats a raw food diet to meet their dietary needs. It allowed her to feed them real, natural foods, with daily variety while also giving her control over the contents. “When we adopted our second dog, he was very overweight and it was a lot easier for me to control what was going into his food,” explained Steph. “But I could bulk up his food with things like vegetables so he wasn’t just starving and getting into things all day long.” Steph spent lots of time researching raw food diets, their benefits, and what was needed to make sure the food would be nutritionally balanced. Two of her dogs have kidney disease and liver disease, and Steph likes how she can adjust their meals to help support their needs. ​

A staple of the Shedden community since 1992, Evelyn’s Sausage Kitchen has been making homemade and hand twisted sausages, smoked and fresh meats for 30 years. Evelyn retired from the business in 2023, but not before mentoring and teaching the Harris boys, Carson and Eric, her recipes and techniques the Shedden community has come to know and love. The Harris boys officially took over operations in January of 2023, and began as a vendor at the Horton Farmers’ Market during the 2023 Winter Market. ​

Nestled among rolling hills and lush green pastures, a typical gravel farm drive appears; B & C Farms stands at the end, humble and wholesome. This charming farm, complete with a back lane leading deeper into the property, is marked by the exact type of archway you'd anticipate on a ranch and is home to much more than meets the eye.
​

​Step into the delightful world of Brandywine Garden Market! It all began as a pumpkin-patch venture in Dutton, where Ryan and Jessica, with their love for veggie gardening, discovered the magic of 'Pink Brandywine' heirloom tomatoes. But their hunger for agriculture knew no bounds, and soon, they set their sights on a new horizon—lamb!

​​Step into a world of turkey magic at the Turkey Shoppe, nestled in the heartland of poultry perfection. Since 1958, this family farm has been serving succulent turkey delights. In 1992, they opened their on-farm retail store to further spread turkey love. What started as a small venture has blossomed into a buzzing hub of turkey goodness!