4-H Runs in the Heatherlea Farm Family

Located just outside the Greater Toronto Area in the picturesque hills of Caledon, ON, you will find Heatherlea Acres - a family-run farm established in 1871. Now in its seventh generation, the family operates a cow-calf operation and raise grass-fed beef on top of running Heatherlea Farm Market; an innovative specialty food store where they serve the local community, visitors, and a large online customer base. 4-H Ontario spent the morning with Don and Melinda McArthur and their three children - Chloe, Kayleigh, and James - getting to know them at the family farm owned by Don’s parents, Pat and Gord, and finding out more on how it has changed over seven generations.

4-H Ontario: What is your background with 4-H?

Don: I first started 4-H when I was 12 and showed a steer at a local fair, which I had a hard time with. I gave it up and showed an Angus heifer when I was 15, and continued with 4-H until I was 21. Melinda: I started 4-H very late. I was dating Don at the time, and I started when I was 20, so I only did a couple of years.

4-H Ontario: What does 4-H mean to your family?

Melinda: To me it means time that we get to spend together. Although sometimes it’s work, we’re all having fun just being together. Farming families don’t have a lot of time to do things off-farm, so it’s a nice way to still be at the farm working and having fun, and to get the kids engaged with the animals. Don: Hmm, a lot of hard work, a lot of fun together, and a love for agriculture.

4-H Ontario: Why did you decide to put your kids in 4-H?

Don: Well, they had to be interested in it. There’s no sense in forcing them to do it. We did it as something to do together. We’re all here on the farm so much anyways and spend so much of our time here, it’s a good activity that the kids can do to enjoy something together. It also gets the kids competing and taking pride in their animals. Melinda: I guess it was just continuing the generations of doing it (4-H). We have the opportunity of having cows here, it’s ‘Nana and Grandpas farm.’ Kayleigh showed a lot of interest in it, spending time with her dad out on the tractor and with the cows. It really helps if the kids are showing an interest with animals, and she got started from there.

4-H Ontario: How can 4-H prepare youth for the future?

Melinda: Just really making sure we are engaging the younger generations and making them aware of the programs available to them. We’ve been to a few agricultural conferences and have talked a lot about social media, and drawing people in. I think if we can get young people and kids involved from an early age, they have that connection and understanding to take farming into the future. Don: We have had discussions in our family about the future of agriculture and food. It’s changing, and so will 4-H, but it’s never going to go away. Agriculture is a great business to be in and kids really need to know that. Half of the kids in our club in Halton aren’t farm kids, they are kids from town, which is great! It’s teaching kids about agriculture and business, which is a huge industry. People are always going to eat.

Heatherlea Acres is a family-run farming business established in 1871, and now includes Heatherlea Farm Market - an innovative specialty food store. Find out more about Heatherlea Acres at their website, heatherlea.ca.