Carpe Diem farm: More Than a Name, It’s a Promise

Even without considerations of sex and gender, Julie Belli’s chosen profession was bound to be a challenge. As the owner and tireless operator of Carpe Diem Farm, Julie has her work cut out for her.

Luckily, she likes hard work. More than that, she lives for it. Julie’s passion, vision and practical know-how have earned her accolades for her incredible sheep cheese, having sold her products locally and throughout Southern Ontario - and it all comes from the small inspected processing plant on her farm in Uxbridge, Ontario. So far.

Her success combined with her enterprising spirit has encouraged her to take her business to the next level, and in August, Carpe Diem’s farm store and cafe opens on 170 fertile acres just outside of Sunderland. But for Julie, it’s not about business. It’s about following her bliss, despite the odds. And the odds were not stacked in her favour.

Having grown up in a busy metropolis just outside of Liverpool, Julie wasn’t born with dirt in her bones. Even when she moved to Canada, she worked in and all around Ontario as a project manager. However, as her family began to expand, she and her husband - an electrician by trade - moved further and further out of the city until they found themselves just outside of Uxbridge. And even then, farming wasn’t something she’d actively considered as a career. It was something that just happened, a little like falling in love. Exactly like falling in love, actually.

She may not have been born with dirt in her bones, but it was definitely in her heart. One day she was agreeing to take the chicks her son’s class had hatched but didn’t have a home for, and the next she was shoving a couple goats into her husband’s car after impulsively buying them at an auction. “Shortly after I came home with a Black Angus.” she laughs. “It’s a slippery slope.”

That was over a decade ago. Today, Julie’s passion is a family affair. Her husband and her children (who are now in their early twenties), help around the farm, and this summer, her nephew - a professional espresso technician from Italy - will be working his java genius at their cafe.

The cafe will also feature organic goodies including gelato, juice and kombucha popsicles, as well as paninis wraps, sausage, salads, kefir and of course, their famous sheep cheese - and it’s all made using organic practices, and it’s all sourced directly from the farm. In other words, it’s all good.

And it gets better: Carpe Diem’s Sunderland spot will also serve as an incubator farm, allowing aspiring farmers to work their own plot of land to see if it’s sustainable for them.

(Continued on P. 9)