Our farm is located in Middleville, ON about 40 minutes outside of Ottawa.  Chef Natasha LeBlanc and her husband Brian Faraday grow non-certified organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Natasha uses her culinary skills to create high quality preserves.  You can find us at the Carp Farmers Market.  We strive to connect local farmers and craftsman in the Lanark County. We rely on Springdale farm maple, Misissippi Berries, McGregors, and other small farms to supply what we are unable to produce ourselves.  We have also partnered with Stalwart brewing co., Calabogie Brewing co. and Top shelf distillery.  We have done this to create an exciting line of preserves which are enhanced by craft beer or alcohol.

The story of Ravensfield begins with the European settlement of this area in the 1840s and 50s. The rocky Canadian Shield soil was forest-covered: white pine, oak, maple. For the immigrants trying to establish a farm, the mighty trees were a serious problem: they needed cleared land, and the easiest way they knew to deal with the forest was to set fire to it.
This style of agriculture has been practiced since antiquity. From a present day perspective, the ecological cost to the ecosystem is far too great to justify it. But settlers were desperate for food and unable to adapt quickly from the version of agriculture they had known in Europe. So the forest fires in Lanark County burned, some literally for years.
A forgiveness is needed here. As humans we are able to act quickly and have immense impact on ecosystems. Our brains, much as we think so highly of  them, seem less capable of foreseeing the consequences of our actions, and our hearts are not always large enough to care about the bigger picture, or the future, or other humans, present and future, or other species.
The settlers soon learned that the soil under the oaks was thin. Rock close to the surface, crops that grew well only for a few years and thereafter dwindled as the soil nutrients were used up. Yet the human imperative continued: a farm of 100 acres was expected to have 12 cows (plus offspring) if the farmer was to be respected in society.

Welcome to Funny Duck Farms! We are a small, diverse, certified organic farm that does not use any soybeans in our animal feeds. We are striving to create a sustainable system wherein we produce all our livestock feeds on farm, and traditionally grain fed animals (like pigs and chickens) are converted to forage eating instead. Out in our pastures and woodlands are where you will find our laying hens, ducks, broilers and heritage pigs, beef & dairy cows. Pasture raised animals provide excellent, nutritious food for people without harming the land, the environment, or resorting to the use of chemicals and medications. All of our certified organic feed rations used to supplement our animals are free of soybeans. We are pleased to be Canada's only year round certified organic Whole Farm CSA. Our CSA runs 50 weeks of the year. Shares include a bit of everything grown on the farm: certified organic beef, pork, chicken, duck, lamb, all you can eat eggs, honey, maple syrup, veggies, some fruits, and herbs both culinary and medicinal. We have limited spaces for the 2016 season, please contact us if you would like to be on our waiting list.

Funny Duck Farms is a family owned and operated 224 acre farm Certified Organic by ProCert-Organic Systems.