FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

FAQs

Why don't we sell meat all year round like regular stores?

Most food comes from industrial agriculture that raises millions of animals in factory-like conditions. We do things differently here at Hough Heritage Farm.

We are a small-scale multi-species diversified farm that practices regenerative agriculture. We uphold high animal welfare standards, that means keeping animals in their family groups and giving them space in nature to practice their innate behaviours. We prefer to let the mothers wean their offspring naturally and come into heat on their own schedule.

We believe healthy soil is the foundation of all life on a farm, and understand we are part of the cycle of life and death from the microbiome that breaks down animal waste to the large predators that also need to eat. We coexist with wildlife, support biodiversity and consider our environmental impact. As such, we have limited capacity on all meat products because we have reached our 15 acre farm's ecological limit. Our goal is to farm in harmony with nature so we have limited the number of animals.

Sure, we could fill this farm with 50 pigs all packed into small stalls, and make a hefty profit but it would be at significant costs to human, animal and ecological health. Let's all avoid the high cost of cheap food. You can get pork cheaper elsewhere, but when you do the costs are also downloaded elsewhere, to the farm workers, the livestock, and our environment. If you consider the nutrient density of meat raised outdoors on our pasture and in our forest, you are actually getting far more nutrition per lb than anything raised in a factory farm.

Why is your meat so expensive?

Great question and the short answer is because that is the real cost of real food. Unfortunately, most of our food comes from highly subsidized corporate food industries where the real cost of food is hidden and offset by subsidies.

The Sunshine Coast is a rural and remote location, accessible only by ferries, and we pay the highest cost in BC for farm feed and hay. Local farmers are at the end of a long chain of retail transactions and we can't afford to sell our goods for the prices found in big box stores. Small businesses simply don't have the luxury of economies of scale. But the good news is small-scale farmer’s products are a world apart from anything you find in a big box store. Nothing compares to the nutrition and flavour of fresh farm eggs, or meat raised free-range in forests or on pasture.

If we want a robust, resilient and reliable local food supply we need to support local farmers. You vote for the world you want with every dollar you spend.

Can we just come visit your farm anytime?

While our farm animals are easily viewed from Hough Road, the farm is private property and our private home so no visitors are allowed. We are available by appointment or during scheduled farm hours ONLY. Farming is time intensive so no drop-ins permitted. Farms are private property that take public safety and biosecurity seriously so no visitors are allowed.