Frequently Asked Questions

You Ask the Questions and We Will Answer Them, Honestly!

When we say Pasture Raised - we really mean Pasture Raised!

Fresh or Frozen?

All our meats are sold frozen. We do offer Fresh (never frozen) Whole Chicken on certain days during our production months. At this time, we process our chickens 5 times a year (between end of May to end of October) and the day after we bring our chickens back from the processor we typically have an on-farm in person shopping market at the farm (offered only at the farm at this time). No pre-orders are necessary. We will have a great selection of fresh whole chickens for you to choose from. Otherwise when placing your orders, your package of meats will be frozen, this includes all chicken products, pet food, beef, pork and rabbit. We do offer butter and honey - when these items are placed with orders they will be placed in the freezer packages with your meats as well. Please check out our Upcoming Events Page for details of our Fresh (Never Frozen) Whole Chicken Dates.

What is The Real Pastured Chicken?

We are very proud that our farm is the first and currently the only farm in Ontario growing a truly, fully pasture raised chicken under the Local Niche Markets Program administered by the Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO) on a commercial scale. The chicken industry (like dairy, eggs and turkey) are governed by Supply Management and are required to own quota (market share) to grow chicken in Ontario and Canada. We applied to this program in the spring of 2018 and we were approved within the first round and became first generation chicken farmers that fall (both in our families and under the Local Niche Markets Program under CFO). The purpose of this program is to grow locally raised chicken in a targeted niche market within Ontario. Which means we are able to grow chicken in a larger volume and sell directly to the consumer. We do not grow for a a company, we grow our chicken and find buyers for our chicken. Our chicken is not sold in a large chain grocery store, not sold in large chain restaurant or any large food industry. At this time we grow approximately 25,000 chickens on pasture between the end of April to mid October on pasture and we sell directly to the consumer. Each and everyone of our chickens live The Real Pastured Chicken life. Meaning they live on pasture (from approximately, 2 weeks of age) 24/7 day and night, rain or shine. We don't just give our chickens "access" to the outdoors or open a window or a large screen to say they at one point in their life had "access". They are outside each and every day and they are moved onto clean, new, fresh piece of pasture every 24 hours. That is why we call it The Real Pastured Chicken- because they really live on pasture!

What makes The Real Pastured Chicken different from other chicken sold in Ontario

The main difference when comparing our chicken from any other chicken sold in Ontario like the grocery store is the environment in which we grown our chicken. Our chicken is a truly, fully pasture raised chicken. Our chickens are not grown in a confined building for its entire life. Our chicks arrive to the farm at a day old, they live in the brooder barn (a heated enclosed structure for raising baby poultry - used to keep them warm and against any natural predators and curious pets from harming the flock) until they are about 14-21 days old. When ready, they are moved from the brooder and into our homemade. custom build, floor-less shelters (we call ours pasture pens). Here they breath real, clean fresh air, and moved every 24 hours so that they are on clean, fresh, new pasture each and every day. They eat bugs, dig in the dirt and get real sunlight.

Do you give hormone or steroids to your livestock?

In chicken, don't be duped! "hormone-free" is just a marketing tactic. On March 4, 1963 Canada banned the use of hormones in poultry (broilers - meat chicken)- yet many marketers sill classify their chicken as "hormone-free". Each and every single chicken grown in Ontario and in Canada (restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets) does not have any hormones added and is steroid free. We don't advertise this much because it is illegal and not allowed - so to us it is not a marketing advantage nor does it m

In all our other livestock - because of the philosophy in growing our livestock for meat we do not use any hormone or steroids to grow our beef, pork, rabbits and laying hens for eggs . We use mother nature as our template and because we feed each animal what they are supposed to/designed to eat we do not have the need to use any hormone or steroids. We know how much each animals will take to grow. If they need another month or two to get to the weights we want them to for harvest we keep them on the farm longer. Like humans, some take a little longer to grow to their full potential. We allow them to take the time to grow because in our opinion it will result in delicious and nutritious meats for us to eat.

Do you give Antibiotics to your livestock?

Our farming methods are nothing new to farming industry when you go back 50-60 years ago. Since we work and use mother nature as our template our livestock dig in the dirt, live on clean, new fresh daily pasture, get vitamin D naturally from the sun and because of the environment in which we grown our live stock antibiotics is not used in our growing methods. No saying that, for whatever reason if a livestock gets injured or has an infection we will work with our vet to and take the recommendation from the vet with a low dose antibiotic treatment if it is required. We can say that since we have gone to a fully pasture raised system with our chickens,, laying hens, turkeys and rabbits, feed our cattle grass only and allow our pigs to roam to bush and bathe in the dirt we have not had the need to use of antibiotics in over 5 years. We have low density with all our livestock so we have not any issues that require the use of antibiotics to prevent or treat any infections.

Can I pick my order up at the farm?

YES! Once you have placed your order you can select On-Farm pickup. On-Farm pickup is contactless - we will have your order ready for pickup on the date you selected and everything will be labelled. Please note we are NOT open for in person shopping during this time, it is only for picking up orders placed from our online store.

Can I pick up my order any time?

Our farm store will be closed when On-Farm Pickup is not available. We ask that if you are not able to come at the scheduled date and time you have selected when placing your order to please arrange with us ahead of time prior to coming. Our farm is a very busy place at times and for bio-security and safety reasons it is important that we know who is coming to the farm during unscheduled On-Farm pickups.

Do you do in person shopping?

Yes, we do offer In Person Shopping at the Farm and the various Farmers' Markets we attend. Please check our Upcoming Event Tab for complete details of dates & times.

Johnstone's Sweet Corn Farmers' Market - from mid July to Thanksgiving, open daily from 9-6pm.

Do you offer Home Delivery?

Yes! We do offer Home Delivery. Please select the shop now tab, enter your postal code and your options and dates will be made available.

Home Delivery is offered to the following locations:

Within Simcoe County- min order of $150 - typically every other week

** Please note Home Delivery is not offered during the months of July & August as we commit to on farm in person shopping and farmers' markets during this time **

When placing my order how do I change my pickup date and/or location default?

When placing an online order and you would like to change your pickup date and/or time, click (CHANGE) in the black menu bar at the top of the page. It will ask for your postal code, once postal has been entered it will give you the opportunity to update your pickup and delivery preferences. All orders are to be placed by 8pm the day before the pickup/delivery date.

Do you offer wholesale pricing?

At this time we are only able to offer wholesale pricing on our whole chickens. Contact us for further details. Please note pricing will be based on quantity purchased at a time. Wholesale pricing is limited/available each year so it is best to contact us early in the year.

We do not offer wholesale pricing on our chicken cut ups, beef, pork, rabbit or eggs.

Do you sell eggs?

Yes, we do sell eggs. However, due the the limited amount of laying hens we are allowed to have on our farm (this is legislated by the Provincial Government and regulated by the Egg Farmers of Ontario) we are only allowed to have a maximum of 99 laying hens. Due to the limit of laying hens we are allowed we only offer our eggs as an added product with a minimum purchase of $50 from our online store with a maximum of 2 dozen per order (limits go down to 1 dozen during the winter months). Again, at this time due to our limits only egg purchases are not available. We have approached The Egg Farmers' of Ontario numerous times have the minimum of layers moved up as here in the province of Ontario with the largest population in all of Canada we have the most restrictive minimum quantity. We have been told by them there is no demand for direct farm to consumer and that all expansions in egg production will only be within the existing Egg Farmers of Ontario. If you would like to see this change we suggest that you contact your local MP. MPP, Egg Farmers of Ontario and Minister of Agriculture to request to have the limits changed. The power is within your voice The government and regulatory bodies are telling us there is no demand for direct farmer to consumer - let them know what you really think they are already know what we think!

Do you sell beef?

Yes, we do offer beef. Unlike chicken, eggs, rabbits and pork; beef takes much longer time to grow. The main livestock that we grow is meat chickens. We do offer beef and it is made available monthly between March to November. Our beef is sold on a first come first reserve basis when available on our online store. Because our beef is 100% grass only fed it is in very high demand. We do not take reservations nor do we sell our beef in full, half or quarters. The largest package we sell is 10 pounds and some individual cuts.

Do you have a waiting list?

We do not have have a waiting list but we do have a customer list. When you sign up onto our online store you will automatically be added to our list. We e-mail weekly specials, when certain products will come in stock or updates with Farmers' Markets, Home Delivery or On-Farm Pick Up. You will be notified first before we post on anything on social media.

What are you methods of payment?

When buying in person at a farmers' market or in person shopping we accept cash, debit, Visa and MasterCard.

Placing orders online we accept Visa, MasterCard and e-transfers. When paying by transfer, payment must be made right away to orders@ifarmfresh.ca. If payment is not made your order will be automatically cancelled.


** Cancellation of any online orders and requests for refunds will be subject to a $10 cancelation fee **

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