{"id":782021,"date":"2026-07-05T15:34:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T15:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/782021\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T15:34:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T15:34:13","slug":"how-these-ontario-women-farmers-are-finding-ways-to-stay-on-top-of-industry-trends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/782021\/","title":{"rendered":"How these Ontario women farmers are finding ways to stay on top of industry trends"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

When Patricia Van Diepen was in her mid-40s, she decided to leave her home in London, buy an old tobacco field in Otterville, Ont., and transform it into Plaid Shirt Farms.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the farm, she grows a variety of berries on 30 acres of land and turns the fruits into homemade vinaigrettes, juices and jams \u2014 with as little artificial sugar or chemicals as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people are wanting more healthy foods, things to level out their sugars and stabilize,\u201d said Van Diepen, who sells her products on Fridays at the Masonville Farmers\u2019 Market in London.<\/p>\n

\u201cSugar is still required because it brings out the flavour of the fruit as well, so it\u2019s a fine balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a balance Van Diepen said is important to strike because staying on top of customer trends is helping keep the farm she owns with her husband, afloat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The rising costs of fuel and fertilizer, paired with the extreme heat, are hitting farmers hard, including Van Diepen and her husband, who opened their farm in 2017. They don\u2019t go to restaurants as much and they don\u2019t take holidays to help make ends meet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re continually being squeezed, which is a challenge,\u201d said Van Diepen. Despite the challenges, she said new and loyal customers help keep her dream of running the berry farm a reality.<\/p>\n

Women farmers recognized for their work<\/p>\n

Women farmers from southwestern Ontario were recognized for their work by the Masonville Farmers\u2019 Market on Friday. The United Nations declared 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer.<\/p>\n

\"AMargo Denison, 19, is an intern at New Moon Community Homestead in Ailsa Craig, Ont. (Jessica Singer\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Margo Denison, 19, is an intern at New Moon Community Homestead in Ailsa Craig, Ont. She dreams of one day running her own farm, but she knows getting into the industry can be costly.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like unless you\u2019re with generational wealth working on a family farm already, it\u2019s so difficult to get into,\u201d said Denison.<\/p>\n

She said her grandfather had to sell his dairy farm because nobody was able to take it over, but she hopes to one day revive the farm and work in the dairy goat or cow industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She encourages people from urban areas to volunteer at farms, even if it\u2019s just for a day. Learning about the farm\u2019s daily operations can help foster appreciation among people outside of the industry.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re feeding everyone, we\u2019re raising the next generation of farmers,\u201d she said. \u201cI think it\u2019s absolutely amazing how we\u2019re giving back to the community.”<\/p>\n

\"AShelley Hunter owns Ataboy Farms in St. Marys, Ont. (Jessica Singer\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Shelley Hunter and her husband started Ataboy Farms in St. Marys, Ont., 20 years ago. They couldn\u2019t find many stores that sold locally-grown garlic, so they decided to do it themselves. Ataboy Farms now sells a variety of dips, dressings and sauces.<\/p>\n

Hunter has also found more customers searching for healthier products, and that they enjoy meeting and connecting with farmers in person. But rising operational costs are posing a challenge to the business.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our herbicides costs have went way up, our fuel costs to run all of our tractors, so we\u2019re at the mercy of that,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYet on the other end, we can\u2019t really sell it for much more because there\u2019s only the price [that] people will pay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ADiane Janssens has been farming since 1984 and owns Janssens Farm Fresh Produce in Appin, Ont. (Jessica Singer\/CBC)<\/p>\n

Diane Janssens, owner of Janssens Farm Fresh Produce in Appin, Ont., has been farming since 1984. New forms of technology, including tapping credit cards to buy produce instead of paying in cash, are learning curves Janssens wouldn\u2019t have expected decades ago. But, she\u2019s happy to serve her customers in whichever ways she can.<\/p>\n

The Masonville Farmers\u2019 Market gave 16 women, including Janssens, certificates to honour the work they do for people in their community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a nice feeling, yeah,\u201d said Janssens. \u201cI\u2019ll frame it and hang it up in my farm market at home.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":782022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":["post-782021","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-ca","tag-canada"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=782021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/782021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/782022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=782021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=782021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=782021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}