FARM 2025: Buy-local movement seeing bump locally amid tariff talk
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
As the “Buy Canadian” movement has caught fire amidst trade war tensions, the imposition of tariffs and a general souring of the relationship between Canada and its neighbours to the south, many can count themselves lucky to be residents of Ontario’s most agriculturally-productive county and one of the most bountiful regions in all of Canada. If buying local food cannot be done in Huron County, it can’t be done anywhere.
Here, it is not uncommon to drive down a provincial highway, county road or seldom-driven gravel road and see a small farmgate stand or a hand-scrawled sign enticing you to pull over for some fresh eggs, a dozen cobs of corn, flowers or a small variety of produce from some of the more elaborate stands that provide the much-needed variety necessary before dinner needs to be prepared.
Beyond roadside stands and established relationships between local farmers and producers and their neighbours and passers-by, some have come together to bring the bounty of Huron County under one roof. Businesses such as Eat Local Huron, Maitland Market and Supply, Maitside Orchards and more have built their foundation and reputation on that very tenet - taking the one-stop shop approach and applying it to local produce, food and products.
They are no strangers to the eat-local movement, and yet, while others have done their best, they are now waking up to it, perhaps a bit too late if you ask some, and looking not abroad, but in their own backyard for what grows, what there is to eat and how to support their neighbours and the agricultural landscape of this great province.
So, when U.S. President Donald Trump began slapping tariffs on everything coming from Bonavista to Vancouver Island, from the Arctic Circle to the Great Lake waters, with all thanks to The Travellers, many Canadians have opted to fight back with their wallets, mobilizing their spending power to support their Canadian friends and neighbours wherever possible. As a result, some in Huron County have seen a spike in sales, others have remained steady and others yet think it’s a shame that it took the threats of the leader of another country for consumers to wake up to the importance of buying local.
Chris Spaleta of Eat Local Huron, a revolutionary online service that aggregates locally-made products from Huron County and some of its neighbouring community, says not only has the business seen a marked uptick since the so-called trade war began, but the company has been hearing from customers that turning to Eat Local Huron has come as a direct result of the political tumult between the two nations.
Dozens of local producers have partnered with Eat Local Huron to bring their products to a wider audience. Producers include Trick’s Creek Farm, Robinson’s Maple, Firmly Rooted, Burdan’s Red Cat Bakery, Out of the Blue Seafood Market, Bayfield Berry Farm, The Secret Garden and more. Customers are able to visit the Eat Local Huron website and shop just as they would on any online marketplace, then, on slated delivery days, their chosen bounty will arrive at their doorstep. No muss, no fuss, as they say.
In fact, Eat Local Huron has recently expanded, building back after a fire at its North Huron headquarters shortly after its launch, to also feature a Goderich storefront, which serves as a showcase for all the products featured and an introduction to the ethos of the business.
Spaleta, in an interview with The Citizen, said that the business was created with the buy-local mantra in mind, so it has been rewarding to see more and more people come around to the idea that the Eat Local Huron team has been championing for some time.
For some direct-to-customer producers, the balance to strike is a bit more nuanced and partnerships with their American colleagues cannot be dismissed out of hand because of political decisions being made in opulent offices from historic, ornate desks.
Katrina McQuail from the Lucknow-area Meeting Place Organic Farm thinks it’s a shame that farmers are being swept up in politics, but acknowledges the importance of supporting the country right now. As the president of the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario and an organic farmer herself, she says that both the association and her farm have had a symbiotic relationship with like-minded farmers south of the border for decades and that should not be jeopardized on account of some political strife. The issue is also further complicated within the McQuail family itself. Her father and Meeting Place co-founder Tony was born in rural Pennsylvania and made his way to Canada decades ago. Katrina’s husband is a Texas native. So, within the McQuail family, there are plenty of friendly faces and meaningful relationships on both sides of the border.
As far as the farm’s production is concerned, McQuail’s Meeting Place is on the forefront of direct-to-consumer sales in Huron County, hosting her own website, taking her own orders and making her own deliveries. She says it has been hard to say whether new consumers have sought her out or not, due to timing and the specific nature of the business.
The Meeting Place online shop was down for several months as McQuail worked on other aspects of the farm throughout the winter. She’ll just be ramping up towards the season now, so she will have to wait and see how the current climate will affect sales. She said it was, in a way, too early to know too much.
Walton’s Jeff Linton of Linton Pasture Pork says he has been keeping his head down and stayed busy with the day-to-day work of his unique farm, but that, while he had seen a bump in orders recently, he didn’t do the math and connect the two issues. So, while he can’t be sure that people are finding him now amidst all of this uncertainty, he can’t rule it out, either.
As very much a one-man operation, Linton says he can barely keep up with orders and e-mails, so, while that’s good, it can be a struggle too. He, like many others, has been preaching about the virtues of eating healthy, local, uncomplicated meat for years now, so he says it’s nice to see others take him up on that offer.
Davin Lichty of Maitside Orchards in Brussels says that he has seen an increase in sales recently, but admitted that he likely could have been doing more to get out there and spread the word about the local delights his storied business offers. However, like the others, he’s happy to see more people seek out local, independent producers in what can only signal a bright future for local producers.
Erika Schilthuis of Maitland Market and Supply says that while her business has not necessarily seen a distinct increase in sales as a result of the cross-border uncertainty, it is seeing the support it always sees from people who value locally-grown food and supporting Huron County farmers.
The very bedrock of Maitland Market and Supply relies on the importance of fresh, local food, Schilthuis says, but there’s so much more to that concept in regards to being a guardian of the agriculturally-rich land with which the province is blessed and wanting to support local farmers and protect the food supply, knowing that, by investing in them, you’re securing the local food supply and the health of the region for not only ourselves, but our children and grandchildren.
As for people opting to buy local and to support that foundational promise on which Maitland Market and Supply so prides itself, Schilthuis says it’s actually a bit disappointing that it’s taken threats and intervention from another country for Canadians to wake up to such a notion. To support that continuum by voting with their wallets, Canadians are helping to shape the world in which they want to live in and the world they want to leave behind for their children and grandchildren.
Maitland Market and Supply, Schilthuis said, was created with the idea of lifting up Huron County farmers, so they did all that they could to stock the shelves with Huron County products. And, if they had to go beyond the county to a neighbour, then so be it, but the focus was always as hyper-local as possible. Through that approach, Schilthuis said she hopes the market has done what it can to support local farmers, foster relationships with them and bring high-quality, healthy, local food to the people of Huron County. Those are principles that the whole Schilthuis family, including Erika and Dennis’ children, have imparted and they are happy to see them picked up by others.