Jeff Burke bought an empty piece of property 12 years ago and started Brule Creek Farms. (Photo by Ayano Hodouchi-Dempsey)
THUNDER BAY It was 12 years ago that Jeff Burke bought an empty piece of property, planted 17 acres of wheat, built a mill and started Brule Creek Farms. Today he grows rye and canola as well, farming approximately 320 acres total, including land he rents in addition to his own.
Northwest Ontario has several dairy farms and Burke grew up on one himself, but he was the first to start selling wheat and rye flours in the city. He says some dairy farmers have started growing grains as well, after one of the grain elevators in Thunder Bay started accepting grains from trucks in addition to railway cars.