John and Geri Della Bosca had two choices when they retired: buy a condominium and walk down to the Yacht club every day, or live in the city. Five years later, they find themselves running a successful organic farm called Stone House Farm, located between Northport and Picton. Stone House Farm offers a range of produce, including 14 different lettuces, which they call their “healthy mix,” watercress, seven different varieties of potatoes, and their county-renown eggs and tomatoes. John is also secretary for the Prince Edward County chapter of Canadian Organic Growers, one of 15 chapters throughout Canada.

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Future Plans: Farmer-owned processing

Hear John and Geri's future plans

During a boating trip through France in January, John and Geri Della Bosca came across a company called Lunor.
Lunor specializes in pre-cooked vegetables – “retort packaging” which means the vegetables are vacuum sterilized, destroying all bacteria. With a shelf-life of one calendar year, this method enables consumers to store these vegetables at room temperature – eliminating the tin can and the excess water that comes with it.
John says the plant itself can be scaled to accommodate the size of agriculture in Prince Edward County.
“I think farmer-owned means the farmer is in on the processing, process makes the money. So why shouldn’t the farmer be involved in that,” says Della Bosca.
John says it’s important that the farmer see the process through to the consumer.