The farm just down the road: Miller's Bay

Four generations of the Miller family have farmed in Rideau Ferry. Shannon and Robert Miller, the present owners, both have a farming background and decided to purchase the farm from Robert's parents when it was still a dairy operation.

Eventually they diversified from dairy to crops, growing everything from beans and strawberries to corn, potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, and tomatoes. They stagger their crops to have a constant supply of fresh farm to table foods.

Next season, they hope to have asparagus to sell. "We've just started growing it." says Shannon Miller, "There was enough this year for our roadside stand, but next year we should be able to supply asparagus to our wholesale customers."

The Millers rotate their crops and use manure to fertilize their fields. "That was one good thing about having a herd of dairy cattle." laughs Shannon. "We always had plenty of manure."

After the drought of 2012 and the loss of crops, they installed irrigation, which came to their rescue in the drought of last summer. "We also stay quite diversified." says Shannon. "That's kept us from big losses."

Miller's Bay Farm produce travels only a few kilometres to reach our store, so the food on our shelves has often just left their fields. As Murray, our produce manager, states, "They're only a phone call away. If we sell out of something, the Millers are always willing to drive a fresh supply to our store!"