About Us
We are Barrie and Merel Voth the owners and operators of Crimson Maple Farm. We officially started the goat dairy in 2014, but the dream started in 2011 when we farmed a 4 acre piece of land on a hillside in Enderby. In 2014, we moved to Silver Creek and initially we leased the dairy barns from the Dahl family. In 2019, we had the opportunity to purchase this beautiful 54 acre piece of paradise. For 8 years we milked 140-200 dairy goats and in 2022 we stopped shipping milk to our local processors and have closed our goat dairy. We now have a mixed farm which includes: goats, sheep, lamb and chickens.
Over the last few years Crimson Maple Farm has shifted from farming conventionally to more of a regenerative approach. For us this means that most of our crop land has been converted into grazing paddocks and that our focus has shifted to holistic farming and life practices. It is early days but we have noticed a huge shift in the number of birds, and wildlife on the farm.
A unique feature about our farm is that is also includes a counselling office. In 2020, we renovated the horse barn to include office space for Merel’s counselling practice. Merel had been renting office space in town but considered that clients might appreciate the picturesque drive out to the farm and the peaceful setting of the countryside.
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Barrie Voth
Farmer
Barrie grew up in Abbotsford and has farming in his blood. Barrie’s love for livestock, passion for improvement in genetics and desire to farm has always been a part of him. When Barrie isn’t out in the field or the barns he can be found reading about farming, talking about farming, playing farm with the kids or out talking to Merel about farming!
He loves his job and is passionate about the environment and people’s health.
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Merel Voth
Counsellor
Merel grew up in Holland and moved to Canada with her family as a young child. Merel has a huge passion for horses and attended Olds College prior to attending university to become a counsellor. Merel has a diploma in Business management, a degree in social work and a masters degree in social work.
Merel can be found in the horse barn, loving life on the farm with the kids. Merel loves to work and play hard. When she is not on the farm she likely out with friends, running, or biking.
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Kaylee
Team Leader!
If you want to know what is happening in the barns or if you are looking for Barrie just ask Kaylee. Our 14 year border collie who never misses a day of work.
Regenerative Practices
Some practices that we have put into place include: only utilizing organic fertilizers only on the land, going no-till, feeding a GMO free diet to our animals, getting our animals out on grass more during the year promoting grazing and more of a forage based diet.
In 2020, we created a series of ponds on the upper bench of our property to capture and store water reducing runoff that would erode crop fields. Plans for 2021 and beyond include diversifying with multiple species that work well for our farm in conjunction with our existing herd of dairy goats, planting trees to promote bank stabilization along the Salmon river, planting trees in designated areas in the fields as well to provide shade for grazing livestock and putting more carbon into the ground at the same time.
Experimentation with Hugelkultur (a German word meaning “hill culture”) a mound of wood debris and compost is planted into a raised type of bed where it helps improve soil fertility, and water retention.
Regenerative agriculture is the idea of benefiting the land and animals in a way that is not just sustainable, but rather it has a way of reinvigorating the land establishing biological and ecological health. Promoting organic and permaculture principles as well in a way to help reestablish land and promote healthy soil where nature works in harmony with plants and animals as well as with the people farming the land.
With our knowledge shift and firm belief that regenerative and holistic farming approaches will help change this world with lasting impressions for our family, farm, and the people connected to the products we produce.
Our hope is that more farms will adopt the ideas of Regenerative and holistic farming practices and forgo the notion that “bigger is better” and that monoculture farming is necessary for profits. As a wise man said “A farm must be ecological for it to be economical.” Some authors and fellow farmers that have been key in adjusting my mindset to another way of farming have come from Allan Savory (farmer, scientist & author of Holistic Management) and Gabe Brown (regenerative famer & author of Dirt to Soil) Wendell Berry (author, poet & farmer).