With support from a new program delivered in part by Peterborough County, Millbrook Orchards is aiming to bring an increasingly popular berry to more local restaurants in The Kawarthas, while also expanding its pick-your-own agri-tourism experience for visitors to the farm.
Located in the Township of Cavan Monaghan, Millbrook Orchards is an organic farm that has made sustainable agricultural practices a priority for 21 years. After initially operating the farm for cash crops, husband-and-wife owners Mike and Patricia wanted to switch to permaculture farming that was more innovative.
Today, they grow 10 acres of certified organic haskaps, which produce a fruit — also known as honeyberries or honeysuckle berries — with a unique and complex flavour frequently described as a sweet and tangy blend of blueberries and raspberries.
Millbrook Orchards also grows a range of other fruits including Asian pears, strawberries, raspberries and golden raspberries, cherries, cherry plums, apples, and grapes, as well as garlic, onions, rainbow carrots, flowers, and more.
All of this is sold through a drop-in market located on the family farm and at the Millbrook Farmers’ Market. Though Patricia likes making these personal connections with consumers, she says most of their sales are made through wholesale purchases.
That’s why Millbrook Orchards will be participating in the Kawartha Local Food Wholesale project, which aims to increase local food distribution in Peterborough County, the City of Peterborough, and the City of Kawartha Lakes. To streamline connections between local buyers and local producers, the program has developed the Green Circle Food Hub.
“That would absolutely help us to connect with restaurants,” Patricia says of the Green Circle Food Hub. “Wholesale is easier for us as farmers because then we can focus on growing food rather than selling it. We have a specialty product (haskaps) that is not only organic but it’s unusual and it takes a long time to grow.”
By taking advantage of wholesale opportunities through the Green Circle Food Hub, Millbrook Orchards will have more time to focus on farming and their new agri-tourism attraction.
When Patricia had spinal surgery last year, leaving her unable to do a lot of labour on the farm, Millbrook Orchards pivoted to begin holding U-picks, inviting visitors to the farm to pick their own haskaps and raspberries. This year, there will also be opportunities for visitors to pick trellis produce including beans, peas, squash, and tomatoes, as well as sunflowers.
“I like the idea of people enjoying the food that we have to offer and having an experience at the same time,” Patricia says. “It’s fun, interesting, social, and engaging, and hopefully it helps us a little bit with costs.”
Millbrook Orchards is located at 89 County Road 21, around six kilometres west of Millbrook. To learn more, visit millbrookorchards.ca. For updates on u-pick dates, join the Millbrook Orchards Organic Haskap U-Pick Facebook group.
To further support producers regionally and build connections between buyers and producers, Peterborough County, the City of Peterborough, and the City of Kawartha Lakes also delivers the Kawartha Choice FarmFresh program. The initiative provides a brand identity for local producers, a network for members to share and access resources, and an online database for buyers to find local producers.
The Local Advantage in Peterborough County is a branded editorial feature series celebrating the farmers, food producers, food retailers, and agri-tourism businesses that make The Kawarthas thrive, created in partnership with Peterborough County’s Economic Development & Tourism Division.
Agriculture is a key economic driver and a point of pride for Peterborough County, with local farms producing a wide variety of high-quality goods, from traditional crops and livestock to organic and specialty products, reflecting the strength and diversity of this vital sector. With a growing focus on sustainability, local food systems, agri-innovation, and agri-tourism, agriculture offers strong potential for growth and diversification.
The Local Advantage with Peterborough County series spotlights the Kawartha Choice FarmFresh and Kawartha Local Food Wholesale initiatives, which aim to strengthen connections from farm to table across our region.
For more information about economic development and tourism in Peterborough County, visit www.ptbocounty.ca/ecdev and The Kawarthas Tourism at thekawarthas.ca.
