Secret Lands

QUICK FACTS

Located: 

Proton Station, ON

Established:

2013

Owned By:

The Burov Family

Produces:

• Sheep's Milk Artisanal Cheeses
• Kefir
• Yogurt

Season:

Year Round

Growing Practices:

Secret Lands Farms has a pesticide/hormone-free pasture and fields for their hormone-free sheep. They manage their farm according to the strictest organic principles but are not organically certified.

Producer Website:

http://www.secretlands.ca/

About:

Secret Lands Farm is situated amidst the rolling hills of western Ontario. 135 kilometers from Toronto, and only 95 kilometers from Guelph, this convenient location lets us bring all natural and fresh products to you daily, while providing our plants and animals the country’s clean air. Established in 1904, Secret Lands Farm boasts 140 acres of pesticide/herbicide-free pastures for our hormone-free sheep that call this farm their home.

The Burovs – Sophie, Alex, and our son Roman – have owned and operated Secret Lands farm since 2013 when they decided they needed a change of pace and atmosphere from city life. Originally from far eastern Russia, they grew up with quality, natural dairy products as a staple in their lives. When they moved out of Toronto, bringing the wholesome natural dairy products of their upbringing to Ontario seemed like a natural next step.

Combining new technology with old European traditions, Secret Lands is able to produce artisanal cheeses, yogurts, kefirs, and other sheep dairy products that can only be made on a small scale.This means they have a direct relationship with all of their products, providing more attention to the quality, taste, and nutritional benefits of everything we make.

The happy sheep of Secret Lands Farm are all purebred East Friesian Dairy sheep. East Friesians originate in East Friesia in northern Germany, and are one of the best dairy breeds. When fed a high quality diet, as theirs are, the sheep milk is sweet and particularly high in protein. The naturally occurring nutrients in their soil are transferred into the grass growing in their fields. The sheep graze in these lush pastures, while the remaining fields are used to make haylage – a method of preserving grass that extends the nutrients’ lifetime, and increases the protein content – so that they can feed their sheep local grass all year round. They feed their sheep with the freshest, all natural and nutritious food because they care for their four-legged friends and believe the happiest and healthiest animals produce the best-tasting milk.

They offer a range of products based on this exceptional milk, including artisanal cheeses, kefirs, and yogurts. Because of their sheep’s succulent diet, which consists of all natural and fresh grass and haylage, the milk and resultant products that their sheep give are naturally sweet and rich in protein, beneficial fats, and α-linolenic acid, an essential fatty acid also found in chia, flaxseed, and walnuts. Whereas other dairy producers use packaged laboratory raised cultures, they use kefir as a starter culture for all of their cheeses and yogurts. The complex community of microorganisms in kefir help give their cheeses excellent flavour, and contribute probiotics to all of their products, which are essential for maintaining healthy digestion. 

CHECK OUT THEIR PRODUCTS BELOW!