Interview a Farmer

 Biography of Top Market Meats

Leslie Zinger along with husband Jeff and two junior farmers Lizzy and Johnny are the farmers of Top Market Meats that is located in Ariss 5887 Splint Road.

Jeff and Leslie purchased the 80 acer family farm 15 years ago and decided to bring it back to tradition with the diversity of livestock just like Jeff's great, great grandparents ran the farm. 

Following with traditional farming practices with a modern flair of pasture raised and grass grazed this farming family raises heritage pigs, lamb, goats, chickens, duck and goose.

Top Market Meats and Family Farms sells directly to local customers at 7 farmers markets, 3 restaurants, 3 local farm grocery stores and also at the farm store located on the family farm.

The Top Market Meats has been in the owner Jeff Zinger family for 100 years. 15 years ago Jeff and his wife Leslie Zinger took over the farm from Jeff parents, they are a fourth generation

Family farmers that believe in bringing local meats and products from there farm to your table. They dedicate themselves on bringing sustainable traditional innovative farming practices to their meats

they produce.

The tradition of pasture raised at the farm our animals are raised on a variety of feeds like pasture grasses, hays and alfalfa that we grow on the farm.

Vegetable and fruit peelings, spent grains and local grains like barley and oats.  All our animals have access to food and water along with pasture fields all year long.

Raised in a low-stress environment without the use of antibiotics and growth-promoting hormones. By following these farming practices and traditions we are producing a top quality product that is unique and rich in flavor.

We specialize in providing GLUTEN FREE products like our 100% meat sausages, herbs and spices with NO added fillers and blinders. We also specialize in custom cuts, meat box orders and packaging that showcase top quality products.

Staying connected with your local farmer.

Throughout the seasons you can visit the farm for free on our educational farm days. These days are all about the livestock and getting to know your farmers.  These events help us better understand our customers’ needs and for the customers to understand our farming system.

January - goats and Christmas tree party

April - August painting with goats, lamb, pigs

June - open farm day to see the baby animals

September - fall rural romp day

November- Pumpkin and pig party

Going local in Cambridge

In 2017 farmer Leslie Zinger opened up a local food store call TOP MARKET FAMILY FARMS in her home town of Cambridge Ontario. Bringing local food to the city and the story behind your food. At this stores location Leslie works with over 40+plus local regional farmers for meat, cheese, eggs, dairy, fruits and vegetables. Along with 80+ local Ontario businesses and Canadian businesses coast to coast. Making it easy and stress free when to finding local food.

Interview A Farmer Questions/Answers

1.) What do you feed your animals on the farm?

Every animal on the farm has its own diet that suits its dietary needs. For example we grass and finish our market goats and lambs but the Doe’s (mother goats) and Ewes (mother sheep) get grass along with oats and barley. Because they are pregnant or nursing babies and needing more proteins.

The pigs and chickens get a feed blend of oats/barley along with dry hay/alfalfa and also vegetable peelings from a local canary. The cattle get hay/alfalfa along with the spent grains from a local brewery for a balanced diet.

2.) What are the sustainable Traditional innovation farming practices that you use?

For our farm it’s what works for our land and animals as a balance.  We use the pasture fields for grazing the animals that in return have changed the environment around us with less soil erosion, natural fertilization and natural regrowth.  We also make sure that food waste that would otherwise be thrown out or just wasted, have a secondary purpose like spent grains from a local brewery

And vegetable/fruit peeling from a local canary.

3.) How did you get into farming?

Jeff Zinger has been a farmer his whole life and me Leslie Zinger have been farming for 15 plus years.  When purchasing the family farm we wanted to bring it back to how the farm was run in the 1950’s with pasture fields, Grazing livestock and also raising animals seasonally like duck, meat chickens and geese.  This has all grown year after year on the local of suppling local food and being local farmers.

4.) What kind of crops do you grow on your farm?

We grow 40 acres of hay/alfalfa for feed so our livestock have dry grass all year to eat. The other 40 acres are rotting crops like soya beans and corn but we are hoping to have everything to hay/alfalfa in the next five years.

5.) What other animals do you have on your farm and what roll do they play?

All year we farm pigs, goats and lambs. Beef is all year at my husband’s cousins farm.

Seasonally from May-November we raise duck, geese and chickens.

Each livestock has their own grazing sections on the farm and they keep the pasture fields trimmed and fertilized.

6.) Do you do anything organic on your farm?
I personally don’t believe that organic makes anything better or more superior over practices of pasture raised, grass fed, sustainable, humanely raised, environmentally friendly. We don’t spray or destroy the environment around us but with that being said I also don’t need to pay for an overpriced piece of paper that the public deceives as the right way.  I’m going to farm for what is the right for my animals and land. I personally think “organic” is an overly priced and polished definition of a high horse with little legs.......CLEARLY NOT A FAN OF THE WORD “organic

What did I learn from this experience?

I learn that from this experience that through the research is that there are so many different farms.  I choose to do my on Top Market Meats after I was recommended to them by Dana Thatcher. From my experience doing this blog assignment on interviewing a farmer. I found out farmer has changed a bit over the years. I have a total new respect for what farmers actually go through now. I had a lot of fun doing this assignment. I would like to maybe work on a farm part-time one day to see the whole operation of farm life. I will buy more products from actual farmers now instead of always at a grocery store. Top market meats are great they treat their animals so well; they fed with great food that is growing on their farm. This farm also rescues animals that was really special to hear. I am going to keep learning about farm life.

I am really thankful to Leslie Zinger for our the information she gave me for this blog. Thank you for time and consideration.

Prices for some of their product are:

Goat meat $12 lb.

Lamb meat $12 lb.

Rabbit meat $5.99 lb.             .

Pork meat $4.50 lb.

What they farm.

At the Top Market Meats,  they farm the following Goats, Pigs, Lamb, Chickens. They used to raised Rabbits but have recently stop doing this. The neighbor farm now raises Rabbits. They also have  a pony and a Donkey, They are the daughters pets. They were both rescue animals. 

                   

             

When it comes to Prices i am not sure how to really answer how it relates to Pillars of sustainability.

I wish i had answer to this question, but I do know I will do more research on this in the near future.

So I can understand more about this topic.

Here are some extra photos on what they farm i got the images from there website http://topmarketrabbitry.ca/

Plymouth Barred Chickens



Tamworth Pig



    Muscovy Duck