About Us
Nice to meet you! We are Erin, Ryan, Norah, Hazel, and Georgia, the family behind Rock's End Farm.
My name is Erin Krekoski, and I'm the co-owner and main operator of Rock's End Farm. I love the land. And I love animals. Working with livestock on the land isn't an option for me, it's an imperative. Farming runs thick in my blood, I'm proud to continue the tradition by raising the fifth generation of farmers in my family. Farming is my humble contribution to righting our human relationship to the rest of the non-human world. The farm is my way of figuring out where the balance lies - what are we humans supposed to be doing here? My favourite farm tool is observation: if I'm still enough, quiet enough, patient enough, the animals and the land just might share their secrets. I feel pretty grateful that my occupation is an ongoing meditation on the beautiful complexity of nature all around me.
Meet Ryan Katz-Rosene, co-owner of Rock's End Farm. Ryan mainly works off the farm as a professor at the University of Ottawa, where he studies climate change policy. But he also plays a supporting role on the farm, helping out with daily chores and bigger farm projects. With an eye for farm photography, Ryan also manages our Instagram page, and enjoys venturing out on the property in search of the next wonder this amazing place has to offer.
Our three kids bring joy, light-heartedness, and a faithful optimism to life on the farm. They take the lead with their growing herd of Nubian goats, and remind us to stop and savour the moment.
Our farm family is much bigger than just the 5 of us. We would have failed long ago if not for the amazing community of people that are also connected to this land and help us to grow what we can here. It's about more than just "the work" - it's the feeling of coming together, being on the land, connecting to something bigger than any one of us. The land nourishes us through our connection, as much as it does through the food.
Over the years we've got to work with some amazing farm workers that make our work possible - and fun! Without their skills and dedication, we would not be able to farm in the way that we do. We can't wait to see our farming community bloom as these awesome folks branch out in different ways in agriculture.
Just as important as the people that do the "farming" work, are all of the people that support it in the background: I couldn't cut the hay without lunch and a hug from these special people. The tractor work is obvious - but for too long the work of everybody else has been invisible. The partner that made the lunch and did the chores on a break from his own beyond-full-time-job, the sister that's taking the picture, the AMAZING caregivers that make my kids light up with joy when they arrive. A farm is as much these people as it is the person sitting on the tractor.
A farm pulls in friends and family in a way that not a lot of other jobs are able to do. Bringing your kids to work doesn't always work - but sometimes it makes the job better. To do a job with family and friends means you're no longer "doing a job" - it's just life. And it's a good one.
