A Short History of Getaway Farm, by Lance Bishop

In 1974, the year I was born, my mom and dad, Bob and Fern Bishop, bought an old farm and woodlot property near Baxters Harbour, a small community on the northern edge of the North Mountain, which is also on the southern shore of the Bay of Fundy. Mom and Dad wanted to “get away” from their lives as owners of a busy private campground in exchange for a simpler life, living close with the land and sea. For thirty years my family practiced sustenance farming, fishing, and forestry. My dad also worked at a number of additional off-farm rural endeavors, from driving a school bus to being a dog catcher. I grew up with daily chores like gardening, wood cutting, milking the cow, and setting a herring net on the beach.

In 2005, I married a tolerant and beautiful woman, Marina Myra, and together we bought my old home property. Mom and Dad still live here in the house, and in honor of their original intentions, we finally gave our place a name: Getaway Farm.

“Getaway” also recognizes our own intentions: we have in mind to interact with our land in ways that get away from the multitude of entrapments of modern agriculture. We believe the past 75 years have witnessed the development of way too many maladaptive practices in farming—widespread herbicide use, chemical fertilizers, hormonal growth implants in animals, and a trend towards feeding them grain-based diets laced with antibiotics. The most disturbing trend, perhaps, is that of small family farms disappearing and being replaced by so called “agri-businesses”: factory type operations supported by the asinine fixes needed to go with.

Growing up here, I learned first hand there are better ways to produce what people need. The rise of organic agriculture has made a lot of old ways new again, like feeding grass to cattle! Our goal is to find a balance, using the land in ways that produce food and income for us while restoring the fertility of the soil, the quality of the water, and the health and historical diversity of the Acadian Forest surrounding our fields. We strive to be good land stewards, good neighbors, and gentle cattle keepers. Our hope is that there are some local people who remember or are willing to discover the superior flavors and health benefits of beef from cattle that spent their life doing what they were designed to do—eat grass.