Ursa Farm

04/06/2026

Easter has proven to be a lambing day for us the last two years in a row now.

Sweet Emma’s first time birthing, she had beautiful twins. One died during birth sadly. We found them still warm this morning and tried to revive the one, but she was too far gone.

The smaller one is a ram and is up and drinking well. A death and a birth, harsh but true lessons inherent in all life. Lessons from nature never end on the farm. We are reminded daily of the joy and pain of real life. Lessons also of the Easter festival. Death and rebirth are inevitable, and we must be able to face these truths with courage and humility.

04/05/2026

Wishing you all a blessed Easter festival.

04/03/2026

The first of hopefully many more Farm Journals to come. These will be continuous updates displaying the rhythms we live through in the cycle of the year, including some updates from our Waldorf-inspired Farm & Forest School, the Farm Community Initiative work, and of course our biodynamic farming through the seasons. These are overview/updates, not in-depth about particulars (those will be saved for other articles). I would be grateful if you could share what we are doing here in Nova Scotia. It will help us to spread the word about our intiatives, so we can find the right people to join us. We are actively looking for farmers, families, teachers, land stewards, like-minded folks, and just good all around people who wish to build a farm community in the spirit of anthroposophy (do not have to be an anthroposophist or even study Steiner per se), and who want to connect and work with us in a range of ways (online or in-person). It all begins with relationships and connections. Thank you for your sharing and spreading the work. Thank you for your support!

Link to the article:
https://open.substack.com/pub/soulandsoilnewsletter/p/farm-journal-1-february-and-march?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

See the link in bio or stories today to read the newsletter.

03/22/2026

We have noticed this on our farm also. Cows and sheep seem to prefer biodynamic sprayed parts of our pastures.

03/05/2026

Check out this awesome survival and bushcraft curriculum, put together by lead facilitator David, for our new youth program.

Starting Saturday April 4th, 1-4pm, four Saturday afternoons. The last day (July 4) has an optional add-on overnight opportunity.

This program is for youth ages 13-16.

To register or see more information go to the programs section at https://www.ursafarm.ca

03/02/2026

The United Nations has declared 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer (IYWF 2026)—a global initiative recognizing the essential roles women play across agrifood systems, from production to processing to trade, often without adequate visibility or recognition.

This international year aims to raise awareness of the contributions of women in agrifood systems and the challenges they face—such as land access, financial and technical barriers, and limited access to services and education—while encouraging policies and investments that strengthen their leadership and economic opportunities.

In Canada, many small and medium-sized farms championing wool quality are led by women. We work alongside many of them and are continually inspired by their resilience, creativity, commitment to animal welfare and their communities, and their entrepreneurial drive.

Every March, we celebrate Canadian Women in Wool in honour of International Women’s Day on March 8. This year, to mark the International Year of the Woman Farmer, we’ll be sharing stories of Canadian women farmers. Stay tuned!

03/02/2026

Ursa Farm & Forest School programs are experimental based.

✨ Experiential Education – Students Learn Best By Doing ✨

Dive into this rich research study which affirms that experiential learning is how students learn best across all ages and all subject areas. ​Experiential learning is defined as an educational approach in which understanding grows from lived experience. Learning fractions by baking, physics through observing light, history through drama, or biology through careful outdoor observation, are all examples of this direct, hands-on approach.

In an increasingly abstract and digital world, experiential education offers something both timeless and essential: learning that engages the whole child and fosters understanding that is lasting, human, and alive. Ultimately, experiential learning calls students into a process of transformation—of self and of understanding the world.

Explore this study at: https://www.waldorfeducation.org/experiential-education-students-learn-best-by-doing/

Photo Credit: Richmond Waldorf School

02/28/2026

Yields are not everything…

Did one of the most famous farming trials show that biodynamic farming produces LOWER yields?

Yes.

But that’s not the interesting part.

The Swiss DOK Trial — a 45-year comparative study of biodynamic, organic
and conventional cropping systems - one of the world’s longest-running farming systems experiments — compared biodynamic, organic, and conventional management over multiple decades under controlled conditions.

It found that conventional systems produced higher average yields.

This is exactly what you would expect from systems using readily soluble, directly plant-available nutrient inputs.

But the same trial also measured the soil.

Biodynamic systems showed higher soil organic matter, greater microbial biomass, and elevated biological activity — indicators associated with long-term soil processes rather than short-term output.

This distinction matters.

Yield magnitude alone is not a sufficient indicator of agroecosystem performance in long-term systems research. Lower yields often reflect fundamentally different strategies — external input-driven productivity versus productivity emerging from biological nutrient cycling.

Crucially, the DOK trial does not evaluate “which system is best”, but rather documents trade-offs between yield intensity and soil-ecological regulation under distinct management systems.

The deeper question raised by long-term trials like DOK is not simply:

“Which system yields more?”

But:

“How is productivity generated, and what is being sustained in the process?”

Source: www.fibl.org/fileadmin/documents/shop/1741-dok-dossier-en.pdf

12/13/2025

This Monday will be our last meat delivery day to the area until spring time. I can deliver anywhere between Oxford and Tata Monday and… between Oxford and Dartmouth/Halifax tomorrow!

I will be in Halifax for deliveries tomorrow, Sunday for any last minute orders you may have. Email me!

We have grassfed beef, some organic-fed pork, and a few heritage organic-fed free range turkeys as well!

Email or see the form link in bio (for beef) for more details!

Ursa.farmstead@gmail.com

Or come visit us this week at the farm near Oxford, NS.

11/14/2025

Come and see us tomorrow at the Pugwash Farmers' Market Festive Market! This will be our only market this season as our beef is selling fast. Come and chat all things healthy, quality, local foods with us.

Coming soon... our annual Outdoor Festive Market is happening on Saturday November 15th at the Market Site from 10am to 2pm. See you there!

11/10/2025

Here is something that is very important to us and has greatly affected our business in the last year. I encourage everyone to educate themselves on what has happened to your rights with regards to Natural Health Prducts being available in Canada and how thanks to Big Pharma and ill informed beauracrats we are unfairly being targeted and put in the same category as pharmaceutical drugs,
Essential nutrients and natural remedies should not be treated as dangerous chemical drugs

💚 Natural health products are natural remedies and essential nutrients we need to be healthy.

💚 Natural health products should not be classed as drugs. Before 2004 they were not classed as drugs. It is only with the ill-advised Natural Health Product Regulations that for the first time it became illegal for Canadian companies to sell vital nutrients without Health Canada permission.

💚 Natural health products are classed by law as food in the U.S. They are deemed by law to be safe in the U.S. There is no requirement for government pre-approval in the form of a licence in the U.S. This is because Congress passed the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, 1994.

We should go back to being foods like we were before 2004, and like the same products are in the U.S.

Let’s make protecting access to natural health products a key issue. Ask your mp to Speak up for Natural Health and vote in favour of Bill-C224.

Visit nhppa.org/bill224/ for everything you need to get involved. Send emails, print letters, download pre-made social media posts, contact candidates, and more.

11/09/2025

We are so grateful for our local farmer friends. Check out Wysmykal Farm online order page to see all the wonderful products they have and we hope to see you for Thursday pick up here! We have lots of beef available still too.

Good morning! The sun is shining, and it is feeling chilly out there. It looks like some cold (below 0C) weather is on its way this week. Last week on the farm was busy! We harvested the napa cabbages, the rutabagas, and the parsnips. Everything is on the smaller side this year, but at least we did get something. We also planted our garlic. We covered two beds with a generous compost layer, two beds with a more moderate compost layer, and three beds of those beds with landscape fabric. Both the compost mulch and the landscape fabric should help to retain moisture and decrease w**d pressure. We are interested to see which treatment works the best. Below is a photo of the garlic laid out on top of the bed with compost mulch, ready to go in. Also, beginning this week, we are partnering with Ursa Farm to offer a weekly pick up in Oxford, NS, on Thursday mornings. Their farm products will also be available for pick up:
https://docs.google.com/.../1FAIpQLSc5jkTn0rGqh8.../viewform