Ursa Farm

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

02/19/2026

As the light grows stronger in late February, the farmers dreams from winters meditative sleep begin to take shape…

Our new website and new logo are finally finished. Thanks to a dear and talented friend and many long hours of screen time for me (far more than my usual), it’s a relief. It’s been a long time coming… and now the moment has come to ask for help too. To keep this farm farming, and grow it for future generations.

We are looking for your help to bring about a new way of farming that will be a model for making small agriculture not just sustainable into the future, but a thriving example of how we are meant to work together and the earth. Small family farms are struggling, community farms are needed more than ever, where people work together with shared values of freedom, fairness and fellowship.

We are looking for people who wish to work with us. You don’t have to live nearby to get involved. We are going to need all the support we can get. This is the birthing process of a whole community farm organism. Please see our website for details of ways to help.

And thank you for taking part in building more resilient and loving communities.

http://ursafarm.ca

Linked in our bio

We are looking for volunteer writers for our farm news letter. Let us know if you are interested. Thank you!

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

11/05/2025

MORE DELIVERY OPTIONS ADDED! Order Request form linked in bio.

Posting this again as there was some confusion… there have been lots of scams lately conserving meat sales, but this is not one of them. If you want to check you can always direct message me or give me a call to chat, or email.

Please share and help us get the word out! We also have limited supply of pork, direct message or email of you’re interested in that as it is not on our order form.

*****
Please check out our updated order form to request some of our grassfed beef. Link in bio.

Ecological - Holistic - Biodiverse - Regenerative - Nutrient-dense
No chemicals - No GMOs - Rotational grazing - 100% grassfed and finished beef.

All of our animals are hand-fed treats grown on the farm.

All of our products are created with simple ingredients, as local as possible, and handcrafted with love.

We learn from the philosophical teachings of Rudolf Steiner, aiming to co-create harmony and balance on earth and with the cosmos through our living and farming practices.

Always feel free to ask us more questions about how we farm. We hope to connect directly with our customers, and we want to help you to have a deeper relationship with healthy nourishing food and with nature.

Email Ursa.farmstead@gmail.com

Link for the order form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5jkTn0rGqh8hN9PbvJMa_GTuWyPA1DTeqNFKVlNvhJGSyFg/viewform

11/03/2025

NEW DELIVERY OPTIONS! And easier form access too!

Please check out our updated order form to request some of our grassfed beef. Link in bio.

Ecological - Holistic - Biodiverse - Regenerative - Nutrient-dense
No chemicals - No GMOs - Rotational grazing - 100% grassfed and finished beef.

All of our animals are hand-fed treats grown on the farm.

All of our products are created with simple ingredients, as local as possible, and handcrafted with love.

We learn from the philosophical teachings of Rudolf Steiner, aiming to co-create harmony and balance on earth and with the cosmos through our living and farming practices.

Always feel free to ask us more questions about how we farm. We hope to connect directly with our customers, and we want to help you to have a deeper relationship with healthy nourishing food and with nature.

Email Ursa.farmstead@gmail.com

Link for the order form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc5jkTn0rGqh8hN9PbvJMa_GTuWyPA1DTeqNFKVlNvhJGSyFg/viewform

10/19/2025

The online form is now updated. Please see the link in our bio for details.

If you would like delivery to your location please let us know.

10/18/2025

Farm stand open Friday and Saturday!
This week I have fresh homemade bread available! 🍞
As well as soap and eggs!
Come take a look! 🍁
367 north wallace road pugwash