Satori Farms

Claimed

5 1 review

Apiaries (Honey)

Beef Producers Egg Producers Farm Made Products Maple Syrup Producers Meat Producers Other Farming

Save

3904 Freeland Rd. Portland, ON K0G 1V0

We are a local farm specializing in grass fed/ grass finished beef, mohair fibre from our angora goats, honey, maple syrup, eggs and an incredible line of tallow skincare!

Tanya Lemcke

Cell # 613-484-0121

satorifarms1@gmail.com

Satori Farms on Facebook

Special coverage through Notes From The Farmer's Daughter column:

Satori Farms: In The Heart of Rideau Lakes

Notes from The Farmer’s Daughter

A.K.A. Tanya Hammond

February 10^th marked Canada’s Agriculture Day, a day chosen “to formally honour the hardworking individuals who bring food to our tables and the incredible contributions of agriculture to our nation’s prosperity, health, and well-being.”

As part of that celebration, I chose to highlight Satori Farms, located in the heart of The Rideau Lakes (3904 Freeland Road, Portland), not because they are the biggest farm around, not because they are fifth or sixth generation farmers, but because they have a story to tell, because they are hardworking and dedicated to farming and because they are afraid of what the future may hold for them if the proposed high speed Alto rail goes through.

Before we talk about the justifiable fear Tanya Lemcke and Josh Welch, Owners of Satori Farms, feel, let's first get to know them and their farm better.

I knew Tanya, a lifelong Westport resident from Rideau District High School, though younger than me, I knew Tanya was the sibling of a classmate of mine. She carried herself with the confidence of someone much older, and her obvious beauty was, admittedly, somewhat intimidating. It was only a year or so ago that I became a follower of Tanya’s farm and soon discovered that her outward beauty pales in comparison to her inner beauty, where the love of her farm, her animals, her surroundings, and her community is central to everything she does.

When asked what being a farmer means to them, Tanya explained that she and Josh have termed themselves “Skipped Gen(eration) Farmers,” both having come from “farming backgrounds with grandparents that farmed.” They both grew up loving every minute of farm life, though neither of their parents chose it. The name, Satori Farms, came from the feeling the two experienced when looking at the first group of 7 heifers they purchased. Borrowing the Japanese word Satori, meaning “awakening or understanding” referring to a moment of sudden enlightenment and insight into their true nature, the couple has never looked back.

Speaking from the heart, when I asked for a rundown on the number of each animal currently calling Satori Farms home, Tanya admitted she is a bit of a collector, saying she hates selling any of their animals, noting she has worked hard to offer a loving home to a variety of animals in need, along with their beef business. “We are currently home to over 200 beating hearts, and that includes beef and dairy cows, angora and pygmy goats, chickens and ducks, rescued cats, three cool donkeys, three crazy llamas, a farmdog named Ted and recently a rehomed livestock guardian dog named Lola.”

Relatively new to operating a farm, having started in February of 2021, buying their first group of bred heifers, Tanya and Josh jumped in with nothing but a dream. “No Fields ready, no barn, no tractors, no infrastructure and no land, “ says Tanya. Thankfully, Josh had a cousin in Gananoque with a beef operation, and he was kind enough to let the couple’s cattle stay there that first spring. Josh and Tanya got busy setting up fencing, creating roads, eventually adding coveralls, redoing the old main barn, and adding a maple sugar shack to Josh’s parents’ 138-acre property, now home to Satori Farms. Tanya recalls the day in September of 2021 as one of their proudest moments, bringing their cows home.

Sharing work responsibilities on the farm, Tanya and Josh brought in an employee who assists them on the farm and in Josh’s drywall business. Though the hardworking couple each has an off-farm career, Tanya, a popular Realtor in the area, is quick to pour out her heart when describing their dedication to the farm. “Only someone who loves farming would do what we’ve done the past few years, which is work full-time jobs and then put that money into the farm with the dream that we could provide our local community with grassfed beef and regenerate the land, which helps the whole environment.” They say they have found their true calling as Stewards for both their animals and their land.

Tanya and Josh firmly believe in regenerative farm practices, noting inspiration from Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in Virginia. Tanya says a highlight this past fall was touring Polyface farms and seeing “how they used the animals to create better soil and create this incredible microdiversity within the farm cycle of life.” At Satori Farms, they are working hard to ensure every animal and byproduct of the farm has a purpose. “We rotate our cattle on pasture to bring back the soil depth and health it was lacking after years of being rented out to crop farming. We use our chickens, cow and goat manure for our fertilizer, and we let the animals live like nature intended and do the work of working the land.”

What started as a way to secure their own meat source has evolved into a farm that produces a wide range of farm-fresh products, including cheese, fresh vegetables, tallow-based skin care products, eggs, fibre, beef, syrup, and honey. Creating products that people love, Satori Farms has received amazing support within the local community, says Tanya.

I encourage you to give Satori Farms a like on social media and follow along as Tanya provides regular updates, including entertaining and informative videos and photos of all the adorable animals and exciting happenings on the farm.

Now consider this – the future of their farm, a 138-acre parcel of land owned by Josh’s parents, handed down from Josh’s grandparents and lovingly worked by Josh and Tanya, is in the potential path of the proposed high-speed rail, the Alto HSR project. These are the places and people, not a number, not a statistic, the people that help feed our communities.

At a time when we should be celebrating them, they are having to defend their rights. In Tanya’s words, when asked to tell me how the announcement is hitting, she stated, “We have literally poured everything we own into getting our farm up and running with every resource we had available. We’ve worked 8-hour day jobs and then put another 8 in at the farm to make sure we stay ahead of everything. We have used every square inch of the property to become a source where we can add to the value of feeding our local community the best meat, eggs, honey and tallow products possible, all to find out we sit right in the middle of the proposed route for the southern corridor being looked at for the HSR. If a path is taken through the north set of power lines near Crosby, our farm would be bisected, cutting through the most important fields for our cattle, and we would lose that land and access to all the land beyond it.”

Tanya says it isn’t that people like her and her husband are opposed to better rail, “they are just opposed to losing so many acres of land to a government that will take it away from them to build a rail system that may never get up and running. It’s hard to understand the scope because there are so many unknown factors. Still, we do know that the current government powers are talking about starting expropriation in the next three years for the route unless people speak up now,” says Tanya.

To connect with Satori Farms, email satorifarms1@gmail.com. As stewards of their land and animals, Tanya says it “comes with incredible risk taking, blood, sweat and tears,” and they won’t stand by to watch it be taken from them.

Satori Farms 1 review

Write Your Review

1 review

Louise 7 October, 2025

Tanya, thank you for introducing me to your Total Body Tallow! I absolutely love it. The floral scent is lovely and I would recommend to anyone!