Westbrook Farm

Leaving a Legacy of Respect: An Interview with Westbrook Farm

In Lanark County, Ontario, one local farm is quietly revolutionizing how we think about poultry. Driven by a deep commitment to sustainable agriculture, Westbrook Farm has earned its reputation as the region’s only certified artisanal chicken grower.

We sat down with the founders, Alex and Emily Westbrook, to discuss their journey from a pandemic-era pivot to running a tech-forward, ethical pasture-based operation.

Q: Your baseline philosophy can be summed up in one word: intentional. What does that mean for how you run the farm?

A: There is a reason for everything we do. We are intentional with how we process the birds, how we raise them on the pasture, and how we let them grow. We hold a deep respect for the land, and that extends directly to our grazing practices.

Our mission is to raise ethical, sustainable chicken. We want to make sure we are respecting the bird by raising them the way nature intended. We don’t restrict their food or try to control how much they eat; we just provide the environment for them to be chickens. If one bird wants to eat four times more than another, that’s their choice.

Q: What inspired you to step into farming in the first place?

A: It started during COVID. Like many people, we wanted to reconnect with our food and find a way to sustain ourselves, so we bought the farm. Once we started sharing our harvest with friends and family, we realized: this is what chicken is actually supposed to taste like. This is what a well-raised animal looks like.

We started small, sharing recipes, and quickly realized there was a real market for this. We wanted to work with our community and let people experience what real food tastes like. Westbrook is our last name. We wanted this business to be our legacy—something our kids can grow up to be proud of. They are proud of their name, the business we operate, and the food we grow.

If you treat the land with respect, it respects you back.

Our birds graze freely. They eat bugs, slugs, weeds, and grass. We supplement this with grain because a bird cannot live on grass alone, but the pasture is an excellent natural supplement. We carefully manage how we move them to maximize their nutrient intake while protecting the soil. If you don’t move the birds quickly enough, their manure will burn and harm the land. By moving them constantly, we manage nutrients sustainably, drive nutrition into the bird, and return vital elements back to the soil. We don’t push the bird, and we don’t push the land.

Q: What makes your business unique?

The Artisanal Chicken Farmers program is run by the Chicken Farmers of Ontario (licensed through the Chicken Farmers of Canada). We are audited and inspected yearly with a fine-tooth comb to ensure we adhere to strict public health, food safety, and animal welfare standards.

Everything we use is fully vetted. Our food transportation trailer and our freezer trailer are completely inspected and approved. We are absolutely above board because we keep the public’s best interests and the animals’ well-being at heart.

People often ask if we slaughter the birds ourselves. We don’t; we send them to a federally licensed facility inspected by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. We work closely with Bérubé Poultry as our butcher. Every single live bird is reviewed and inspected both pre- and post-mortem to ensure it is healthy and perfectly safe for human consumption.

We drive a great distance to use them because they are unique: they use a vinegar-based solution to clean the chickens instead of bleach. Everything that touches our birds during processing is food. If you look at a grocery store chicken, the fat is usually bleached white. Because we use a vinegar solution, our chicken fat retains its natural, rich yellow colour. It’s all about knowing exactly what is in your food.

Q: You have integrated some serious innovation on the pasture with a robotic barn. How does that work?

A: We are the only chicken farmers in Eastern Ontario utilizing a Ukko Robotics ROVA|BARN robotic chicken barn. It is completely off-grid and solar-powered. It features an electrified skirt around the perimeter to ward off predators.

This automation has been an absolute lifesaver. It automates the moving of the shelter, and manages feed and water 24/7. It has internal temperature probes; if it gets too hot, it draws the curtains up, and if it gets too cold, it lowers them based on the bird’s specific stage of life. If we get a severe weather warning, I can hit a button on my phone from anywhere to close the curtains and protect the flock. It removes a massive amount of manual labour. It’s just smarter farming. Our son loves it—it’s like a giant remote-control toy!

Q: What does your current product lineup look like, and where can people find you?

A: Naturally, our primary focus is chicken. We want to be known for having the best, most well-respected chicken where the quality is evident in the final taste. We sell whole birds, half birds, and specific cuts like breasts, thighs, wings and drumsticks, alongside a custom chicken rub. Our birds grow so beautifully large that many customers buy them for Thanksgiving instead of a turkey! You easily get 5 or 6 meals out of them.

We strictly believe in utilizing the entire animal to honour its life. We sell:

• Chicken Feet: Exceptional for collagen-rich bone broths and soups.
• Hearts & Livers: Packed with natural iron, vitamins, and protein.
• Necks: Perfect for creating nutrient-dense stocks.

We even partner with a local business that dehydrates the feet into dog treats. Outside of poultry, we also harvest and sell hay during the summer months to properly maintain our acreage.

Where to Find Westbrook Farm

• In Person: Bi-weekly at the Perth Farmers’ Market.
• Online: Visit our website at Westbrook Farm to view current inventory.

Our success speaks for itself through our repeat customers. We love educating people, and we are now seeing clients travel to buy from us from Ottawa, Kingston, and even seasonal cottagers visiting from as far as the United States.

Q: What do you find most rewarding about running Westbrook Farm together?

A: Honestly, it’s the partnership. Everyone has a different dynamic with their spouse, but we genuinely love working together. It naturally presents challenges, but it also gives us a constant opportunity to communicate our needs. Because we know each other best, if one of us is having an off day, we can read it instantly without even saying a word.

Beyond that, we love building a legacy and making a name for our family. We are so excited to see where this foundation takes our kids years down the road.

Q: You both maintain full-time jobs outside of the farm. How do you manage your time and the sheer workload?

A: Time is absolutely our biggest hurdle. Aside from our careers, we have four kids who are heavily involved in activities, and we sit on different community committees right here in Perth. Growing a business from the ground up is an immense amount of work. It is just the two of us handling the marketing, the invoicing, the scaling, and the day-to-day raising of the birds. Time is a major reason we try to farm smarter by using technology and automation to reduce physical labour.

  Q: Farming always comes with unpredictable variables. What specific obstacles have you faced recently?

A: Agriculture throws unique challenges at you every single day. Lately, the weather has been a major battle. We have been hit with constant tornado warnings, extreme heat warnings, and smoke warnings—all of which directly combat the safety and comfort of raising animals out on a completely open pasture.

Predator pressure is another constant reality. To combat that, we brought in livestock guardian dogs this year to keep the flock safe.

There is also a massive societal disconnect with food. It is tough because while people love seeing a cute baby chick or a chicken in the pasture, it’s hard to get them to realize that grocery store meat simply hasn’t had that same quality of life. We are working hard to build that relationship with food back up.

Q: You have built a loyal following on social media. Why is transparency such a core part of your brand?

A: We are first-generation farmers entering our fifth year. Because we are learning every single day as we go, we choose to be completely transparent. If you look at our Instagram or Facebook pages, you will see the raw positives and negatives. We share the highest highs and the toughest lows with our clients and supporters. We truly enjoy sharing our story and taking videos to bring people along for the ride.

Q: Given how fast you’ve scaled, what milestones stand out the most so far?

A: Because we are still very much in our development and growth stage, every single goal achieved feels monumental. We try to set small, manageable benchmarks. To be honest, we never imagined we would be where we are today; we thought it would take us years longer to reach this volume.

It is incredibly exciting because we are actively feeding people. This isn’t just a hobby or a fun weekend project—we are providing real food to families around their dinner tables. Beyond that, the physical milestones stand out clearly:

• Integrating our off-grid, automated robotic chicken barn.
• Securing our official artisanal certification.
• Acquisition of a specialized freezer trailer to transport our meat safely under strictly controlled temperatures.
• Investing in our official farm signage and branded apparel.

Q: You have some exciting community partnerships on the horizon. How are you expanding your product line?

A: We are thrilled to be partnering with The Table Community Food Centre. We will be providing some of our poultry products directly to help feed individuals in need within our community.

Additionally, they are granting us access to their certified health unit-inspected kitchen. This is a game-changer for us because it allows us to expand into value-added products like specialized spices and pre-marinated chickens. We’ve heavily invested in commercial infrastructure to keep everything perfectly accurate and above board, including:

• Commercial Vacuum Sealer: A massive, high-powered unit.
• Certified Commercial Scale: Fully registered and audited by Measurement Canada to ensure total honesty and transparency in our product weights.

Q: How has your involvement with the local Chamber of Commerce shaped your business growth?

A: The Perth & District Chamber of Commerce has been phenomenal for our networking. We recently attended an event hosted by a fellow chamber member, and it was amazing to see how many people recognized us, approached us, and knew our story. It gave us a platform to share our passion and vision.

We love attending these events to learn from other business owners, hear about their unique challenges, and feed off of their energy. We have already partnered with so many individuals through the network. The cost to join is completely negligible when you consider the massive return on investment. We encourage absolutely any business owner in Perth or Lanark County to join.