Sarah Judd of Meadowlynn Farms is equal parts farmer, mother, and wife

In mid May the ladies of Meadowlynn Farms were hard at work getting this year’s strawberries planted, from left Sarah Judd, Isabelle Tate, Kallie Judge, Sharon judd. Not pictured is Fred Judd, who was driving the tractor.

By Leah Bauer

When Sarah Judd (née Harrigan) of Meadowlynn Farms left for the University of Guelph to pursue her undergraduate degree, she vowed that she would never marry a farmer. Fast forward some years later, and she is now preparing to take over operations of Meadowlynn Farms with her husband Thomas Judd.

Sarah grew up on a dairy farm near St. Mary’s Ontario as she describes it, “It’s not that far, but it is far enough from here that it’s a totally different environment and growing conditions.” She met Thomas while completing her undergrad and eventually, the pair got married. Following the marriage, Sarah worked off of the farm for a few years. However, she soon found her way back to farming, a transition she described as “really wonderful.”

Sarah and Thomas are in the process of taking over the farm and operations from Thomas’s parents. Meadowlynn Farms is a generational farm, Sarah noted that “Meadowlynn has been here for a long time, it has moved through generations and now we are the next generation to succeed.”

She continued to describe how “the mainstay is always dairy” but certain things have changed from generation to generation.

“When Sharon (Sarah’s mother in-law) came along, she started the strawberry operation and Fred (Sarah’s father in-law) expanded the cropping operation.”

Sarah has continued the tradition of innovation at Meadowlynn Farms as she began a market garden, a veggie box program, as well as plant sales. In addition to this, during the transition from one generation to the next, she is working to take over the accounting and the strawberry operations.

Sarah’s considerable responsibility at Meadowlynn Farms keeps her very busy. In addition to her role as a farmer, she is also a mother to three young children. Sarah noted that “a bulk of my time is obviously spent with my children: Elizabeth who is five, Alan who is three and James who is only one.”

Sarah described how the experience for farmers who are also young mothers is different from other professions. She stated, “As a farmer you are an independent business, you cannot take maternity leave in the same way as other people, you can’t just miss the season of farming.”

Sarah recalled her experience with this aspect of farming.

“Elizabeth was born in May, I delivered her in the hospital on Saturday, and I started back to work on Tuesday.”

Motherhood has brought obvious changes to Sarah’s life, routine, and responsibilities.

“I would say my business has changed a lot since my kids were born because my priority is my children and they’re so young, they need so much support from me,” she said.

Sarah described how her ability to support her children is thanks in part to the amount of support she has from her family and her community.

“We have good neighbours that can help babysit, a daycare close by, a really good church community, and, of course, Thomas’s parents live on the farm as well. So, between all of that, we’re able to make it work, but it is challenging.”

Parenthood has added another dimension to Sarah and Thomas’s relationship who support one another as a married couple, as farmers, and now as parents.

“I’m a farmer, but my husband’s also a farmer, which means I am a farmer’s wife,” she said. “There are times where Thomas needs to support me in my farming roles, but also as a mother, and I need to support him as a father, but also as a farmer as well. Unfortunately, in the summertime, we get really stretched because we’re both very busy farming and so we’re trying to support each other farming, but also as parents.”

Sarah noted that her role as a mother does not take away from her role as a farmer, and vice versa.

“As an advocate for women, it’s okay to choose your own path, regardless of what that is. If it means having kids and raising them on the farm and being a farmer at the same time, that’s totally doable. It is a responsibility that I chose.”

Sarah places no pressure on her children to become farmers and take on the lifestyle that she and Thomas chose. However, in growing up on the farm, her oldest child Elizabeth has already taken to learning about and participating in the operations

“Elizabeth’s helping me. She is already her own entrepreneur at five years old, she sells rhubarb at the stand alongside my plants.”

Elizabeth’s passion for farming at a young age continues even when the youngster is off of the farm.

“Elizabeth is able to go to school and share with her friends during show-and-tell about strawberries, strawberry blossoms, laying irrigation pipe and why we do what we do here,” Sarah said. “It provides a really unique perspective, and it builds her confidence in sharing something that she is really knowledgeable about at such a young age.”

The two youngest boys are also very involved with the farm.

“We try to involve them as much as we possibly can,” their mother said. “They are in daycare a couple of days a week, but they’re not in daycare full time, so that means they are farming with us. Thomas takes the boys on the tractor almost every day, and regularly in the barns.”

Bringing the boys along can impact the speed of the work, but the Judds see more value in what it teaches the children.

“We recognize too, that when you’re bringing the kids along, it’s going to make your work slower most of the time, but that’s okay because you’re instilling so many values and opportunities in your kids and in yourself to be able to work alongside them and for them to recognize what you do a job and why you’re passionate about it. It’s just so fun.”

Sarah understands that her roles as a mother, wife, and farmer do not compete with one another. She is no less of a farmer because she is devoted to her children, and she is no less of a wife because she is dedicated to the farm. While balancing these responsibilities can make for an exceptionally busy life, the values, skills, and lessons she gains from each role inform the others. Together, these different facets of her identity guide her approach to both her work and her family life. 