Lynn & Alastair Olsen Operate the 'Oasis in the Country'

TLC Farms originally started in 1988 as a petting zoo made up of all different types of farm animals. In the next couple of years we found most people wanted to see babies and we found we needed to find homes for all our animals. This was also very expensive to run with very little return. In 1990 we started raising feeder hogs for markets but we couldn't afford the barn so we raised them outdoors. Experts told us that we would not be able to compete in the open markets. We found our animals were healthier and the meat had a nicer texture when they were raised outside so we started raising hogs for the local market. In 2001 we moved onto the family farm going into cattle and grains as well. We found that using more natural fertilizer and less commercial fertilizers gave us just as much production with less destruction globally. Seeding a bit later in the year, worked down some of the weeds, allowing us to use less commercial sprays on the fields which in turn made it poss ible for us to have a product which was clean. Most of our feed is grown on our own lands. Again, we were told by experts that we would not be able to survive in the open market with our products. In 2003, BSE was found in Alberta and again we decided to market our own product.

TLC Farms started marketing all our products. Meats, Vegetables and Fruits made our market complete and we were off to the races. In 2008, we are building our own processing facility and commercial kitchen. We have been told many times by experts that our business is not marketable but as the consumers become more aware of where and how their food is being produced we became more viable. Food is an essential commodity and taking care of our local market makes this business very rewarding. We ran the farm ourselves for several years but five years ago we hired our first employee and now we employ four.

We have three children and three grandchildren. Grandma and Grandpa want to make sure they know where food comes from and how important it is to have. We belong to the small community of Whitla, Alberta and because we are not able to leave or travel very often we decided to create our own holiday place and are making it possible for everyone to enjoy it with us.

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