"I believe our relationship with Community Futures has been instrumental in helping shepherd us to where we are today."
-Jacob Murray
"I believe our relationship with Community Futures has been instrumental in helping shepherd us to where we are today."
-Jacob Murray
At Topsy Farms, Canada’s top sustainable sheep farm on Amherst Island in Lennox and Addington county, certain things are a given. Sheep are born in the pasture and winter outdoors because happy sheep make better wool. Spraying or fertilizer is strictly forbidden. Land is kept green, a rewilding program proudly exists, and in keeping with the founders’ ethos, a percentage of proceeds keep land open to the public. While core values are being honoured and maintained, business challenges abound. Even though their 100% sustainable wool blankets are highly popular, they’re not always available. As Jacob Murray, co-owner of Topsy Farms, recently shared, “We may have 590 mature sheep, but can’t supply enough wool to meet blanket demand.”
Through 2020, their shop local movement proved they had a trending, sought-after product, but existing suppliers couldn’t meet demand for re-supply. To scale up production with a limited Canadian supply chain, Topsy Farms needed more than raw material from other local fair-trade farms – they needed cash flow and business consulting. That’s where Community Futures (CF) came in.
“When Jacob originally connected with us, we knew all about Topsy Farms products, how important the farm is to the surrounding counties and their sustainable approach to farming,” said Brenda Hildebrandt, social finance specialist at CF. “As a community-focused social enterprise, we encourage local economic development and diversification through impact investing to innovators and high-impact projects.”
One of those projects was funding the Topsy Farms Shoreline blanket. Although experienced at marketing and sales, Jacob knew his team needed help to increase control over sizes, designs and colours of the blanket because it involved big costs, two years of R&D, and more raw wool than ever before.
After a Community Futures consult and loan, Topsy hired a prominent textile designer who came up with different concepts that led to the Shoreline blanket design. Inspired by the soothing blues, purples, and sandy beiges of the shore on the farm, the blanket sold out practically overnight. Now, pre-sale for a second run is expected to sell out before the upcoming holiday season.
Other recent successes included a Topsy Farms blanket being featured on the HBO hit series The Last of Us; an ironic twist being that their sustainable blanket played such a prominent role in a show about the end of the world. It’s made national news and garnered global attention for the farm.
But Jacob is staying true to his roots, adding that, “Nature and life keeps a farmer humble... I believe our relationship with CF has been instrumental in helping shepherd us to where we are today. They’re friends, neighbours and partners to us. And we can’t thank them enough,” said Jacob.
As the Shoreline blanket graces homes across the country and around the world, Topsy Farms ambitions are at an all-time high. Thanks to social financing and sustainable practices they see a resilient future for their farm, and are marking a paradigm shift in the landscape of Canadian wool farming.
Community Futures may be able to help you with strategic consulting and/or a business loan. If you have a hurdle you are trying to overcome with your business, reach out to Brad at broach@communityfutures.co
