Les Vergers Villeneuve and Blueberry Farm in Ottawa, Ontario

Les Vergers Villeneuve and Blueberry Farm is a fourth-generation family farm near the village of St.-Pascal-Baylon in the bilingual rural heartland of Eastern Ontario. Owned and operated by EOAN president Michel Villeneuve and his wife Carrie McKay, the 40-acre farm produces a wide range of tree and soft fruits–pears, blueberries, apples, grapes, raspberries and cherries, much of which is made into wine. The land for the farm was originally cleared by Michel’s great-grandfather Jules in 1857, and Michel and his wife still live in the original farm dwelling that has been expanded considerably over the years. However, Michel started as a commercial fruit farmer in 1998 after purchasing the farm from his grandfather Léo. He expanded it in fruit wine production after he retired as the computer systems director at Transport Canada in 2016. Carrie, a retired teacher, helps on the farm in the background.