Viamede Farm (May to September)

Be sure to visit our working, on-site farm to meet our menagerie and learn more about our Locavore Program!

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The Farm at Viamede is a special place. Our charming menagerie consists of the finest members of a distinctive class of animals selected both for their wonderful heritage and their unique attributes. Our fowl are free to roam around the property (and they do), pecking and foraging the ground for insect and plant delicacies and other things that look good to eat. Many of our guests are surprised to see our rafter of turkeys just hanging out by the chapel or greeting people out for a walk on our trails but don’t worry, they’re tucked safely in their enclosures each evening and prefer their own company and accommodations to yours!

Chickens:

Chickens are weird and wonderful animals. Each year, we take on half a dozen chicks in time for Easter, and watch them grow into strange forms that heritage breeds tend to take. In the past, we have had Silkies, Belgian d’Uccle, and Easter Eggers, but we’re always looking for fun new varieties. We can’t use their eggs, so we just keep them around until we give them to a local farmer in the fall.

Ducks:

Our brace (that’s what you call a group of ducks when they’re not in flight) of Indian Runner ducks usually consists of around 6 females.  They are an unusual breed in that they run, rather than waddle, which provides our guests with an endless source of amusement and photos. These very pretty white ducks lay 260 eggs per year, which our chef uses to make our signature desserts, sauces, and other interesting items. If they run away quickly when you try to make friends, it’s not you. They’re a bit nervous around people and prefer to engage from a safe distance. 

Pigs:

The hit of the Farm, our pigs live in a large enclosure surrounded by a heritage-style farm fence that affords them their own pond, plenty of muddy areas, and their own wooded area. We usually source Tamworth, Hampshire, or English Black pigs, although mixes are common. We feed them a mix of formulated pellets and kitchen scraps (vegetarian only!) . When the pigs are small, they are particularly gifted at escaping their enclosure to visit both animal and human neighbors, and are known for their deep curiosity as they come running whenever they hear or see people. You’ll see them lining up along the fence, hoping for forehead scratches and snacks.

Quail:

These tiny, dainty little birds, have a small, custom-built enclosure under the trees. In the winter, they hang out in the office making funny noises. The quail start laying eggs at six to eight weeks old which we use in many specialty dishes, mostly at Mount Julian.

Turkeys:

Our rafter of Broad Breasted Bronze turkeys grow up to 35 lbs by fall, and are used in many ways at the resort. Self-appointed masters of the resort, they like to hang out in a big group right in the middle of the path through the farm. They are noticeably stubborn creatures with a mind of their own and go where they like. When there’s 25 of them at 35 lbs apiece, who’s gonna argue with them?

Visit the Farm at Viamede every day at 3:30 for a tour!

Gardens

As you wander the property, you will find countless gardens and patches of food, planted and maintained by our gardener, Bob, and the kitchen team. It’s hard to keep up with their work – alongside the staples like tomatoes and carrots, you will find random patches of oregano in the lawn (we really don’t know how it got there), flower beds of nasturtiums, and herb gardens around the cottages for guests to use. Throughout the winter months, production moves indoors for microgreens, lettuces, and to get a head start on spring planting.

Effective December 4, 2015

We at Viamede Resort value the privacy of all our guests and friends. That’s why in addition to a lock on the door of each guestroom, we have detailed how we use any information we receive.

Oh—and before we go any further—we’ll just let everyone know right off the bat that we comply with current Canadian privacy legislation.

1) What kind of information do we collect?

There are two different types of information that we collect: personally identifiable information (“Personal Information”) and non-personally identifiable information (“Non-Personal Information”).

This might sounds complicated but it’s fairly straightforward.

Personal Information

We are a resort and people come visit, book rooms, and enjoy gourmet local food all of the time. As a result of these exchanges, we end up collecting some personal information—which is usually voluntarily given—that includes things like:

We take this information very seriously and only use it to facilitate your stay with us and to keep you in the loop should you wish.

Non-Personal Information

Through your interactions with us, our website and analytics platforms, and through our advertising partners, we may collect information that cannot be used to identify who you are. This type of information that may be collected are things like:

2) How do we collect information?

We collect this information in a few different ways.

When you provide us with information in making a purchase.
Fairly straightforward. You book a room, we receive personal information.

When you sign up to our e-mail list.
If you sign up to receive updates, we end up with a bit of your personal information. With your permission, we send you special information and you can decide to opt out at any point.

When you communicate with us.
When you reach out by e-mail, social media or by hand delivered letter, we may keep those for our records.

Information we automatically collect.
Like most websites, our services may incorporate fancy things like “pixel tags” and “cookies” which allow us to track actions and serve you information about our products and services. All of these collect Non-Personal Information.

3) How is the information used?

Personal Information could be used to:

4) What about Non-Personal Information?

From time to time, we use third-party advertising companies to serve you ads when you visit our website. They may use Non-Personal Information about your visits to this and other websites to provide ads about goods and services that are of interest to you. If you would like more information about this wizardry or to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies you can look here.

5) What else?

We want to make sure you enjoy your time with us and that your information is protected. Personal Information will only be used or shared when necessary and we would never sell you out by giving your information to third parties without good reason.

Unsurprisingly, we reserve the right to update our privacy policy at any time. When that happens, we will update the effective date at the top of this page so that you know.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. We hope to see you around soon.