Twin Oak Farms

 Our Story

Our blended family consists of Dan and Shelly, along with our five kids, Tate, Kiley, Preston, Ethan, and Bradley. 

Twin Oak Farms, established in 1905, has grown and evolved over the years to include a little bit of everything. We farm approximately 3700 acres of cropland, growing wheat, barley, oats, canola and alfalfa, as well as custom farming roughly 2000 more acres for others. 

On the farm we follow the old philosophy of “learn to do by doing”. We strongly believe that kids will benefit greatly by learning how to do chores and having the responsibility of looking after animals. 

To accomplish this goal, our farm consists of a variety of livestock. The kids have market steers that they feed and care for, for 250 days, then sell for beef to local neighbors. They also have about 250 laying hens that must be cared for and the eggs must be picked daily. Our farm also includes horses, butcher pigs, dogs, and cats. The kids are involved in 4-H with the Battle River Beef Club as well. Caring for and helping out with the animals helps them learn about responsibility, as well as allows them to gain knowledge and skills that they will use in their future, and everyday lives. 

We are a family that enjoys being busy. We would much sooner be working to achieve our goals, than lounging around for a lazy day off. Over the years of full time farming, as well as having Shelly holding a full time position for UFA, we have grown and accomplished so much, learning every day that hard work, dedication, and determination truly does pay off. 

In our small amounts of spare time that we manage to find here and there, we enjoy volunteering and helping out wherever we can. Whether that is being a part of the School Council, sitting on the Ag Service Board, or helping out with fundraisers, we are very community oriented and are willing to help out wherever possible. 

Over the years, we have also started a few ventures of our own, but the latest one has absolutely taken off. It has been an exciting experience, with lots of learning, to say the least. In the spring of 2020, shortly after having our own pigs butchered, we started working to create the optimal recipe to dry cure and process our own bacon. After a lot of trial and error, and some fine-tuning, we had finally accomplished the ideal, original recipe. After more experimenting, the maple had also been perfected. We began sharing with friends and family and the feedback we got was incredible. Everyone just kept coming back for more. 

That’s when we realized that we had something special, something that would not only keep us busy during the pandemic, but something that we actually enjoyed and loved to do. 

In December of 2020, we started selling some of the bacon, and our little venture turned into a small hobby. 

In January of 2021, our first batch of bacon hit Facebook and sold out in less than a week. We were in shock! We were starting a business and didn’t even know it. Welcome to being an entrepreneur!

We quickly found out that we had a lot to learn. From nutrition labels, to packaging, to getting government inspected, our lives got real busy, real fast, and we were loving it!

Little by little, we got it done, all the way up to building the bacon barn, –our new production building. 

Over the next few months, our small hobby turned into a wonderful business, spreading all across Alberta. Right now, we have six flavours of bacon including original, maple, maple bourbon, honey garlic, jalapeno, and apple pie, and we are expanding. 

We are also proud to say that the pork, spices, and all the ingredients are locally sourced, as we love supporting local businesses just like our own. 

Now, our business has turned into what we call, “an uncontrollable wildfire that fuels itself”. It has been an amazing journey so far that we are excited to watch grow. 

Thank you to everyone who has taste tested and spread the word about our bacon. We are truly grateful to each and every one of you that have supported and contributed to our success.