Our Vision
Our vision is to provide a place where guests can Experience the Country in all of it's natural and earthy goodness and glory. Our heart is to share our love of the country with each guest who visits the farm, giving them an experience that brings you as close as possible to farm animals and country living. Come Experience the Country, Taste The Country and Take it Home with you on your shoes.
Our Story
Vince & Liana Rattai opened Deer Meadow Farms opened in Sept, 2009 after a whirlwind start-up with more learning curves than a Grand Prix. As a family run business & farm, all the Rattai children were heavily involved in the building phases and were expected to work alongside mom & dad, learning alongside mom & dad and developing skill sets in construction, farming, management and business. Since we literally had nothing to start with except bare land, our farm and business was literally built from the ground up.
From 2009-2011 the farm operated on generators and we hauled in our water with an trailer since there was no electricity or water well at the site. Hauling water everyday and running a generator was both time consuming and expensive. In 2012 a decision was made to install a well and bring in hydro and eventually...in 2013 we finished our barn and added flush toilets! Schools began to notice our programs were excellent, our facilities improving and our spring farm tours began to become very popular.
2014 was a huge year for the farm with a record number of guests visiting the farm during the fall weekends. Unfortunately this growth came to mean that after only 5 years in business we had outgrown our welcome in the neighborhood and the impact of our growth was affecting area residents in residential zones located all around us. in 2015, our permit was renewed with limitations on our ability to operate and we were told to relocate if we wanted to continue to operate and grow. A bitter pill to swallow, however, God was faithful to us and we found the perfect piece of property that was even closer to the city, double in size, with 25 acres of trees, that had never been advertised on the market and that little miracle would be one of many that were needed to survive and move an entire farm.
2017 was our build/relocation year with winter being spent in planning and obtaining permits and as soon as the ground thawed, we were on site doing whatever we could. After permit delays on our buildings, we broke ground the first week in July, closing the old location at the end of July and working tirelessly until we opened Saturday, September 2 for business. In just 9 weeks, we built two new buildings and moved another three and had plumbing and electrical turned on Friday, September 1 at 3:30 pm and were ready to open. Did I mention that August was one of the driest on record and we didn't lose any days to bad weather? Did I mention we lost our original builder because of permit delays and just happened to find a really good one who just happened to have 8 weeks in the summer available to build for us? These are just a couple of the many miracles it took to make this happen.
Fall 2017 showed us that people cared as they cheered us and encouraged us with our journey and pursuit of our vision. The new 77 acre farm will likely take 4-5 years to get it to the place where we can say we are done with the building phase...and maybe then we will be able to take a few deep breaths before we decide on what needs to be added or fixed or improved upon. To those loyal customers and friends who have made the journey with us and supported us with your loyalty, support, encouragement and prayers...we say Thank-You.
From 2009-2011 the farm operated on generators and we hauled in our water with an trailer since there was no electricity or water well at the site. Hauling water everyday and running a generator was both time consuming and expensive. In 2012 a decision was made to install a well and bring in hydro and eventually...in 2013 we finished our barn and added flush toilets! Schools began to notice our programs were excellent, our facilities improving and our spring farm tours began to become very popular.
2014 was a huge year for the farm with a record number of guests visiting the farm during the fall weekends. Unfortunately this growth came to mean that after only 5 years in business we had outgrown our welcome in the neighborhood and the impact of our growth was affecting area residents in residential zones located all around us. in 2015, our permit was renewed with limitations on our ability to operate and we were told to relocate if we wanted to continue to operate and grow. A bitter pill to swallow, however, God was faithful to us and we found the perfect piece of property that was even closer to the city, double in size, with 25 acres of trees, that had never been advertised on the market and that little miracle would be one of many that were needed to survive and move an entire farm.
2017 was our build/relocation year with winter being spent in planning and obtaining permits and as soon as the ground thawed, we were on site doing whatever we could. After permit delays on our buildings, we broke ground the first week in July, closing the old location at the end of July and working tirelessly until we opened Saturday, September 2 for business. In just 9 weeks, we built two new buildings and moved another three and had plumbing and electrical turned on Friday, September 1 at 3:30 pm and were ready to open. Did I mention that August was one of the driest on record and we didn't lose any days to bad weather? Did I mention we lost our original builder because of permit delays and just happened to find a really good one who just happened to have 8 weeks in the summer available to build for us? These are just a couple of the many miracles it took to make this happen.
Fall 2017 showed us that people cared as they cheered us and encouraged us with our journey and pursuit of our vision. The new 77 acre farm will likely take 4-5 years to get it to the place where we can say we are done with the building phase...and maybe then we will be able to take a few deep breaths before we decide on what needs to be added or fixed or improved upon. To those loyal customers and friends who have made the journey with us and supported us with your loyalty, support, encouragement and prayers...we say Thank-You.
