Located just outside of Scotland on Brant County Rd. 4/ Vanessa Rd. you will find a new addition to the local farmers markets here in Norfolk County. Windy Acres owners Joe & Ana Hevesi invite you to stop in and see what they have to offer.
Joe was born and raised locally, in Scotland, and has worked his entire life as a farmer while Ana, who came from Portugal in 1986, spent many years at Stelco, working on the furnace, coke oven and pipeline. “I left Stelco when I realized I was getting older and had more aches and pains” added Ana. “I worked in construction part time for a few years and was a member of the Laborer’s Union”. This experience would prove very helpful when she and Joe undertook the building of Windy Acres as an addition to their existing barn.
Joe first met Ana in 1992 when she was working on a neighbor’s tobacco farm and it didn’t take long for them to strike up a friendship. That friendship eventually led to them getting married on April 22, 1995. They then settled onto their own farm, at the current location of Windy Acres, where they grew tobacco, ginseng and other cash crops.
They soon started turning the house into a family home where they would raise their three children Melanie, Jay and Andrea. They are also looking forward to welcoming a new grandbaby! With both having a passion for growing things they took the opportunity to take advantage of the wonderful property around them and soon it was surrounded by gorgeous flower beds and a vegetable garden that seemed to get bigger and bigger each year.
With both having a ‘green thumb’ they soon found themselves with more produce than they could possibly use themselves so they shared the fruits of their bounty with family and friends. “A couple of years ago we had lots of veggies and our friends encouraged us to consider selling our surplus produce to the public.” This was the inspiration that led them to put an addition on an existing barn and so Windy Acres was born.
“I enjoy gardening and love to share. We start everything from seed…I find it very relaxing” adds Ana. “We take ideas from customers to see what they like and want. Some of the produce like the kale and spinach is from our own garden and some from nearby neighbors and farms. We like to think of Windy Acres as your one stop shop for all of your fresh produce needs. We even offer the best fresh baked pies around from the Pie Place in Embro. They’re a very popular item.”
Not only will you find the best local, fresh produce around at Windy Acres but they also have a freezer section for popular brand name grocery items, a few tropical plants at present with more outdoor plants during the Spring season. Local crafters also have articles for sale in their shop.
Windy Acres attracts not only locals who live near by but out of towners looking for tasty, local produce as well as seasonal campers at nearby Willow Lake RV Resort & Campground.
As busy as he may get Joe is still an active member of South Brant Lions and his farm continues to be the site of the Annual South Brant Lions Turkey Shoot – aside from the two years cancelled due to Covid.
While they had a late start to their season with a July 16th. opening day, they have had a great summer none the less. They will continue to stock their shelves with their seasonal produce and other goodies and look to their customers for ideas and suggestions on what they are looking for.
A fun fact to know is that the name “Windy Acres” is a tribute to the family home and barn that are situated on the hill. According to the family they almost always have a cool breeze passing by. Regardless of where the name came from it is a beautiful Country Market on a picturesque setting right here in Norfolk County.
The mission that Ana and Joe live by for Windy Acres is ‘to always endeavor to provide our customers with fresh, high quality and tasty produce at affordable prices’.
You can stop by to say Hi and to do some shopping Monday through Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm. They are a pet friendly environment and you may even get to meet Milo and Oden – their own cat and dog greeting committee. Remember, they are always looking for ideas from customers on what they would like to see at the Market. Windy Acres is definitely a welcome addition to the area.