MEET OUR FARMING FAMILY
Our
Heart
Breaks
On March 31, 2023; our youngest son and brother Jonathan Peter Vander Zaag was killed in a tragic accident on the farm.
To say that working every day since then has been difficult would be a massive understatement. We miss him more than words.
The day before the accident, Jonathan, Jacob, Jeremy, and Jessica were discussing the future: what values we wanted to uphold as the farm moved into the next generation. It breaks our hearts that he never will get the chance to see those hopes through.
Until we meet again...
In 1949 Peter’s father Harke (Harry) Vander Zaag emigrated from the Netherlands to Canada. Heralding from a family of potato farmers and having attended agricultural school in Holland, Harke and his brother Anne bought a farm north of Alliston and began farming together in 1952.
Harry and his wife Bernice had four sons; Peter, Raymond, Homer, and David. Peter was the oldest and the family love of farming quickly took hold. In the 60’s he would compete with his cousin Johnny over who got to drive the new International tractor. If you talk to the four Vander Zaag brothers the stories differ some, but they can all agree that taking care of livestock was never a preferred chore and they were happy to transition to only field crops.
To this day three of the four still farm, with Homer operating H.J. Vander Zaag Farms, and David D&C Vander Zaag Farms and HJV Equipment, both alongside their next generations.
Our
History
Our
Start
Peter and Kate met as classmates in the University of Guelph Ontario Agricultural College class of ‘83. They were married in March 1985, and after working with Peter’s father for a few years they struck out on their own.
P&K Vander Zaag Farms was incorporated and grew their first crop in 1990. Peter and Kate are truly equal partners in the operation of the farm. Kate manages the agronomy, bookkeeping, and human resources; while Peter takes on the field work, shop management, and shipping.
Peter and Kate have six children: Emily (Jeremy), Tina (Marc), Jessica, Madeline, Jacob (Kim) and Jonathan*. Growing up surrounded by the fields of the home farm, their childhoods were filled with time spent playing hide and seek in the corn, riding along in a tractor, and helping grade potatoes after school during harvest. All of the kids spent time working on the farm in their high school and university years; whether as part of Kate’s scouting crew or helping Peter in the shop.
Emily and Jeremy Zwygers have been working on P&K Vander Zaag Farms for almost 20 years. In 2019 Emily and Jeremy began the process of starting their own farm and are excited to continue working with P&K while growing their own produce as well. Jeremy manages the storage operations and can be counted on to bring a quiet calm to every situation thrown his way
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Kim and Jacob Vander Zaag have been working with P&K Vander Zaag farms on and off over the past 10 years. Jacob went to Old's College to study Agriculture Management, and while in Alberta he met Kim. Kim and Jacob began farming their own crop in 2019. Jacob is the consummate farm manager; loud, to the point, and happiest in a big machine with one of his four kids riding the jump seat
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Jessica Vander Zaag returned to the farm in 2023 after a ten year healthcare career. Jessica manages the administrative side of the operation, which may simply be a ploy to keep her out of heavy equipment for the safety of pivots and mailboxes everywhere. Off the farm she cherishes times with the nieces and nephews and being an unabashed "horse girl"
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Our
Next
Generation
