Our Story

About the Farm

Great North Acres is located on 72 acres in Jogues,Ontario (15kms South of Hearst) Originally homesteaded by the Bureau family and run as a scrap yard, small engine repair, a farm and abattoir that suffered a total loss due to fire.

In October 2020, the dream that was to be Great North Acres was born. With huge ideas, thoughts, and aspirations; We (the Buttnor family) started to build on the foundations that were already set. Planting gardens, building a greenhouse, purchasing cows, chickens and other livestock. Making friends and business acquaintances, all the while learning as we went. We look forward to seeing what the future has in store for us at Great North Acres. 

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About The Farmers

Meeting in 2004 and married in 2006. So began the journey which has brought us to Great North Acres. Megan, an Ontario-born and raised, smoking hot redhead attending college for her purchasing degree, and I (Terry), born and raised in Alberta working 3 jobs. The 2600+ kilometers between us did not deter the blossoming love that was meant to be. Initially, after marriage, Megan moved across the country to join her prince charming. Soon thereafter the decision was made that we would embark on an adventure of our own, planting roots, and making friends and family on 82 acres of land on Prince Edward Island. We started a floor-cleaning business called Atlantic Floor and More. This was supposed to be the "get off-grid", be "self-sufficient" move, but it turned out to just be a stepping stone. After 4 years on PEI and the birth of our son Josiah in 2011, we decided to move closer to family. Megan returned to her stomping grounds and I (Terry) started a new chapter here in Ontario. Our daughter Ella was born in 2012.

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A few sales jobs, a long haul driving job and a few failed businesses along the way, all just learning lessons and building blocks to what would eventually become Great North Acres. 

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In 2020 we had our Popeye moment ("I've taken all I can takes, and I can't takes no more"-Popeye) With rising prices in everything; heating, electricity, food, transportation, taxes........we felt a stronger than ever the need to escape the rat race. and decided it was time to make a monumentally huge step towards self sufficient/off grid like living.  We prayed about it and put the house for sale with the thought that if it sold, we would start a new book in our lives, not just a new chapter. This was going to be the big move...... and it was. We got an offer on our house in South Ontario, and placed an offer on a 72 acre farm in North Ontario in a very French community. Although our family is not French, nor do we speak French, we have been welcomed into the community with open arms, and have made friends and family.

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The farm that we have today is not even the farm we imagined when we moved here in 2020. It is an ever-changing machine that rolls with the punches. We are always busy doing this and that, always learning, and mostly having a good time raising our little family. We look forward to seeing what the next years have in store for us. 

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We offer fresh seasonal produce, grass-fed beef, and other healthy food from our farm to your table.