The Story of Burnbrae Farms: The Region’s Oldest Company in Operation and Largest Employer
The SLCEDC is constantly welcoming egg-citing new companies to the region, but also enjoys celebrating some of its long-standing members, like Burnbrae Farms. The family owned and operated company is one of Canada’s leading egg farmers, and in 2021 was awarded the Most Trusted Egg Brand in Canada for the second year running, a title that can’t be poached, it would seem.
The Story of Burnbrae Farms
Burnbrae Farms dates back to 1891, when its founder Joseph Hudson arrived in Canada from Scotland and purchased a farm in Lyn, near Brockville. He named it after the Scottish words for “stream” and “hillside” and started a dairy farm that evolved into egg production a few decades later.
Burnbrae Farms continued to expand and evolve over the years, innovating the market with products like cracked eggs, quiches, egg bites, and more. Five generations later, Burnbrae Farms is one of the nation’s leading egg suppliers with operations across the country and an array of awards for everything from sustainability to innovation.
Burnbrae Farms Continues to Grow
The Canadian farm has never stopped innovating over the years in order to continue growing and stay at the forefront of agribusiness. And it doesn’t look like it’s going to slow down anytime soon: in fact, Burnbrae Farms is the largest employer in the St. Lawrence region, but boasts over 1,000 employees across five Canadian provinces.
Paving the Way for Sustainability
Burnbrae Farms isn’t satisfied with supplying nutritious and delicious eggs to the country. Their mission also involves leading the industry in terms of animal care and environmental sustainability. This is why they’ve committed to hen care and wellbeing, a thoughtful program that not only ensures better quality eggs but also gives consumers choice in the eggs they purchase.
Sustainability is a big priority for Burnbrae Farms; in fact, in 2021 they were the recipients of the Alltech Canada Planet of Plenty Award for Sustainable Egg Production. The company has set itself an ambitious goal to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and are well on track thanks to the launch of their second solar farm.
The company works with Canadian initiatives like Swim Drink Fish to protect water resources and biodiversity protection programs like the Butternut Tree Recovery Program.
Burnbrae Farms also partners with both local and national charities to give back and support their community, such as World Vision Canada, Toonies for Tummies, and more. Just one of their recent give-back initiatives included donating a whopping 3.6 million eggs to Canadian food banks.
Burnbrae Selected As Leclerc Egg Supplier
The sunny side is up when it comes to Burnbrae Farms. The recent purchase of the old P&G plant by Leclerc Foods was sizzling news to the region for many reasons. Aside from the influx of jobs and economic development, the purchase also meant that Leclerc Foods selected Burnbrae Farms as its main egg supplier to help produce their celebrated cookies, bars, and more.
Local businesses supporting each other are one of the driving principles of the SLCEDC, and we hope to see even more of it in the coming years.
Burnbrae Farms and the SLCEDC
[ quote and contribution from SLCEDC ]
Looking to the Future
2021 marked Burnbrae Farms’ 130th anniversary, and the company has come a long way since their founder first purchased a 100-acre farm. It’s clear that Burnbrae Farms will continue to innovate and pave the way for other food production companies over the years, all while prioritising sustainability and their commitment to giving back.
