At Tree Island, each batch of our gourmet yogurt begins with milk from the ‘red & white’ ladies at Guy Sim’s Birkdale Farm in Comox.
We’ve put a lot of work into finding the best local ingredients and are proud to know the history and life of our milk that comes from Birkdale. Spanning the hill on Guthrie Road, this beautiful farm that has been a landmark in the Comox Valley for 92 years. The farm is blessed by its geography, which provides green fields of grass – the favorite food of cows.
Started in 1920, Birkdale is a heritage farm begun by Guy’s grandparents, George and Mabel Laban, who emigrated from Europe. They named it Birkdale after a seaside small village in Liverpool where they used to spend their summer vacations.
Over the years the farm has grown from 20 acres to 190 acres, and now has approximately 200 Ayrshire cows. After Guy’s father, Alex Sim, took over the farm in the 1950’s he brought in Ayrshire cows because they were known as a strong breed with delicious milk. Serving the community with great quality milk is something that has been very important to the Sim family; Guy’s mother used to deliver Birkdale milk personally to many people in the Comox Valley.
In 1970 Guy began managing the farm with his father, and now he is running the farm with four helpers. When we asked Guy what he enjoys most about farming, he told us he loves genetics and is focused on keeping a healthy herd and improving the Ayershire breed. The cows at Birkdale farm are raised on a steady diet of grass and can graze in the fields for the better part of the year. Guy is very proud of the milk that his cows produce. He told us that milk is a reflection of what cows eat, so when they eat good quality grass and forage, the milk is more nutritious and delicious.
Thank you Guy, for producing great quality milk in the Comox Valley!