A John Deere Publication
Megan Ferland prepares “Le Smokey,” one of Brylee Farm’s three core sandwiches. It’s made with sourdough bread, Montreal smoked meat, cheddar cheese, old-fashioned mustard, and pickled onions, grilled in a panini press.
Agriculture, Livestock/Poultry June 01, 2026
Up the Value Chain
Beef producer brings in new customers one bite at a time.
Story and Photos by Lorne McClinton
Who doesn't like a good sandwich? "The Cowboy," a pulled BBQ beef sandwich on sourdough bread with cheddar cheese, pickled onions, grilled on a panini press, is a feast in itself. The sandwich, along with a Montreal smoked meat sandwich, and a bacon and grilled cheese sandwich, are mainstays on the lunch menu at Brylee Farm in Thurso, Quebec. Since 2023, sandwiches developed by Brylee Farm's own sandwich wizard, Megan Ferland, are allowing the farm to expand its client base one bite at a time.
Brian Maloney and Lise Villeneuve, like many beef producers, constantly look for new ways to increase the profit margins on their farm. Brian started selling quarters, sides, whole beef, and boxes of beef from his herd of feeder cattle directly to consumers at farmers' markets in the National Capital Region in 2001. The couple added a farm store in 2013 and began hosting farm weddings after Lise left her nursing job in Buckingham, Quebec, and joined him at Brylee Farm full time.
All was going well until Covid hit. One third of their revenue vanished overnight when restrictions forced them to shutter their wedding venue. The timing couldn't have been worse; their daughter Kim had just returned to join the operation. Where others might have pulled back and licked their wounds, they went the other way.
"Covid had a lot of disadvantages," Lise said, "but it created opportunities for us, too." Years earlier they'd switched from a cow/calf production system to a streamlined, grass-based, all-inall-out model. They buy yearling heifers in the spring, finish them on their pastures, and process them at a nearby provincially inspected butcher shop in the fall. It allowed them to quickly double their cattle herd and expand their sheep herd as well.
Above. Brian Maloney (not pictured), Lise Villeneuve, and Kim Maloney used social media to expand their business during Covid. Their farm has become a tourist destination offering tours, cooking classes, barn yoga, and sandwiches.
Kim's marketing experience gained at direct-marketing farms in California helped grow their online sales and promote their beef packages on social media.
"Grocery chains had big supply problems during Covid," Lise says. "There were empty shelves and quality problems. There was a big push to support local farmers. We soon had 45-minute lineups to get into our store. It got to where Kim would tell us to please stop chatting with customers; people are waiting outside."
The Maloney family also turned their farm into a destination. Lise's role at the farm had always included customer relations. And education plays a big part of that.
"Many people don't know how to cook beef and grass fed is different than conventional," Lise says. "So, when someone comes in and buys a cut, I'll ask them how they're going to cook it. I won't correct them, but I'll suggest ways of cooking it. Tomahawk steaks [for example] are a big fad, but you must know how to cook it. You don't want to buy an $80 piece of meat and screw it up on the barbecue."
Their freezer meat's quality and service soon attracted a large client base that stretched from the National Capital Region to Montreal. But they started to wonder how to attract new customers who aren't already coming to buy freezer beef. Since their farm is adjacent to Quebec Autoroute 50, a major road connecting Ottawa to cottage country and to Montreal, the answer was obvious. Go beyond being just a farm store, and start selling grab-and-go lunches.
Their "Sandwicheree" is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., May through October to appeal to cottagers. Besides their three core sandwiches, they offer a new special every month to keep their menu fresh. They even launched a dessert sandwich, "The S'more." Similar to the well-known campfire classic, it's based on homemade marshmallows and Nutella.
"Sandwich customers are often not freezer beef customers," Kim says. "But once they get here, they see we sell meat, too. Like the weekly barn yoga classes we host, it brings in a new crowd of people. And that's the whole reason we started selling sandwiches in the first place." ‡
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