Aurora Farms

Jan wasn’t brought up on a farm, but rather attended business school in Holland. He immigrated to Canada in 1977, after being sponsored by his uncle, and started work here installing dairy equipment and in construction. He purchased 35 sows in 1979 with his brother-in-law, and that is where his story as a hog farmer begins.

For many years Jan and his brother-in-law farmed together. In 1992, Jan and his wife, Adria, purchased 40 acres on Sumas Prairie which had nothing but a small house. They built Aurora Farms from the ground up. Today, Aurora is a farrow-to-finish farm which has 460 sows and sends 10,000 hogs to market each year. They have been shipping to Johnston’s since 1993.

Jan and Adria are not just busy farmers, but busy parents and grandparents. They have seven children: Arenda, Kristi, Brian, Renae, Duane, Tanya and Terry. Four of their children are now married and their daughter Kristi has 3 children, with Renae expecting her first. Their children have been going to the barn since they were very young. They enjoyed going with their dad to do chores. They would help move pigs and other small jobs. When they moved to Sumas Prairie, and started to build new barns they were out there – setting out blocks, cutting steel bars for penning, or playing in the dirt piles. Tanya and Terry (pictured) are still at home and they help on the farm wherever they can. Their son Duane, newly married, continues to work on the farm part-time.

It is easy to tell that the Schutte’s enjoy being farmers. Even with the highs and lows that come with farming, they “still feel tremendously blessed”. For them it is the lifestyle of farming and the focus on family that is the attraction – having coffee breaks around the kitchen table, being there to greet their children as they get off the bus and having flexibility. And, something that many urban families cannot do – raising children in an environment geared for work, where they can build skills and a work ethic while under their care.

As Jan says of his enjoyment of farming, “I never go backwards to the barn.” That really says it all. Aurora Farms, growing high quality, safe food close to home for fellow British Columbians.