By Ewa Chwojko-Srawley
For generations, women have worked the land with little fanfare. In 2026, that is changing. The United Nations has dedicated the entire year to recognizing the vital role women farmers play in feeding the world.
Meet Sandra Verrall of Dragonfly Farm — sheep wrangler, garlic grower, accidental ‘agripreneur,’ community cheerleader, mother of four, and self-confessed “crazy sheep lady.”
“I didn’t grow up on a farm,” she says matter-of-factly. “We bought property in 2001. It was just supposed to be a hobby farm.”
An opportunity came up to buy a small flock of sheep. They were all pregnant. No pressure…
“It sort of happened organically,” Sandra laughs. “No grand vision. Just sheep.” Then came the moment that changed everything.
One ewe delivered twin lambs — and died from milk fever. Suddenly Sandra found herself bottle-feeding two tiny, vulnerable lives. “They adopted me,” she says. “That was the hook moment.”
That first lambing season, Sandra practically moved into the barn with a lounge chair and a book determined not to miss a single moment. What started as a simple desire to “do it right the first time” turned into something much bigger. “I became a crazy sheep lady,” she laughs.
Her family teased, “You need kids to pull you away from that barn.” Instead, she became a crazy sheep lady with four kids in tow!
“I’ve grown a lot of things out here,” she laughs, “but my four kids are my best crop. Children raised on a farm, with good values and strong work ethic — that’s the reward.”
Farm kids grow up differently, she explains. They deliver lambs before breakfast. They understand work ethic before Wi-Fi passwords. One daughter won at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair with her sheep. The youngest has delivered lambs. Her son handles the heavy lifting. The store helped with math. “They all did their part,” she says.
Sandra grew up in Georgina, moved to the city as a teenager, and returned in her twenties to start farming — lambs and vegetables at first. What began small eventually grew to two acres: garlic in the front, potatoes and sweet corn in the back, and pumpkins sprawling wherever they pleased.
In 2018, inspiration struck again when she met a young woman selling salad jars. Sandra planted a garden just for her. Soon yoga groups were rolling out mats between the rows while Sandra harvested greens. After class, they would assemble fresh salad jars to take home.
“I firmly believe we work better together,” she says. “I’m all about collaboration. That’s what I love about our community.”
The longer she talks, the less it’s about her. She praises fellow women farmers, local organizations, neighbours; she mentions the importance of the small solutions shared with fellow women farmers. “We’re not competitive,” she says. “We share our struggles and our resolutions.”
Being a first-generation farmer wasn’t easy. “I leaned on other women,” she says. “I’d call with a problem, and someone would offer a simple fix — something I hadn’t thought of.”
When asked what it means that 2026 honours women farmers, she says. “It’s amazing! Long overdue. But most women farmers aren’t looking for a pat on the back. We just put our heads down and go to work.”
She admits to bouts of ‘imposter syndrome.’ Then shrugs, “You figure it out and fix it.”
Farming, she admits, is not a get-rich-quick scheme. “You get rich in abundance — fresh abundance.” The business side is hardest part. The gamble of putting money in the ground and praying weather cooperates. “I have a field full of assets…and liabilities!” she jokes. “It’s feast or famine, just as it was hundreds of years ago.”
She says the best part of being a farmer is harvesting a meal and cooking it within minutes. “You can’t get fresher than that.” She laughs. “My peas never made it into the kitchen. The kids ate them on the spot.”
These days, Sandra calls Dragonfly Farm her healing space. The dragonfly became a family symbol after her father passed — a reminder of transformation, resilience, and light. “I’ll be working in the garden and dragonflies are all around,” she says, “It feels like he’s watching over us.”
If farming has taught her anything, it’s simple: “Don’t give up. Keep swimming.”
Her advice to aspiring women farmers is: “Plant what you love, and don’t be afraid to share your mistakes with others.”
Success isn’t measured alone. For her, it’s about community — the people who grow, buy, share, and support one another.
Although this is the International Year of the Woman Farmer, Sandra is not seeking recognition. But in Georgina, among garlic rows and lambing stalls and dragonflies catching the light, she represents exactly what the year was meant to celebrate: quiet strength, shared wisdom, resilience, and the courage to keep growing — pun fully intended.
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