The Brome Lake Duck farm is built on
long-standing tradition. Established in 1912
on the western shore of the lake, the farm
is the oldest duck-breeding farm in Canada.
The company’s founder was an American
from New York who chose to breed Peking duck
—a large white duck with a yellow bill and feet,
as well as delicious meat—which had been
imported from China to the United States
in 1873.

Later on, his son and heir carried out the rather
odd yet very ambitious plan of moving the farm
and its buildings to the other side of the lake
during winter. Horses and sleighs were the only
means of transportation at the time. The farm
was set up on a sandy strip of land where
the ducks could swim freely in the summer heat
according to the young owner’s plan.

In 1939, the farm was acquired by a lawyer
and businessman who feared that the farm
would not survive. They wanted to maintain
the rural economy in the area, and employment
levels on the farm with the possibility of
increasing staff in the future. Since then,
the Brome Lake Ducks farm has remained
one of the largest employers in the area.

The annual output of the company has increased
five fold in the past 15 years to meet growing
market demand, rising from 25,000 ducks
at first to more than 2,000,000 in 2006.