BAAAD CROP BEHIND FARM

The old farmhouse with the two-storey porch and the almost 200 acres
of rolling pasture had sat fallow for almost two months before it went
up for sale.

The real estate ad on the back page of the Bancroft Times carried its
picture, but it was the description of the property that brought a
smile to the face of Staff-Sgt. Ray Westgarth, head of the local OPP
detachment.

"This unique property has great potential for an organic beef or
produce farm," the real estate listing read. "It has 197 acres,
including a 1928 updated two-storey farmhouse, barns, outbuildings,
runway, and heated airplane hangar. The house and outbuildings are not
visible from the road, and the property is gated."

"Sounds almost perfect for a marijuana grow-op, doesn't it?" said
Westgarth. "It's got it all ... privacy, lots of land, and even a runway."

It sounded so perfect to Westgarth because that's exactly what that
leased property was before the OPP paid an early morning visit at
September's end and hauled away $8-million worth of high-grade marijuana.

"(The plants) were ready for harvest," Westgarth said, shortly after
the bust went down.

"Never saw anything quite like them before. The plants were squat,
only two or three feet high, but they were wide, and loaded with bud
from top to bottom."

Only the "gardener," a 26-year-old Asian man from Toronto, was
arrested that morning. He had no vehicle. He had only food and drink,
and he was there alone -- 24/7 -- until the crop he was cultivating
was ready for the streets.

The identity of his boss who leased the land, however, is still being
sought.

Even with the asking price of $275,000, big money in these parts, the
property wasn't on the market for long.

Sold close to list

"It sold before we could pull the second newspaper ad," said an agent
at the real-estate office. "And it sold close to list."

And so, piqued by curiosity, we drove some 30 km north of Bancroft to
a dead-end patch of gravel called East Lake Road, turned right through
an unlocked gate and then down almost 2 km of dirt road before the
farmhouse and outbuildings came into view.

The sheep would begin arriving within the half-hour.

"Yes, we were aware of the property's history," said Tom Sunberg. "My
brother-in-law told us about it.

"But it's perfect for what we want it for. And that's for breeding
sheep for lamb production.

"But I'm not the boss on that," he said. "My wife is."

Evalina Sunberg, mother of four, was making lunch back at the old
farmhouse, and waiting for the first load of breeder sheep to arrive,
a number that will eventually total 90.

"Stick around," she said. "They'll be here soon."

It was only back in mid-September that the Sunbergs returned to Canada
from their native Sweden, having sold a sheep farm there to help
finance a similar venture here.

Eco invention

If the name Sunberg sounds familiar to cottagers, boaters or the
environmentally conscience, however, it's because Tom Sunberg's
father, Harding Sunberg, invented the popular Sun-Mar composting
toilet, leading to his family setting up the company's Canadian
operations in Hamilton.

"I sold my share to my brother and another investor," said Tom
Sunberg. "Now I only get royalties."

It was about then that a half-ton truck pulling a cattle trailer
appeared on the crest of the hill not far from where some 8,000
marijuana plants had once bloomed -- loaded down with sheep, and one
bull calf that is destined to one day provide beef for the family table.

This was where Evalina Sunberg took over, her being the "boss" of the
operation, and began directing the herding of the sheep into their
winter pens.

When last seen, the truck was heading south to Madoc to pick up its
second load of breeder stock and Evalina Sunberg, well, she was doing
what future lamb producers do to ensure a fitful sleep at the end of
the working day.

She was counting sheep.