Where Our Story Begins
In August 1939, Robert “Bob” Butler married the neighbour girl, Olive “Blanche,” and unknowingly planted the roots of what would become J&E Meats.
Before the wedding, Bob quietly purchased a farm just 15 km south of where he and Blanche grew up — a humble brick house on a ridge overlooking the Sydenham River, surrounded by tangled brush and dense trees. It wasn’t the easy choice (a tidy house in Dresden certainly would’ve been), but it was the right one. It was a chance to build a homestead, stay close to their rural roots, and raise a family on land they could call their own.
Together, Bob and Blanche transformed the overgrown property into a thriving family farm. They raised five children, built barns and outbuildings, milked cows in the bank barn, tended pigs and chickens, and weathered the river floods that returned each spring.
They immersed themselves deeply into the Croton community — active in the church, serving on local boards, and staying firmly connected to their Camden Township roots.
Little did they know that their leap of faith in 1939 would still be shaping the land, the work, and the people here more than 80 years later.
The Strength of Rural Roots
Like many good farm stories, this one repeats itself.
In 1977, the youngest son of Bob and Blanche — Harold — married his high school sweetheart, Linda, in true Butler tradition: the neighbour girl. Linda was just finishing high school when they married, and by 2022, they would celebrate 45 years together.
Harold and Linda moved into the farmhouse shortly after their wedding. They farmed alongside Harold’s father, expanded the acreage, and grew into broiler breeders, pigs, cattle, and crops. They raised four children on the homestead — the third generation of Butlers on the land.
Their story, however, was not without hardship. In 2002, their eldest son, Greg, tragically passed away in an on-farm accident. The loss changed everything. Josh, just 16 at the time, made a quiet but life-shaping decision in the midst of grief — a decision that would eventually build the foundation for J&E Meats.
Following in Family Footsteps
From the time he could walk, Josh was drawn to farming. His mother often tells the story of three-year-old Josh escaping the house, walking halfway to Croton on his own to ride in the tractor with his dad. He lived and breathed farming — 4-H, show cattle, chores before school, full days in the field after.
Josh attended Ridgetown College for Agriculture, commuting home constantly for chores, harvest, planting — raising cattle, pigs, and sheep of his own all at the same time. After graduation, he returned to the farm full-time, growing the sheep flock to over 200 ewes and taking on crop management, spraying, calving, and anything else the farm demanded.
He is humble, witty, hardworking, and wholeheartedly committed to both the land and the legacy.
And then a trip to the local John Deere dealership in 2015 changed everything.
The Lambton County Girl
Emma grew up in Oil Springs, ON — on a beef farm, in agriculture, and (unbeknownst to her at the time) attending the same public school as Josh, seven years apart. So yes, she counts as “the neighbour girl,” too.
With deep agricultural roots, Emma spent years in Horse 4-H, volunteered widely in Lambton County agriculture, and was the Lambton County Queen of the Furrow (2010–2012) and the Plympton-Wyoming Fair Ambassador (2013). She later worked in marketing at a John Deere dealership — bubbly, outgoing, community-minded — which led her to major ag events like Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show and the International Plowing Match.
And that’s where their story began.
Our Love Story
We are Josh and Emma — the “J” and “E” of J&E Meats.
Emma Butler
the "E" of J&E Meats Inc.
Wife, Mom, farmer, CEO - not always in that order.
You've seen Emma in the Farm Store, behind the scenes answering all the emails, DM's and social media comments + driving tractors, feeding chickens, and wrangling children.
Josh Butler
the "J" of J&E Meats Inc.
You've maybe seen Josh in the farm store here and there, and you've definitely seen him in some piece of farm equipment working in the fields! Josh not only plants all the crops and manages animal nutrition; he is the lead herdsman for our cattle and sheep operations! This guy does it all.
