The Fox family has been farming in the Mt. Newton valley of what is now Central Saanich for more than 100 years.

The family’s legacy started in the early 1900s. Brothers C. Sidney and A. Herbert Fox immigrated to Canada in 1913 after starting a dairy farm in Hartlebury, England. Sidney brought his future wife, Beatrice, over in 1915 (the year they wed) and the brothers eventually brought their parents over as well. 

They started by milking jersey cows at Lawrence Hagan Farm (now Woodynn Farm managed by the Tsartlip First Nation) and then bought a dairy farm on Benvenuto Avenue in Brentwood Bay in 1916. 

In 1925 they bought nine parcels of farmland on Hovey Road in Saanichton, eventually naming the farm Silver Rill Dairy. Originally, they milked cows, expanding to strawberries and loganberries. 

Sidney’s son Stanley started working full time with his father at the farm after graduating from high school in 1942. It was Stanley who planted the first crop of Silver Rill corn on Hovey Road in 1961. Then in the 1970s, Stanley sold four parcels on Hovey Road (Lots 1-4) to purchase property on Central Saanich Road, as that land was more accessible to the public. 

That Central Saanich Road property was taken over by three of Stanley’s sons (he had eight children in total) – Ken, Robert and Jim. The brothers went on to expand with Jim operating a dairy farm under the banner of Silver Rill Ltd. and Ken taking on the sweet corn side of the operation under the banner of Silver Rill Corn. Ken’s son Clayton, with his wife Rachelle, now run Silver Rill Corn. Robert moved to Errington with a dairy operation under the banner of Silver Meadows Farm. His son Jason now operates the accompanying Silver Meadows Farm Market.

Another brother, Gordon, took over the dairy on Hovey Road, under the banner of Silvervale Farm Ltd., and moved that operation to Westwold in 2006. The Fox family still milks cows that are descendants of the original herd. 

Pamela, the youngest daughter, purchased a piece of the original farm on Hovey Road from Stanley and operates Silver Rill Berry Farm. It is the last piece of the original farm still in the family.

Pamela’s son Andrew also has his own operation – Nettlebrook Farm & Andrew’s Farmstand. He’s one of the largest garlic growers on the Island and is known for his strawberries and carrots.