The Farmer

Ahren caught the farm bug about 15 years ago while WWOOFing on two permaculture farms on Salt Spring Island and in Kenya.  Entering into farming through permaculture led him to explore an array of crops, including nut trees, herbaceous perennials, a wide variety of micro scale heritage grains and dried beans, mushrooms, and employing pigs for plowing up garden space.  In 2011, life and finances aligned, and Ahren and his partner were able to purchase a farm near Neustadt, Ontario. He focuses primarily on growing dried beans, shiitake mushrooms and asparagus. Besides working to make his own small farm a thriving, financially viable operation, he also sits on the boards of two local organizations: Eat Local Grey Bruce, and our NFU (National Farmers Union) local. 
 
Ahren began farming because he wanted to pursue a career that would allow him to care for the earth and his community. He figured there was no better way to do this than to farm ecologically and feed people locally.  One of his favorite farm activities is harvesting mushrooms in the cool forest when it's unbearably hot and humid out in the field. He loves smelling the rich soil, and thinking about all the microbial life that is hard at work, making it possible for him to grow food.