Hi everyone!
Just so we know who’s interacting on the forum, how about everyone write a quick reply to this topic in order to introduce yourself. Tell us about your background, your farming activities and your engagement with EFAO.
Hi, my name is Mike Reid & I farm ~ 2 acres of vegetables in the blue mountains near Collingwood. This is my 5th year running my farm business. I’ve enjoyed networking with other growers through the EFAO.
Welcome everyone, my name is Naomi and I work as the membership services coordinator with the EFAO. This has given me the opportunity to meet so many dynamic farmers across Ontario. I also work as the field manager at Manorun Organic Farm, so learning from all these experts has been a real bonus 
Hi I’m Lorraine and I farm in the north part of Wellington County on Terra Verde Homestead. We have two acres of vegetables plus bees, fruit/nut orchard and various animals. I am also a member of the EFAO West Committee.
HI Everyone,
I’m Jennifer Seilern. My husband and I have a certified organic crop and beef farm near Kincardine, Ontario. This is our 6th season. I have learned so much from EFAO tours and farmers over the years so I’m excited for this new way to interact with other farmers!
Hi everyone! Better late than never! I’m Denis Héraud of Turning Leaf Ecological Farm. My partner and daughter and I are farming 6 acres just East of London, Ontario. We have a diversified vegetable CSA/Market Garden (not yet certified organic) in its 2nd year. We have 65 CSA members right now and do one farmer’s market, plus some wholesale (restaurants, etc.). We are planting fruit trees this year and are pretty stoked about broadening the variety of products we can offer.
I’m also on the Board of Directors of the EFAO, as well as on its Membership Committee. Getting this forum off the ground has been my first pet project since getting on the Board and I’m excited to see it come to life, even if it’s in a testing phase.
I hope everyone here gives us feedback as we go through the process of setting this up as a useful tool for all of the EFAO members (and beyond). Don’t be afraid to ask a question and try to pop in as frequently as time allows and see if you can’t help someone else out or participate in the conversations!
Hi everyone, I am Sarah Hargreaves - beginning farmer and Program Manager of EFAO’s Farmer-led Research Program. My husband, Drake Larsen, and I started farming in May 2015 near Aylmer/St. Thomas in SW Ontario. To start, we have pastured poultry (chickens, ducks) and pigs, and some cows for milk and stomping around. We are planting lots of fruit and nut trees, working on mushroom farming in the woods, and overall trying to build soil. A big concern on our farm is water - we installed swales and wetlands to help and hope the soil will hold more as we build soil organic matter and soil structure.
Hello everyone,
I’m Ali English, EFAO’s Executive Director. I’ve been working with EFAO for about 4 years and prior to that worked with FarmStart. Most of my farming experience has been market gardening but I have also dabbled in keeping bees and orcharding. Curious to see if this forum can provide the EFAO community with an online avenue for farmer-to-farmer information sharing!
Ali
Hi again - I should also add that I am curious to see how this forum can help the farmer-research community. Maybe it will help EFAO farmers come up with multi-farm research projects or is a way for farmers to set broader researcher priorities?
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You just reminded me I forgot to add a section for this! I just added it as a sub-category to the EFAO section (Farmer-led Research Program). 
Hey everyone, My name is Jasmine Grosse. I farm in Caledon with my Grandpa. We do barley, soybeans, hay and beef cattle. Although I want to experiment with more grains next year, and maybe some meat birds.
Hello everyone! My name is Stephanie, I’m in my third year farming cut flowers, herbs and edible flowers part-time outside of Waterloo. The other part of the time I work at Fertile Ground Farm. I run a small flower CSA, do some weddings and events, and am starting to sell to florists this year.
Hi. Happy Holidays to you. Sheila and I are brand new to farming. We are both vegan and mostly eat organic. We spend a lot of time at Farmer’s Markets in the Toronto area. The farm we are purchasing is near Seeley’s Bay. Already have met some people in the area. Have a happy New Year.
Hi guys and welcome to the forum! Don’t be shy and post in the appropriate section if you have any questions, there are some people around with extensive experience that will surely be of help to you. And good luck with the farm purchase! What kind of farm will you be establishing?
Happy holidays!
Hi, I’m Heather out in Prince Edward County. My partner Steve and I run Fiddlehead Farm, 8 acres of mixed vegetables for CSA and farmer’s markets with a tiny bit of wholesale.
I’m the Eastern Ontario contact for the Farmer-led Research Program, as well as the chair of the East committee… so a grand hello to all the folks in Eastern Ontario, send me your ideas and I look forward to seeing you around!
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HI all My name is Paul De Jong we farm in Dundalk ont, we have a black angus cow calve herd and we finish the calves as stockers. currently there are 85 cows and two bulls and 130 that where born last summer. we also crop 600 acres. currently I am on the board of EFAO
Hi All, my name is Gail Winters. My husband Phil and I run Winterbrook Hops in Caledon, ON. Heading into our 6th year, we have just under 2 acres of hops which we sell to local brewers. Additionally, we grow veggies/fruit, keep lay hens, a small flock of seasonal sheep and added bees last year. We are in the process of adding an on-farm brewery to our endeavours here, launching summer 2017. I thoroughly enjoy EFAO’s offerings and help out with their Advisory Services, specifically for growing hops, when asked.
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Hi:
I’m Andrew, a retired teacher and active farmer, on a 200 acre farm northwest of Kingston. My wife and I are very interested in organic farming: sheep, beef cattle, egg-laying chickens. While we are both interested in heritage breeds, it is my wife who is a fibre artist and weaver, using the Lincoln Longwool raised on the farm. We have been active with EFAO for several years and attended many useful workshops on soil and animal health.
Hi everyone!
My name is Bradley Moggach, I own and operate a farm in Fergus. My wife, in-laws, and I own a 160 acre farm just north of the city, we farm approximately 3 acres, growing each year. Currently, we are growing 3 acres of vegetables. We grow an exceptional amount of rarer, less common varieties of vegetables, we have a 30 member CSA as well as sales to several restaurants. We’ve planted a small orchard, nut trees, and this year will begin breeding Kune Kune pigs. I’ve been a member of the EFAO for almost a year I believe, and look forward to connect with everyone!
Hey everyone,
I’m Brent den Ouden from Pretty Good Farm up in Uxbridge, about an hour north of Toronto. I’m slowly trying to turn our 100 acres that have seen nothing but corn and soybeans for 20 years into more of a traditional mixed farm with nuts, fruits, berries, gardens, and some livestock. Last year was my first year and I planted hazelnuts, sea buckthorn berries, buffaloberries, cherries, and lingonberries. I’ll probably be asking questions here more often than giving answers because I have a lot to learn and very little experience!
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