153: Ryan Thiessen of Creek Shore Farms on Going Full Time, Small Scale Mechanization, and Winter CSA

Ryan Thiessen farms four acres of vegetables in two locations at Creek Shore Farms in St. Catharines, Ontario. With 110 CSA members in the summer and 72 in the winter, as well as farmers market sales, Creek Shore Farms provides a modest living for Ryan and his wife, Amanda. While Amanda has been full time on the farm since its start in 2010, 2017 was Ryan’s first year with farming as his only job. We talk about the challenges he encountered while making the transition, and what he plans to do differently in 2018. Creek Shore Farms is highly mechanized for a farm of its scale, and Ryan shares where and how he’s made choices about mechanizing, and how he’s taken advantage of farming two properties as a way to organize what crops are raised using what methods. Ryan shares his adventures with two-wheeled Planet Junior cultivating tractors and how they revolutionized weed control at Creek Shore Farms. Perennial support for the Farmer to Farmer Podcast is generously provided by Vermont Compost Company and BCS America. Pictures, show links, and more at farmertofarmerpodcast.com/episodes/thiessen.