Michael and Kimberly Heggen, owners
After more than 25 years of urban life in Salem, Oregon, Mike and Kim took a deep breath in 2016 and bought a 135-acre farm 45 minutes away in Pedee. The place had a farmhouse that had been vacant for 18 years, a decent well, good soil, a beautiful creek, a nice stand of young timber, and not much else.
Mike brought his broad collection of (seemingly unrelated) knowledge and skills that he amassed over the last 25 years. With the benefit of hindsight, it is now clear that all of those years were preparation for farm life. Mike lives on the farm full-time.
As a child, Kim picked up all kinds of traditional skills from her grandmother, along with a deep love of gardening and animals. That, combined with her training in chemistry and medicine and her experience managing a pediatric clinic, all come into play on the farm. Kim is still in practice full-time in Salem, but spends weekends at the farm.
James Johnson, farmhand
On a cold January evening in 2017, 19-year-old James took a plunge that was just as scary as Mike and Kim’s decision to buy the farm: He put all of his worldly belongings in a horse trailer and moved into one of the bedrooms of the farmhouse to work as a farmhand.
James turns out to have a knack for building things and coming up with systems that are “farmer-proof”—not to mention the strength of an ox.
Draven Morehead, cook and farmhand
James’ best friend, Draven, took the plunge with him, signing on as the part-time farm cook. The two of them went from internet gaming in mom’s basement to it being a good day if your ping times are <600 ms; from walking to the corner store for a snack run to it being 1/4 mile to the nearest neighbor, five miles to the nearest store, and 15 miles to the nearest town.
Draven’s cooking just keeps getting better; it turns out that he is a pretty good problem solver, and that he has a nice way with horses, too.
Mark Curnell, marketing director and poop scooper
Mark learned how to split firewood, scoop horse manure, pull weeds, and lots more. It would appear that even the worst day of farmwork is better than human resources, because Mark just keeps going without complaint.
Mark is Kim’s older brother. He joined the crew in January of 2018 after almost 20 years spent working in human resources in Portland. He had never lived outside of a city, and had no practical skills.
We have recently put Mark in charge of our marketing efforts (but he still scoops poop every day, just like his business card says). If you have a brewery, distillery, or restaurant (or any other business) and are interested in heirloom cider apples (pears, too!), Cluster hops, seasonal fresh produce, or any of our other products, please drop Mark an email or buttonhole him the next time he comes into your establishment.
Elf and Shasta
Shasta (left) is a genuine Budweiser Clydesdale, foaled at Anheuser-Busch’s Warm Springs Farm in Missouri. She was sold out of their breeding herd because she was too small, but at 16.2 hands and 1,750 pounds, she’s perfect for us. Shasta is opinionated, but steady. She is trained to ride and drive.
Elf (right) was foaled on the snowy fields of Saskatchewan, Canada. He is about 18.1 hands and about 2,100 pounds, now that he is finally done growing. Being about 12 years younger than Shasta, he definitely has a playful streak that makes his name well-suited to him. Elf is trained to ride, but is not yet trained to drive.
We also have an ancient Arabian horse, Bob, whose shadow you can see behind Elf (that’s a really common place for him to be, actually). Although he turned 31 years old in the spring of 2019, at just 14.2 hands and 950 pounds, Bob is often mistaken for a foal when he is standing next to Elf. He is fully retired, but he still comes in at a canter for his grain.
BC and Fumi
BC (left) was dumped at our previous barn. He took up residence there, earning his keep many times over by his superb skills at rodent hunting, and charming everyone who met him. When we moved the horses here, BC came with us. He currently oversees rodent control in the farmhouse until the barn is done. Do not let his soulful eyes and placid demeanor fool you—behind those eyes is a cold-blooded, quiet, efficient killer who never leaves any evidence behind. BC is fascinated by the microwave oven, light reflections on the kitchen floor, and any open drawer. BC is short for Barn Cat.
Fumi (right) came to us via a friend of Draven’s during our first winter here. We were getting overrun by mice, as BC was still at the old barn in Independence with the horses, so Fumi went right to work when she got here. She is a vicious hunter who always leaves the evidence of her kills in a particular cardboard box that we now refer to as ”the murder box“. Fumi is highly opinionated, and not overly fond of unfamiliar faces (or cameras, as you can see from the photo). Fumi is a popular Japanese feminine name, as well as a word translating roughly as “flavor”; both seem appropriate, in this case.