Who: Steven McKnelly, Kyle McKnelly, Cailyn Brierley
What Chapter: Central Oregon
Host Farm: Rainshadow Organics
What Year: 2016-2018
Where they are now: Farm Owner/Operators, Hoodoo Blooms, Twisp, WA
Steven and Kyle McKnelly (brothers who started as 2016 Interns and continued to be 2017-2018 Apprentices at Rainshadow Farm) teamed up with former Seed to Table Farm Manager and 2016 RFC intern class series participant Cailyn Brierley to start their farm: Hoodoo Blooms in Twisp, WA. Kyle thanks the RFC programs for providing a “toolbelt” of skills to pursue farming as a career and Cailyn credits her participation in the programs with instilling a sense of “courage” in her approach to farming and connecting her to a community of farmers that she can “always call on.” They grow a diversity of fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs on about an acre in an intensive market garden style and rotate small batches of chickens on 4 acres of pasture. Their focus is to ensure health and immunity within their plants from seed
to soil by using organic and regenerative soil building techniques and biodynamic preparations.