Meet your Farmers:
Jon & Teri Jenkins
Shortly after we started dating, Jon and I moved to Nova Scotia in February 2012 from jobs in Calgary at an organic produce retailer. We chose Nova Scotia because we thought it would offer lots of opportunities for young farmers, and we were impressed with the vibrant, active farming community in the province. We are thankful to our many mentors and the great organizations in Nova Scotia who offered support to new entrants like us.
We decided to move to Manitoba in March of 2015, after months (years!) of discussing our short- and long-term plans. Taking over the family business just makes sense, and it's something that became even more evident as I worked at Noggins Corner Farm in fall 2014/winter 2015-- a thriving multi-generational family farm. I am very grateful to my mentor Andrew Bishop for all his support, advice, and friendship as I worked at Noggins- we are both cut from the same cloth and got along great when we weren't driving each other crazy!
More about Jon Jenkins
Jon Jenkins grew up in Earnscliffe, Prince Edward Island with the ocean as his backyard. He discovered his passion for growing at a young age in his Dad's large garden (as well as his love for digging clams!).After completing high school in Ottawa and exploring post-secondary options, Jon went WWOOFing on a goat farm on Pender Island. From there he found a 2-year apprenticeship at Glen Valley Organic Co-Op, where he learned organic farming skills from two mentors, John Switzer and Alyson Chisholm. He got out of farming for a few years and did a carpentry apprenticeship, spend 8 months traveling in New Zealand, and eventually found himself working at the Calgary Farmer's Market, where he met Teri.
Jon enjoys a wide range of other activities when he is not farming. He is a self-taught DJ on digital as well as turntables: Check out his most recent DJ mixes here: Jon Jenkins on MixCloud. He also loves fishing, making beer, he plays the didgeridoo and made his own, he plays banjo, he's made his own shoes and loves to sew, he snowboards, he's run marathons, he's done yoga, he's tried Aquaculture and Bible College and traveled to Mexico and to New Zealand twice, skydiving, worked at a summer camp; he has an interest but a healthy skepticism about all things paranormal, unexplained, and otherworldly, as well as a ton of knowledge about astronomy and outer space, he's great with animals and loves kids, especially his daughter Myrah. AND, he's truly a wonderful husband!
More about Teri Jenkins (Dillon)
I was born and raised in Brandon,
Manitoba. When I was 15, my Mom started a market garden, and as
soon as we went to the farmer's market, I was hooked. I
prudently moved to Calgary to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in English
Literature/Sociology, and while going to school I worked full-time in
the produce department at Safeway to learn the corporate & retail side of the business. When I finished University I moved on to further my
skills working at Blush Lane in the Calgary Farmer's Market. By the time I hired
Jon I thought I had found my passion, but as soon as we started
dating a year and a half later, we both realized that our passion for producing and selling organic vegetables could become a reality through this
convenient romantic/business partnership. I LOVE all animals, especially cats, especially Samson :). I enjoy drinking coffee and cooking gourmet meals with amazing local ingredients, and going to Farmers' Markets. I brew kombucha and mead as well as cook everything from scratch (as in, chicken soup starts with a live hen!), which I enjoy. I still take time each week for personal correspondence, usually emails but sometimes letters too. In the business I am endlessly frustrated with poor communication in our digital world and like to remind myself "be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle you know nothing about"!
I focus most of my energy into my work, something I learned from two entrepreneurial parents. I believe that social media is the new word of mouth and I am grateful that my day to day activities are of interest to the public! I also love managing people and sorting out logistics and knowing every little detail about how things work and happen!
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