WoodGrain Farm

Jonathan Knight's life has been a series of adventures, most of them stemming from dreams and goals he has long held. One of those dreams was to buy a farm and work toward a self-sustaining lifestyle. Jonathan has always been a proponent of a healthy food system. Before moving to the Hazeltons to farm, Jonathan owned an organic craft bakery on Vancouver Island. Part of his job involved connecting with the farmers who supplied his bakery's flour and other ingredients, so farming was a familiar concept. He learned a lot about organic farming through those relationships.

Jonathan spent many of his early years travelling and living in small rural communities from Cape Breton to Cowichan Bay. Small towns were in his blood. When the busy bakery lifestyle began to wear on him, Jonathan sold his business and spent a summer cycling across Canada, from Haida Gwaii to Newfoundland. It included a short stay in Smithers where Jonathan fell in love with the entire region. After his cross-country trek, he returned to the area to look for farmland to purchase. His journey took him to one of the Hazeltons' oldest farmsteads, though it hadn't been farmed in about three decades. It was the ideal location. He bought the land, and WoodGrain Farm was born in 2009.

Jonathan has been enjoying learning about farming, and admits that he still learns new things all the time. He is grateful to his neighbours, fellow farmers, who have been generous and supportive about giving him farming advice. He is particularly passionate about the "old ways" of farming, which, he states, are often the best methods. In addition to the certified organic produce and lamb which he sells, Jonathan also raises other animals, like chickens, for his own use. It is all part of his goal to become self-sustaining. He is proud to offer quality, local, in-season produce which not only helps to provide him and his farm helpers with a livelihood, but contributes to the overall sustainability of the community.