In Pursuit of More Than Farming, Commonplace Farm Looks to Long-Term Community Investment
Beyond just gorgeous specialty lettuce, chicories and fresh herbs, Jeremy and Ashli Mueller are using acreage purchased from long-time organic farmer Tom Denison to make the career of farming accessible to future generations.
Before Commonplace Farm was founded and the charming documentation of their work garnered an impressive Instagram following, Jeremy and Ashli Mueller were on separate paths of self-discovery that eventually brought them together as partners and farmers.
Ashli, a life-long resident of Oregon, moved to Eugene from Portland to pursue a Liberal Arts degree. Before graduating, she had already set her sights on a Master’s Degree in Theology that would eventually take her away from her home state.
Jeremy had foregone attending college in favor of world travel, which afforded him the opportunity to dip his toe into farming while traveling through more than 20 countries. His experience abroad sparked a curiosity about agriculture as an important foundation of community life and culture. Eventually, he returned to the west coast with just a guitar, typewriter and backpack.
Eugene became Jeremy’s new home base, where he established a small market garden and CSA in the Whiteaker Neighborhood. This community space is where he and Ashli first met.
“I often joke that I wooed her with fresh vegetables,” Jeremy shares. “It was also then that we were reading Wendell Berry and envisioning what sort of life we wanted to build together.”
Jeremy went on to work at another farm before taking on the management of Excelsior Farm, a small operation that provided produce to the Eugene restaurant of the same name. He grew the business, added a CSA program, and started attending the downtown farmers market. This project kept Jeremy busy while Ashli relocated to New York to complete her education. It was a long and often difficult two-year engagement, but when Ashli returned the couple married within weeks.
Ashli and Jeremy then worked at Excelsior Farm together and eventually purchased the property in 2015. “We were growing everything you would expect from a highly diversified, small-scale farm,” Jeremy says of Excelsior. “It was something like 50 different crops.”
But, over time they realized they were competing with numerous small-scale farms that were growing and selling the same wide array of organic vegetables.
“I felt like there was unnecessary competition between small farms who were all doing the same thing, said Jeremy. I thought, ‘What if we could expand the market for local organic products?’.”
This thought and the birth of their daughter, Marion, convinced the Muellers that they needed to simplify their lives and specialize production. They took note that there weren’t many locally grown salad greens offered by retailers in Oregon, and so they turned their attention to perfecting that category.
Even while at Excelsior Farm, the couple had been quietly looking for a new property on which to expand. Their seven-year search took them all over the state with no luck. It seemed impossible to find a property that would have what they needed to grow the business: access to markets, access to water, good soil, proximity to a community where they could hire help, and enough space for them to expand their infrastructure.
After visiting nearly two dozen properties, the Muellers heard that Denison Farms was up for sale, and knew that part of that farm would be the ideal property for them. The only hang-up was that they wanted to purchase half of what Tom Denison was offering.
Through patience and persistence, they were able to convince Tom to sell them 24 acres of his land. With help from family, friends, and Tom’s willingness to creatively finance the loan, the Muellers purchased the property. They named it Commonplace Farm, remembering a collection of essays they read together entitled “The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry.”
“Tom and Elizabeth are exactly the kind of people you would hope to buy a farm from,” shared Jeremy. “They care about the land and about young farmers. It would have been a lot more difficult for us to secure a purchase from someone that saw us only as a financial opportunity and not an investment in the community. As young farmers, it’s a dream to find people like Tom and Elizabeth who so graciously passed this land onto the next generation.”
The land they acquired from the Denisons had no buildings, so the first order of business was to construct a heated greenhouse and packing facility and establish long-term plans to expand infrastructure over the next 10 years.
With Ashli leading the business-side of the operation, including sales, bookkeeping, staffing and managing the pack-house, and Jeremy managing growing, the couple has found not only a rhythm to their work, but also just enough extra time to pursue continuous improvement.
While perfecting their array of salad products, micro-greens, fresh herbs, chicories, kales and chards, Jeremy and Ashli are looking beyond simply growing food to utilizing their role as farmers to make lasting, positive impacts in their community.
The Muellers have a unique vision to bring a high level of professionalism to the small farm scene, and help build a better local food system. The pair is working to create employment opportunities that are beyond just seasonal jobs to offer serious career-minded beginning farmers a viable career path. An especially noble pursuit, as the reality of land ownership is out of reach for many young farmers.
“There are lots of people who want to farm, but few that are as lucky as us to steward a property like this,” Jeremy shares. “We want to spread some of our good fortune around by offering aspiring farmers the opportunity to work with us and be part of building this incredible farm.”
Now, just over a year and a half into growing Commonplace Farm, the future is looking bright for this young family.
“OGC is thrilled to source a unique range of high-quality specialty lettuce and chicory varieties from Commonplace Farm,” OGC’s Director of Purchasing Mike Neubeck shares. “Beyond that, Jeremy and Ashli bring an inspired vision of healthy food, land, and community. They have the will it takes to realize their goals and we are excited to be a partner in their journey.”
Keep up with Jeremy and Ashli’s work at Commonplace Farm by following them on Instagram (@commonplace.farm) and ask your Account Representative about adding their delicious lettuce, chicories and fresh herbs to your next order!