Janet Shisler Peterson, Cloud 9 Farm
Sustainable Sawmilling – $9,000
“This WNC AgOptions project gives me the support for making a business plan with follow through. The grant will enable me to maintain a healthy forest, focus on the sustainability issue of the farm and benefit financially at the same time.” ~ Janet Peterson
Janet is a retired teacher, tending to the homestead where she grew up. Seventeen acres of the 200+acre property are in production. Janet has grown blueberries, raised livestock and tended the family garden since the 1960s, owned/leased a tobacco allotment prior to 1997, and created a forest stewardship plan for her 190-acre woods. Janet’s goal is to make a “showcase conservation, sustainable farm for agri-tourism and/or incubator farm.”
For her WNC AgOptions project, she will purchase a portable sawmill and complementary equipment, marketing the use of it to neighbors. With select cuttings from her woods, Janet will produce fence posts, siding, rustic log timbers, mantles and framing. She will also saw boards for out-buildings on the farm to promote her agri-tourism goals. Visit www.heavenlyhideawaycabin.com.
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