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Business Mentorship Network – Earth Haven Farm
Posted on April 6, 2026
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“We see the farm as a living and working school of life skills, where everyone who comes here is both a teacher and a student. Our goal is to contribute positively to the environment and our community through regenerative agriculture, collaboration, and a shared commitment to caring for the land.”
Young Agrarians is celebrating the twelfth year of the Business Mentorship Network (BMN) program in BC and the fourth year of the BMN in the Prairies! The BMN offers a year-long farm business mentorship to a diverse array of new and young farmers. Through one-on-one mentorship, peer networks, and online workshops, new farmers develop the skills necessary to operate ecologically sustainable and financially viable farm businesses.
Applications for mentees across Canada open in Fall 2026. Click below to be notified when applications open!
Mentor applications are accepted year-round. Check out the Business Mentorship Network page for more information!
Meet a mentee from the current cohort and learn about their farm and why they joined the Business Mentorship Network. Want more? Head over to our BMN Blog for more mentorship stories.
Meet a Mentee: Earth Haven Farm
We are Emily VanderWey, Aric Aguonie, Kathryn Aunger (Mentees) of Earth Haven Farm and Frédéric Thériault of Tourne-Sol is our Mentor.
Earth Haven Farm is a 200-acre property located in Thomasburg, Ontario made up of pasture, mixed deciduous forest, and small-scale agricultural production. About 3–5 acres are in active market garden and greenhouse production, where we grow mixed vegetables, garlic, tomatoes, and a large raspberry patch that we hope to expand. We also raise a small herd of Scottish Highland cattle.
The farm is owned and operated with a focus on regenerative and biodynamic farming practices that support soil vitality and ecological balance. Roughly half of the land is managed as mixed forest, helping protect biodiversity and the long-term health of the land.
We run a CSA program and sell produce at the Evergreen Brickworks Farmers Market in Toronto, and we also host plant sales, workshops, and educational programs throughout the season. The farm includes a certified commercial kitchen, allowing us to produce value-added foods and expand our offerings.
Community and education are also an important aspect of what we do. We host volunteers through WWOOF and Workaway, and we run a food sovereignty project where people are invited to help grow a traditional Three Sisters garden of corn, beans, and squash. As an Indigenous farmer, Aric is especially passionate about sharing land-based knowledge and inspiring youth—particularly Indigenous youth—to connect with traditional food systems and the land.
We see the farm as a living and working school of life skills, where everyone who comes here is both a teacher and a student. Our goal is to contribute positively to the environment and our community through regenerative agriculture, collaboration, and a shared commitment to caring for the land.
We are currently participating in the Business Mentorship Network program to help bring more clarity and sustainability to our farm business, and to learn how to build a farm operation that is both resilient and aligned with our values. With so many moving parts—CSA, farmers markets, workshops, volunteers, gardens, cattle, and community programs—we were looking for guidance on how to focus our time and energy in ways that make the farm more financially viable while also reducing the overall workload.
Through the mentorship, we’ve been working on strengthening our operations and record-keeping systems and exploring our marketing strategy, including how to better focus our efforts and identify the most effective opportunities for the farm.
The mentorship program has been incredibly helpful in giving us greater clarity about where we’re headed and how to move the farm forward in a sustainable way.
Find us at:
