About Us

The Singing Pig Farm was created in the spring of
1989. It was the result of a business plan I wrote
for a Strategic Planning class at Marylhurst College.
A subsequent yearlong marketing study showed my
idea of intensively growing high quality organic
produce on 1 urban acre was marginal but possible.
My first sales were of edible flowers to a man who
brokered organic produce to restaurants in Portland.
In October, 1989, I quit my job in Telecom and
went full time (there's some good, clear thinkin'). 2
days later, the broker told me he was quitting and
turned all of his accounts over to me.

I did everything by hand the first few years. I
worked hard at refining my season extension skills,
figuring that since my bills didn't take the winter off
I shouldn't either. Somehow, by Grace, i ended up
with a client list that any grower would envy. I
always say that my business failed many times
during those years, but that I was too dumb to
know it!

In 1997, a neighbor gave me the use of his 1/2
acre, increasing my production ground by 50%. I
also upgraded my PVC hoophouses to six 20X96'
greenhouses that same year. Those 2 changes
really kickstarted growth that led me to renting 15
suburban acres in 2003. I used those 15 acres,
borrowed and rented equipment and spent 2 years
learning what methods, equipment and
infrastructure I needed to make a larger scale
operation work.

This year I took that knowledge and purchased my
new 23 acre farm outside of Salem, Or. It has
flat,fertile production ground, excellant irrigation,
adequate buildings and 3-phase power.I then
invested $80k in equipment.

I have been operating at my production capacity for
several years. With my new farm and new
equipment , I am now ready to grow my business
for many years to come.