Laura has been living in the WNC area for the last five years with her family. Last year, she moved into a yurt that she and her husband built together with their kiddo up near Cataloochee and they’re enjoying developing their property into a homestead. Before joining the Haywood Market, Laura worked for another tailgate market in the area where she gained heaps of knowledge and experience in vendor wrangling and community development. When she’s not at the market, Laura enjoys canoeing with her family, doing yoga, and being outside whenever possible!

Leah Woody has lived in Haywood county for almost three decades. She loves sunflowers, squash, and everything from Four Sisters Bakery. Supporting and working alongside local farmers and businesses is her favorite thing about Haywood’s Historic Farmer’s Market.

Adam Henson is a fourth-generation cattle farmer whose family has lived in Haywood County since the 1800s. 

In 2012, he led the farm to change to a direct-to-consumer model after switching the farm’s production model to grass-only production for their cattle and adding pasture-raised laying hens to the farm.

Adam spoke in front of the aldermen of the town of Canton in 2012 as part of an effort to establish a farmer’s market in Canton and began his family’s and farm’s career as a farmer’s market vendor selling eggs in the resulting market in 2013. 

In 2014, the farm joined Asheville City Market and began selling beef by the cut under the farm’s own custom label. Adam added pasture-raised meat chickens to the farm’s product mix in 2015.

Shady Brook Farm joined Haywood’s Historic Farmer’s Market as a day vendor in 2018, coming every other weekend and full-time in 2019, leaving Asheville City Market.

In 2022, the farm pivoted its poultry operation to feature an organic, soy-free feed.

The 2024 season will mark Adam and Jada’s eleventh year as farmer’s market vendors.

Our farming history began as a hobby when Gary and I bought our first house in 2003. My mother grew and sold flowers so as a young adult, I was excited to begin my own gardening journey. We began by putting in landscaping and perennial beds, which have since matured and become the backbone of our flower business. In 2007, we married and, with the help of my mom, grew and arranged the flowers for our wedding. Since then, we have been hooked on the idea of growing and selling local flowers for events and have supplied arranged flowers for multiple weddings and events for friends. In 2015, we began selling flowers to a local florist and helped her occasionally with wedding setup and preparation. Over the years, we have read many books, joined groups, visited other flower farms, and collaborated with farmers. In 2019, we enlisted the help of the Small Business Center through Southwestern Community College and began monthly meetings to shape the vision of our business. 

Mary Ann Smith is a native of Waynesville, NC, and is a retired Tuscola High School math teacher.  Being an avid gardener, Mary Ann decided to start worm farming when she stopped teaching full time.  It seemed to her a natural companion job/hobby to grow worms and generate worm castings to use on her organically grown produce.  This is currently the tenth year Mary Ann has been a part of Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market, selling composting worms, worm products (compost and tea), and produce. She has also been on the Board of Directors for five years.  

We are Jeff and Melinda Arnette, and we proudly own and operate Wholly Goat Soaps. For the past seven years, we have been crafting and providing high-quality, handmade products. Our journey in the market for the last 7 years has been more than just a business venture; it’s been a passion-driven endeavor towards the betterment of the market, its vendors, and our customers. Our commitment goes beyond business – we are deeply invested in ensuring the future success of the market.

A native of Atlanta, Jenn has lived in western North Carolina for twenty years. She learned to drive a tractor and not plant her tomatoes until Mother’s Day at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa. With the help of her husband and three kids, Jenn operates a small farm raising dairy goats, meat rabbits, laying hens, dermestid beetles, and no-till veggies in Cruso. When she isn’t volunteering for the market, she is administering her homeschool cooperative, Haywood Free-Range, and teaching with Waynesville Bellydance.

Their farm is a non-certified, organic market
farm nestled in the mountains of Haywood County, NC. They converted their homestead to a productive commercial operation after realizing how much they loved agriculture and the agricultural community. They transformed a mountainous property into a highly productive farm that includes high-intensity annual vegetable production, orchards, vibrant soils, mushroom
production, pastured egg layers, and 7 greenhouses where they grow year-round.

They grow using high intensity organic production without any heavy equipment, only ecological practices. Sara and Dustin also partner with many local agricultural and food security non-profits to help grow the strong community that they want to be a part of. Whether a person wants to learn about gardening, how to homestead, or live more sustainably, Sara and Dustin are always ready
to visit with their customers and share their knowledge.

For additional information please visit their website Sustainabillies.com, follow on social media @sustainabillies, or reach out directly to Sara and Dustin at [email protected].

Mark grew up  on a small farm in Swannanoa.  He joined the military in 1975 and retired from the Department of Defense in 2012 after serving almost 37 years of combined military and civilian service.  Mark along with his wife Donna, have been raising a herd of Belted Galloway Cattle in Sandy Mush since 2002.

Callie has dedicated the past 15 years to supporting healthy communities and economies through various roles in the field of food and agriculture. This experience includes receiving a Master’s in Agriculture, Food, and Environment with a focus on business and communications; managing social media, email blasts, events, and outreach for an Extension program; writing grants, news articles and press releases, blog posts, and so much more; running children’s activities and helping with set up at farmers markets; representing her area on the Farm Bureau policy development committee; and cow milking duties. She continues these efforts in her role at the USDA National Organic Program and as a Community representative on the Board of Director’s. A North Carolina native, she recently moved back to this area where her roots run deep with her husband and two dogs just in time to welcome their daughter to the world.