William Romney and Becky Bacheller raise native plants, fruits, vegetables, chickens, pigs, and goats on their farm, Hot Mess Hollow. They produce for farmers markets, local farm swaps, and online direct-to-consumer sales near their home in Mechanicsville, Virginia, and hope to eventually host art and science education classes on their farm to bring their previous backgrounds more into their work. Together with their dog, they enjoy connecting with nature and living with the soil under their feet.
The couple is excited to expand their production to include reishi and lion’s mane mushrooms for culinary, health, and wellness purposes. The Beginning Farmer Stipend will jump-start Romney and Bacheller’s mushroom enterprise, which they will offer at farmers markets and also process into teas, coffees, and tinctures. Their used mushroom growing blocks will be returned to the soil as a regenerative source of nutrients.