Streef was featured in the "Innovation to Plate: Profile of a young grower" blog on aquarteryoung.com. 

Innovation to Plate: Profile of a young grower

By: aquarteryoung.com

With a title like A Quarter Young, it’s no surprise that this blog has profiled a great deal of 20-somethings that have tackled everything from music, art, fashion, and business. Young entrepreneurship is alive and well in Ontario, and being a quarter young seems to only make it that much more impressive. Looking outside of the urban centre, it doesn’t take long to find that same work ethic is thriving in the fields that grow our food. You need only look so far as your dinner plate.

This past spring, during plant ’15, I had the privilege of catching up with Nathan Streef, a 24-year-old farmer just outside of Woodstock, Ontario. The Streef family has been farming for 40 years, with the family operation now exceeding 2,600 acres of produce you can find in your grocery store.

In the 21st century, farming has had to cope with an influx of engaged consumers. The result is seeing farms changing and adjusting their practices based on consumer needs.

“To me, farming in the 21st century has a lot to do with efficiency and food safety,” Nathan says. “There is a lot of new technology available that can really help run a farm operation much more efficiently. Also there has been an increased demand for more food safety procedures. This adds some work on the farm, but I truly believe in the programs that are in place to bring a better, more transparent product to the marketplace.”

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