Beth Hoinacki lives and farms with her family at Goodfoot Farm, a small, diversified market farm in the coastal foothills of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. The farm is also home to chickens, geese, sheep, horses, the occasional couple of pigs, cats and dogs, and a multitude of wildlife. A deep appreciation for the natural environment was likely instilled in her during her early years, growing up in rural southern Illinois where she worked for a neighbor picking and selling flowers for market, worked alongside her parents maintaining county cemeteries no longer in active use, and spent time wandering in the woods and fields and reading books.
Over the years and in many places, she has been a horseback riding instructor, a food server, a maid, a whitewater raft guide, a ski technician, and a scientist. Now she farms full time and wholeheartedly. Beth received her BA in Biology with a minor in Religion from Earlham College and her PhD in Botany and Plant Pathology from Oregon State University. She worked as an inspector and reviewer for Demeter from 2008–2016.