Thor Oechsner’s first farming experience was growing crops on a dairy farm right after graduating from Cornell, before moving on to start a VW/Audi repair business. He was drawn back into farming as a part-time project, collaborating with friends on an Organic vegetable farm. “While I was at the dairy farm I soured on chemicals,” he says. “When I went back into farming, it was Organic or nothing for me.”

He eventually returned to farming full-time, growing grains for animal feed. Like many other of the farmers Valley Malt works with, he found that the commodity crop business, even with an Organic premium, couldn’t support the farm on its own. He began growing food grade grains, and connected with partners to build a flour mill and bakery, becoming a leader of this agricultural sector in the Northeast.

“The process of learning has always been something I enjoyed. When I went to Cornell, Organic agriculture was never even mentioned. Growing grain organically was a big learning curve…. I need to keep my curiosity going. I love what I do.”

Thor became “fast friends” with Valley Malt co-founders Andrea Stanley and Christian Stanley when they met at a conference, and Andrea immediately began urging him to begin growing grains for malt. Within a few years, New York passed legislation to support the use of local grains in brewing and distilling, and the time was right to seal the partnership.

Now Thor grows Organic corn, rye, spring and winter wheat, buckwheat, and a rotation of cover crops, all for food and malt. His curiosity and commitment to sustainable agriculture continues to drive him. “We don’t bale any straw. All the straw gets chopped back on the field to build up the soil organic matter. We do little things like that to try to offset some of the negative aspects of what we do. One thing I don’t like about Organic is it’s too much tillage. We’re also working with Cornell on a project doing Organic no-till with spring wheat to go easier on the soil. As these things evolve, we’re trying to adopt practices and see how we can produce these crops with a minimum of soil disturbance. Part of the learning curve! Some of it’s been successful and some of it’s been a bomb.”

Thor loves tasting the new beers that breweries like Exhibit A and Wormtown have developed using his grains. “Being involved in this whole craft beverage thing as a farmer has made everything so much more interesting, so much more fun, so much more satisfying. I feel like I’m part of something that is producing products that I really love, and that makes the day-to-day grind a lot more satisfying.”

We’re grateful to have Thor as a part of this beverage community, and proud to be offering Oechsner Farms wheat as part of our malt line-up this year. 

Find out more about this year’s harvest, and all the farms we work with, in our 2023 Crop Report.