Old Souls Farms Expansion

Old Souls Farms owner Ethan Snyder displays the hydroponics in his second greenhouse, finished in December 2018, which rotates basil, arugula and a spring mix lettuce blend for sale to local food service companies. Photos by Christopher Selmek | Urbana Daily Citizen

By Christopher Selmek, Urbana Daily Citizen
[email protected]
ST. PARIS - Old Souls Farms, at 9684 Smith Road near St. Paris, is beginning a significant expansion and expects to have a 10-acre greenhouse next to an existing greenhouse in which to grow even more basil, arugula and spring mix lettuce blend within the next 18 to 24 months.
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Following the completion of the first greenhouse in 2016, and the second in December of 2018, owner Ethan Snyder said he began contemplating growing tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and possibly strawberries for what he said would probably be the most diverse greenhouse in the state.

Old Souls Farms owner Ethan Snyder walks beside the land on which he intends to build a 10-acre greenhouse he will use to expand the product line he can sell to local restaurants.

“The people I was selling to were wanting it all the time, so it made sense to keep expanding,” Snyder said. “We live out here on the farm, so it’s kind of a 24/7 job for us, but I’m sure that’s something that most farmers would be familiar with.”

The first greenhouse constructed by Old Souls Farms in 2016 allows the harvesting of about 4,000 plants every day.

Snyder acquired the 86-acre farm in 2012, at which point the woman he is now married to, Olivia, named it Old Souls Farms because she said Ethan was an old soul. They currently have 35,000 square feet under glass and are able to harvest about 4,000 plants every day.

“Every Whole Foods in Ohio carries our products,” he said. “It was a little tough to get into Champaign County, but we sell to Gordon’s FoodService and now they’re using us at several local restaurants. I know for sure that Lincoln & Main carries us now. There were some smaller restaurants that weren’t worth bringing a truck to, but when we started selling with Gordon’s that has allowed us to become the pride of the community, which is a little ironic, I guess.”

Snyder is now working with the Bom Group, of Holland, to design the new greenhouse. The previous two were designed by the Rough Brothers of Cincinnati, which supplied drawings and material, but Snyder said his team was able to build most of it. His father has experience as a general contractor, and they have an engineer on staff.

The two existing greenhouses are fully automated, with total climate control, an opening and closing roof, grow lights, fans, liquid CO2 for cooling and heat pipes.

The second greenhouse is built on a treadmill so that plants start out young on one end, move about five rows forward each day, and are ready to harvest by the time they reach the front row.

From there crops go to the packaging room for shipping the next day. Snyder said they originally shipped on the same day, but some food distributors needed the product temperature to cool more slowly for efficient delivery.

“This has been something I was always pulled toward,” he said. “I grew up in a suburb of Columbus, which is where I had my first garden, and we found this land available on line. I never went to college for agriculture.

We just did a lot of internet research, and none of us were afraid to ask questions. Ohio State has been really helpful, and we went out to Cornell to learn as much as we could before starting the farm.”
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Snyder said Old Souls has 12 employees and he hopes to have a staff as large as 80 once the expansion is complete. Interested job seekers are invited to stop by the farm and fill out an application.

Christopher Selmek can be reached at 937-508-2304.