By Dauntless Veteran Foundation | Spring 2025 Veteran Agriculture Grantee Feature
It started with a dream — and a sheep.
Well, not exactly. The dream came first. “We dreamt up The Finnyard more than five years ago,” says Donna McCowen, “back in our Beaverton backyard, before the pandemic, before the delays, before we really knew what it would take.”
The idea was deceptively simple: a small vineyard on a southern slope, grazed and fertilized by Finnsheep. The name “Finnyard” was born, and with it, a long journey toward something much deeper than a farm.
Today, Jeff and Donna McCowen live with their three children on a six-acre hillside in Buxton, Oregon. Jeff is a U.S. Army National Guard veteran who served for 10 years, including overseas deployments in Iraq and Romania. Donna is a former English teacher turned fiber artist. Together, they’re building The Finnyard to serve as a regenerative homestead dedicated to cultivating olives, grapes, wool, and wellness.
A Family Dream Meets Reality
Before they could plant a single vine or tree, the McCowens faced more than their fair share of setbacks. “We bought the land just before the pandemic,” Jeff explains, “but permitting delays, the rising cost of materials, and the long process of building our home meant we had to put the land and the dream on hold.”
Meanwhile, broom and blackberry swallowed the slope they had once imagined as a vineyard. “We couldn’t even afford fencing or clearing equipment,” Donna recalls. “But then something unexpected happened.”
An opportunity came to adopt a small flock of Finnsheep, three wooly brothers and their mother from a shepherd who’d over-lambed that spring. The sheep quickly got to work, clearing more than an acre of dense growth within months. “It was incredible,” says Jeff. “We’d applied for a grant the year before to buy a brush hog, and didn’t get it. Turns out, the sheep were the better choice all along.”
A New Direction Takes Root
That realization shifted everything. As they waited for permits and built their home, Donna joined Rogue Farm Corps’ “Farm Launch” program and took away two lasting lessons: start with a strong business plan, and diversify.
“Grapes were always part of the vision,” she says. “But we began looking seriously at olives. At first, I didn’t think they could grow here, but research from OSU’s Olea Project and a visit to Oregon’s first olioteka changed my mind.”
In 2024, Jeff and Donna attended OSU’s Olive School and decided to add 48 olive trees, half Bouteillon, half Koroneiki to their farm plan. The Dauntless Veteran Agriculture Grant is helping make that vision real. With this funding, they’ll plant their first 24 olive trees this fall and install fencing to rotationally graze their sheep on cleared pasture and up the hillside.
“This grant is helping us grow crops,” says Jeff, “but it’s also helping us grow a healthier life for our family and our community.”
A Journey of Healing, Not Just Farming
Farming has offered more than just food and fiber — it’s offered healing. After years of caregiving for their middle child, who struggled for seven years with debilitating health challenges (now thankfully in remission), the McCowens moved to Buxton in 2023 for a fresh start.
Earlier this year, Jeff was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, a culmination of years of service, stress, and caregiving. His doctor recommended not just medication, but a change in lifestyle. Farming became part of that prescription.
“The land gives me purpose and peace,” Jeff says. “I’ve spent my career serving others in the military, in law enforcement, at Nike. But here, working outdoors, caring for our animals, there’s space to breathe.”
Donna agrees. “We couldn’t have predicted how therapeutic sheep would be,” she laughs. “They love to snuggle. And they’ve brought us more joy than we ever expected.”
Feeding the Future, Locally
The McCowens hope that The Finnyard will one day supply dry-farmed, organically grown grapes and olives to local producers who share their vision of nutrient-rich, low-impact, community-based agriculture.
“We were both shaped by time abroad,” says Donna. “In Romania, Iraq, Japan, Turkey, we saw cultures deeply connected to their food systems. That experience made us realize how disconnected many Americans are from the land. We want to offer something better to raise food that’s rooted, sustainable, and real.”
They’re starting small with 24 trees, a handful of sheep, a few acres at a time. But The Finnyard is more than just a farm. It’s a testament to resilience, reinvention, and the power of purpose.
Why It Matters
Dauntless Veteran Foundation believes that agriculture can be a force for healing especially for veterans. Jeff and Donna’s story is a reminder of what’s possible when we invest in local food systems, support new farmers, and give veterans a way to reconnect with the land they served to protect.We’re proud to stand behind The Finnyard and we can’t wait to see it grow.
