About The Farm
Emma's grandfather, James Gowin, began farming the Historic Homestead in 1964. He was a businessman, banker, inventor and entrepreneur who grew up on a vegetable farm. His father owned the local Tunnel Hill Grocery Store during WW2.
Emma continues his legacy by working with institutions to innovate mycology and agricultural cultivation practices. She seeks to aid research in finding easier means of sustainable fungi production while providing the highest-quality products for our community. At GVF Mushrooms, we are honored to work closely with universities to cultivate the most exquisite Certified Naturally Grown gourmet mushrooms you'll ever taste.
Emma is also Wild Mushroom Food Safety Certified through Mushroom Mountain / Tradd Cotter. She took an extensive course + test to become certified, a legal requirement to sell fresh foraged mushrooms at markets and to restaurants in Georgia and over 25 other states. By 2025 there will be a federal requirement making it illegal for any forager in Tennessee and any state without their own legislature on the matter to sell to markets or restaurants without a certification.
Exploring new horizons with USDA grants, she strives to deliver premier-quality mushrooms straight from her small family-owned farm to your table. Join us in savoring the mushrooms of our labor!
What is Certified Naturally Grown?
Absolutely no use of synthetic chemical pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers.
Their standards are based on the highest ideals of the organic movement. Their approach is based on transparency, direct relationships and a firm belief in their ability to create something uniquely valuable by working together.
Certified Naturally Grown offers peer-review certification to farmers and beekeepers producing food, flowers and fiber for their local communities by working in harmony with nature, without the use of synthetic chemicals or GMOs.
Their mission is to support their members by promoting sustainable agriculture through peer-review certification, grassroots networking and advocacy.
Always striving to enhance the positive environmental impacts of production, minimize any negative impacts and continually improve the sustainability of the operation.
Investing in their soil, water, wildlife and air with ecological practices such as conserving water, planting cover crops, rotating crops, preserving buffer strips and protecting pollinator habitats.
Our History
1962 – 1964
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Emma’s Grandpa ‘Poppsy’ (James Gowin) local entrepreneur and businessman bought the 120+ acre farm from the second family to own the land. Previously, it had been Cherokee Land. Emma’s Grandma and Grandpa moved into the house they built in 1964, beside two Historical Civil War-era buildings. They began working the land as a hobby farm. Soon after they started “Blue Ribbon Stables”, a Tennessee Walking Horse Show Stables, where they hosted shows, trained and began to help Emma’s Mom show horses. This was the farm’s life for the next 20 years.
1965 – 1994
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Emma’s grandparents operated Blue Ribbon Stables, with Emma’s grandma “Nanny” as the CEO and acting manager. Emma’s grandpa invented the carpet oven and several other carpet-centric machines that were later sold off patents to Shaw Industries. He was then able to build and found Gowin Specialties, a machine shop. He then sold that company and became President of Fidelity, the champion of starting the spin-off Regions Bank where he resided as President and then Chairman of the Board.
In 1994, Blue Ribbon Stables was still an active stable for leasing stalls and pastures for horses but operations slowed in years to follow. Emma’s grandpa retired and started Paradigm Printing Inc. in Dalton, GA with her father, Todd Reigel that same year.
1995 – 2020
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From 1995 til Covid in 2020, the land was a family farm where Emma enjoyed growing up. She learned to ride horses, fish, farm, garden, cook, you name it, this is where she learned it!
In April 2020, Emma created Gowin Valley Farms with her grandfather’s mentorship. Emma started GVF as a small veggie and fruit operation.
In July of the same year, Emma began working full-time at the farm.
In September 2020, before her grandpa fell ill, Emma began to forage on the farm, sparking the passion and idea to begin mushroom cultivation.
In October, Emma’s Grandpa died peacefully at his home with Emma by his side.
2020 – Now
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GVF solidified their partnership on a USDA/GA Department of Agriculture Specialty Crops Block Grant with partners Kennesaw State University & Cornell University in November 2020. GVF started their mushroom farm by creating 200 outdoor logs and touched on indoor gourmet growing.
From January 2021 to October 2023, Emma retrofitted her Grandfather’s Horse Stables into Laboratories, Sterilizing Rooms and Incubation Spaces. She grew their mushrooms in indoor grow tents for local restaurants and chefs. In late October, KSU’s beta test semi-automated 40’ container was delivered and installed allowing more opportunities for growth in their space.
Gowin Valley Farms Mushrooms are currently gown in the Mycologic KSU module for our restaurant partners and customers at The Chattanooga Market! They are working on retrofitting a secondary 40' container to begin using by 2025.
This past May, Emma was selected as Chattanooga’s "Top 20 Under 40” award for her efforts as an owner, entrepreneur and business expertise. The article will be released in the July edition of The Chatter Magazine, make sure to go check it out!
Meet the Fun Guys
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Owner + President
Born in Dalton, GA, Emma grew up working - and playing - on her family's farm and showing horses. She graduated from Christian Heritage in Dalton, GA in 2012. Emma attended Emory University, receiving High Honors and her BA in English and Creative Writing, minoring in Abnormal Psychology and Sociology. Following graduation, she attended Clemson University receiving a MSc in Marketing in 2017-18. Until 2020, Emma worked in Atlanta, GA as a marketing manager and copywriter.
If you ever asked Emma “What do you dream of doing?”, she would have answered, “One day I would like to take over my grandpa’s farm and turn it into a mushroom, vegetable, and fruit operation.” She never thought it would happen so soon, but here she is elbows deep in sawdust and fungi!
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Jose started off as an intern for Gowin Valley Farms and now is part of the team. With A Bachelors Degree in Biology, he hopes to further continue his studies with the help of Gowin Valley Farms in order to pursue a Masters Degree in Environmental Science. Jose enjoys music, playing soccer on the weekends and hopes to one day open up his own bar.
Honorary henchmen that help us behind the scenes…
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Rufuss
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Todd Reigel