NATHAN & AMBER WOEHR: SOWING SEEDS OF SWEET SOLACE WITH PURPOSE
Nathan and Amber Woehr’s daughter, Paisley Merlean, was born sleeping at 24 weeks. The support the couple received during a season of heart breaking loss inspired them to create a space on their farm in Agri-Ready Designated Osage County near Freeburg for Paisley’s Pumpkins. While all proceeds from their pumpkin sales fund the Paisley Woehr Foundation, this young family cultivates something more as they tend their pumpkin patch throughout the year. Their farm is a place where community, generosity, and remembrance come together – a reminder that Missouri agriculture grows more than food.
June 2024
Summer began as usual on Woehr Farms. Nathan’s grain crops were planted and forages for his cattle herd were growing. Amber had sold her crop of goat kids to 4-H and FFA members as summer projects. Nathan was serving as chairman of the Missouri Farm Bureau Young Farmers & Ranchers committee. And like so many other young families, they were anxiously waiting to welcome their first-born child, Paisley. No warning could have prepared them for her untimely arrival in June.
From Pain to Purpose
When Paisley was born sleeping, a sweet family they had never met helped the Woehrs to organize a funeral and paid for Paisley’s casket and headstone. The Colter Barrett Foundation helped Nathan and Amber to cover expenses and navigate decisions through a haze of excruciating loss. This support allowed them to feel a physical weight being lifted off their shoulders as they processed so many feelings.
The impact of such generosity inspired Nathan and Amber. They wanted Paisley’s name to be known and never be forgotten. They wanted to help other families suffering the same loss they now understood. Nathan and Amber established the Paisley Woehr Foundation.
Paisley’s Pumpkins
The Woehrs love fall, pumpkins, and harvest so they till up a small plot and plant pumpkin seeds each June that grow to become Paisley’s Pumpkins.
“June is Paisley’s birthday month,” Amber shares. “When we plant the seeds each June, it helps us speak her name during that difficult month. Watching the pumpkins grow and tending to them through the growing season leading up to her due date is a feeling we can’t explain. The pumpkin patch is where Nathan and I connect with our little girl. Paisley’s due date was October 25th.”
Funding the Foundation
“We hope everyone loves Paisley’s Pumpkins as much as we do. Each year we learn something new about growing pumpkins and make the patch bigger and better for everyone to enjoy,” Amber says. “We are thankful to everyone for choosing Paisley’s Pumpkins. It means so much to us and the families!”
When Paisley’s Pumpkins ripen in the fall, proceeds from every pumpkin sale go directly to the Paisley Woehr Foundation. Nathan and Amber have completed the 501(c)(3) non-profit paperwork and established board members and bylaws. They plan to leave information pamphlets at local hospitals, giving families needing help a direct point of contact for the Paisley Woehr Foundation.
More About the Woehrs
It would have been easier to hide or try to blot out the memories. Instead, Nathan and Amber are drawing from their agriculture roots. They set an example of resilience to other families who will experience terrible loss. They set an example of compassion to even more families that pray they never understand such a loss.
Nathan farms full time, serves as president of the Osage County Farm Bureau board, enjoys supporting the Fatima FFA Boosters, and is an active member of the Mid-Mo Truck and Tractor Pulling Association. Amber is an ultrasound tech at Capital Region Medical Center. Nathan, Amber, and little Stetson Woehr (born May 2025) are members of Missouri Farm Bureau, a partner of Missouri Farmers Care.
October was designated as Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month in the United States by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. The month is dedicated to remembering babies lost during pregnancy or infancy, supporting families affected by miscarriage, stillbirth, SIDS, and newborn death, increasing understanding of pregnancy and infant loss and considering ways to help prevent its causes. The month offers a time for affected families to help validate parental grief, break cultural taboos and social silence, and promote education for prevention.
Want To Go? Paisley’s Pumpkins are available on the weekends in October. Follow the Paisley Woehr Foundation Facebook page for dates, times, and location information.
Agriculture, including food, feed and forestry, contributes $60.6 million in value-added products, over 2,200 jobs, and adds $62.4 millionto household incomes in Agri-Ready Designated Osage County according to the 2021 Missouri Economic Contribution of Agriculture and Forestry Study.
What is Agri-Ready County Designation?
Agri-Ready County Designation is a voluntary program that recognizes counties committed to supporting and growing their agricultural industry. To qualify, a county must agree to support agricultural stewardship, growth, and economic interests. The designation helps counties promote themselves as agricultural hubs, attracting and supporting agribusiness. More information can be found at https://mofarmerscare.com/agri-ready-county-designation/.
As of January 2026, 82 Missouri counties have been designated Agri-Ready.
What is Missouri Farmers Care?
Missouri Farmers Care unites the state’s agricultural community to support the men and women who provide the food and jobs that sustain Missouri. With the partnership of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association and 45 other member organizations, MFC works to ensure all Missourians understand the truth about modern agriculture, food production, and the farm families behind it. https://mofarmerscare.com/