Farmers

I run PrairiErth Farm with my two sons and daughter-in-law. We’re a USDA Certified Organic farm and we raise a diverse selection of vegetables, garden plants, fruits, cows, heritage breed pigs, chickens for eggs and grains. Our farm is centered on the idea of diversity, soil health and lasting relationships with our community.

I started down the organic path back in the late 1970s. Later on, becoming organically certified made economic sense for us. We were already using organic practices, so certification allowed us to keep doing that, but get paid for it through higher prices for the grains we grow.

It goes beyond economics, though. We enjoy working with the land and sharing our products with customers. We believe organic is more than just a practice, it’s a way to influence a healthy lifestyle in our community and provide a sustainable way of growing food. We find the bond between the land and those who live and work on it to be very important.

My sons, Graham and Hans, as well as Hans’ wife, Katie, share the work by helping me with chores. My daughter Kristin is an elementary school educator and shares her expertise about teaching little ones as she helps facilitate children’s tours on the farm.