Learn About River Hills Harvest

Modern commercial farming of American elderberry (Sambucus nigra canadensis) began in Missouri around the turn of this century when organic farmer Terry Durham noticed that the elderberry plants growing around his fields were vigorous and fruitful. His curiosity led him to planting them in a field, where they grew abundantly.

In 2011, Chris Patton, a Minneapolis adjunct university professor, went to MOSES, an organic and regenerative farmers conference in LaCrosse, WI. There he attended Terry Durham’s presentation on American elderberry and traveled to Terry’s annual elderberry grower’s workshop in Missouri. Chris, a member of Seward Co-op, brought back a few cases of Terry’s newly launched, minimally processed products to see if local food co-ops would be interested in selling these products, and beginning in 2012, many did.

Support Small-scale, Midwestern Growers

River Hills Harvest is a part of an open cooperative, Midwest Elderberry Cooperative, a network of 100+ small to mid-sized farmers, all of whom practice sustainable agriculture

The River Hills Harvest brand only uses American elderberries grown by Midwest farmers in its products. When you buy River Hills Harvest, you support specialty crop farmers across the Midwest and Minnesota. As an untilled native perennial, elderberry supports dozens of native pollinators. Many of River Hills Harvests’ partner farms also convert what was depleted conventionally farmed land to organically alive soils.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE COMMUNITY FOODS PROGRAM

LEARN MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY FOODS PRODUCERS