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Know Our Grower: Featherstone Farm

Featherstone Fruits and Vegetables started in 1995 as Jack Hedin and Jenni McHugh’s five-acre garden at the Zephyr Valley Land Co-op near Winona, Minn. Since then, the farm has relocated to land near the town of Rushford, Minn., and now employs nearly 50 people working on over 250 acres of optimal vegetable-growing ground. Beginning in late May with leaf lettuce, through a summer’s harvest of zucchini and cherry tomatoes, into winter squash and carrots in the winter, there’s hardly a month that Featherstone isn’t represented in the co-op’s Produce department. The farm is certified organic and is dedicated to creating a truly sustainable agriculture system. That includes geothermal heating and cooling for the packing shed, as well as a solar array that generates about 60 percent of the farm’s energy. Featherstone Farm was the featured Know Our Grower Sept. 18 – Oct. 1. Meet the Grower: Sunday, Sept. 29.


Grower: Jack Hedin

When did you begin farming and what inspired you to pursue farming as a profession?
In 1987, the summer between my junior and senior year at college, I started an internship at New Morning Farm in Pennsylvania. I hoped to get applicable, real life skills for the community development work I was planning to do in developing nations. Instead, I fell in love with vegetable farming, and I never looked back.

Can you describe your approach to farming? Are there any unique components to your farm that may be different from other local farms?
We’re trying to be as sustainable as possible. With climate change right here and now, this should be first and foremost in our minds. We do this with our solar panels, our geothermal heating system, our cover cropping and rotational systems, and in general looking toward how we can work more toward a closed loop ecosystem on our farm.

What distinguishes your products from other local produce?
Our 17 years of farming experience shows in the high quality of our produce; over the years, we’ve selected crops that we grow well. If you ask our customers, our carrots are certainly a standout crop for their incredible sweetness and flavor.

What is your favorite way to enjoy your own produce?
I absolutely love winter squash, which is why we grow so many great varieties. There’s nothing better than popping a kabocha squash in the oven on a chilly winter day and letting it warm you up. Kale is also a favorite of mine.

Welcome LaDonna Sanders-Redmond

The co-op welcomes LaDonna Sanders-Redmond as the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Friendship site. LaDonna comes to the co-op with a wealth of experience in building fair food systems and food access for communities. She staffed the food and justice program at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and she was a 2003 W.K. Kellogg Foundation Food and Society Policy Fellow. As Education and Outreach Coordinator, LaDonna will reach out to residents and organizations in the neighborhoods surrounding our potential second store site. She also will act as the point person for questions, concerns and ideas about the proposed project.

Know Our Grower: Wheatfield Hill Organics


Wheatfield Hill Organics, a fifth-generation family farm located in the rolling hills outside of Durand, Wis., has been supplying Seward Co-op with bins of sweet corn and melons for the past few years. The farmers, Helen and Bob, along with their daughter and her family, tend to their land and crops with the highest environmental standards in mind. That practice pays off with some of the tastiest high-summer produce around. It’s always a great day when those bins of sweetness show up on the Produce shelves. Check out their Facebook page for updates on harvest and other farm stories. Wheatfield Hill Organics was the featured Know Our Grower Aug. 21 – Sept. 3. Meet the Grower: Sunday, Aug. 25.


Grower: Helen and Bob Kees

When did you begin farming and what inspired you to pursue farming as a profession?
I was born and raised on this farm. It’s in our blood to care for this piece of land.

Can you describe your approach to farming?
Sustainable, inter-generational, and circular.

What distinguishes your products from other local growers?
Certified organic since 1997. Permaculture (asparagus, blueberries, raspberries, fruit trees) interspersed with annuals (sweet corn, melons, tomatoes, peppers, barley, forages). Rearing the fifth generation of farmers in our family!

What is your favorite way to enjoy your own produce?
WITH OTHERS!!!

Know Our Grower: Hoch Orchard and Gardens

Hoch Orchard and Gardens is owned and run by Harry and Jackie Hoch. Located near La Crescent, Minn., Hoch has a long tradition of growing fresh fruit. A handful of the farm’s original trees, planted in the 1940s, are still on the farm, though production is concentrated on newer varieties. Besides 50 varieties of apples, Hoch Orchard also grows grapes, plums, apricots (cold-tolerant varieties they have developed right on the farm), cherries and berries. It is a testament to Harry and Jackie’s farming ability that they are able to grow such high-quality fruit organically, as apples are very vulnerable to pests and disease. Hoch Orchard and Gardens was the featured Know Our Grower July 31 – August 20. Meet the Grower: Sunday, Aug. 4.


Grower: Jackie Hoch

When did you begin farming and what inspired you to pursue farming as a profession?
Harry has been involved with fruit farming most of his life; I began farming 26 years ago when Harry and I met. Producing good food for our family and sharing the bounty with others are motivating reasons we farm. Developing a sound system that respects the environment and brings diversity to the farm is one of the many reasons we continue to farm.

Can you describe your approach to farming?
We are trying to become a closed loop system and the integration of animals to the farm is essential to meet that goal. Nowhere in nature is there a system that doesn’t include animals. The pigs and chickens are strategically rotated to help us with disease and pest control. The pigs eating the apples in the fall after harvest removes the potential insects that could have been in the fallen fruit. The pigs also help us be eating the pumice (apple waste like skins and seeds) we produce when making cider.

What distinguishes your products from other local growers?
The fruit and products we have are both local and certified organic. The sauce, juices and jellies are made from the fruit we produce. Our fruit is harvested and delivered directly to the store so the time from harvest to the consumer is not very long. Sometimes we have apples that are picked and packed one day and to the store the next day. It can’t get much fresher than that.

What is your favorite way to enjoy your own produce?
For fruit, the best way to enjoy it is fresh picked! The peak flavor and textures make the fruit fantastic!

Sabathani July 9 Meeting

Thank you everyone who submitted comments and questions during the meeting at the Sabathani Community Center on July 9, 2013. We have categorized the questions into several broad topics, as many of the questions are similar in nature. We have done our best to provide a comprehensive response to each category of questions and comments that we received. Read through the questions and our responses here, or click on the link “Sabathani July 9 Q & A” under the Resources tab on the left.

P6 Month Kick-off

Saturday, Aug. 3 | 11 a.m.–4 p.m.


Product Samples and Demos
from Equal Exchange, Grass Run Farms, Peace Coffee, Sunleaf Naturals, Salad Girl and other P6 farmers/producers.

Free Groceries
Purchase at least $20 in P6 products for the chance to WIN YOUR ENTIRE SHOPPING CART FOR FREE! Winners will be randomly selected at checkout every Saturday in August from 11 a.m.–4 p.m.

On weekends throughout August, look for samples and demos from P6 producers. (And see someone in a banana suit!)

Know Our Grower: Gardens of Eagan

Gardens of Eagan (GOE), a 100-acre certified-organic farm near Northfield, Minn., has always been a place to learn about and grow organic produce. After more than 20 years of growing vegetables, farmers Martin and Atina Diffley leased their farmland to the Wedge Co-op, selling the co-op their 20 tractors and well-respected brand name. Overnight, in 2008, the Wedge’s 10,000 members became farmers by proxy.

Produce from GOE can now be found at two farmers’ markets, in addition to the co-op’s shelves. Look for GOE’s new type of community-supported agriculture (CSA), based on market-style shopping instead of prepacked shares. GOE is also home to the Organic Field School, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching about organic food and farming. Currently, GOE is incubating three new farm businesses, Fazenda Boa Terra, Bossy Acres and Humble Pie Farm CSAs. Every season at GOE is an opportunity to grow new farmers and feed people fresh, local food. Gardens of Eagan is the featured Know Our Grower July 17 – 30. Demo: Saturday, July 27.


Grower: Linday Halley, Farm Manager

When did you begin farming and what inspired you to pursue farming as a profession?
Growing up on a farm, I learned early about my connection to the soil and have been farming organically since 1989. It just made sense.

How does GOE as an organization differ from other farms?
GOE is unique in that it combines the challenges of running a farm, but using a brand-new model in farming. As a cooperatively owned farm and as we’ve recently transitioned to new land, we are breaking new ground literally and figuratively.

What distinguishes your products from other local produce?
We are drawing on years and years of experience, and it shows. We grow lots of produce that other farms won’t attempt — like sweet corn and watermelon.

What is your favorite way to enjoy your own produce?
In the field and with knife in hand. Nothing better.

Letter from the General Manager

Since our relocation in January 2009, Seward Co-op has had tremendous success. Our growth has put the co-op in a very good position that affords us the opportunity to build for the future and serve more people in our community.

Over the past three years, the board, management and staff have had discussions about what our co-op will do next. We held focus groups with members and conducted a member survey. Out of these conversations we decided to remodel our store last fall to make it an exceptional shopping experience. We made these improvements so we would be well situated to explore the possibility of opening a second store in the next five years. We hired a firm to explore available real estate in South Minneapolis. We conducted a preliminary market study on several sites to determine site viability.

About a year ago, co-op staff started having conversations with the Carrot Initiative (CI). Their goal to attract a grocery store to the West Powderhorn neighborhoods aligns with the co-op’s goal of a second store. The CI identified a site for us which meets many of our criteria for a second location. This site is at 38th Street and Clinton Avenue South and once housed the Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. It is across the street from the Sabathani Community Center. We are calling it the “Friendship site.” We think that captures the spirit of the relationships we are building.

Our success since moving to the Franklin Avenue store four and a half years ago has put us in the position to expand access to the co-op and bring healthy food to an area with low access to fresh foods. We have continued to improve our existing store, but we have reached capacity. A second store will provide easier access to the co-op for members who live in other neighborhoods, as well as relieve some of the congestion at the current location.

We are early in the process, and held a community meeting on Tuesday, July 9 (see the Q&A from that meeting to the left). There is still significant work to be done. We will need to secure financing, to raise member capital as we did for our current building, and we need to go through design and site approval. It will be at least a year out before we will have a store built. Co-op members and the general public should stay abreast of developments related to this project by continuing to visit this webpage. As was done during our relocation five years ago, the co-op will participate in additional community meetings as the process moves forward. Thank you for your support of Seward Community Co-op! — Sean Doyle, General Manager

Know Our Grower: Jack and the Green Sprouts

A family-owned business for more than 35 years, Jack and the Green Sprouts in River Falls, Wis. provides Seward Co-op with all manner of certified-organic health-giving sprouts and wheat grass. Jack and the Green Sprouts was the featured Know Our Grower, June 19 – July 2. Demo: Saturday, June 29.


Grower: Joe
River Falls, Wis.

1. When did you begin farming and what inspired you to pursue farming as a profession?
We began farming in 1976, because we read how healthy sprouts are for you, so we started growing them for ourselves.

2. When and why did you decide to produce sprouts?
When we began farming, the only product and reason we started producing sprouts is the same as above!

3. Would you briefly describe how your sprouts are produced and how this production differs from other soil-grown or greenhouse crops?
Our sprouts are grown hydroponically in an indoor controlled environment, 365 days a year. We are inspected by the state of Wisconsin and the FDA at least annually.

4. What is your favorite way to enjoy your own produce?
Sandwiches, salads, tacos, pizzas and wraps.