For ordering
details: (pork, beef, chickens, eggs)
email: garden@communityhomestead.org
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At Community Homestead we have a great love and respect for the land. We appreciate both its beauty and bounty and know that we have a responsibility to care for it as generations have done before us. |
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Reliability, rhythm, patience, endurance, and flexibility are the necessary qualities of a farmer. |
Our Community members either discover these
unexpected traits within themselves or discover the need to develop them!
Our own fears and poor experiences in the world are not important: the cows
are. And the cows, the chickens and the pigs value effort, tenderness,
loyalty and devotion as well as intellect. What a nice surprise!
Farming is a perfect place to realize what is important and what is needed |
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When we first started farming here in 1995, the land was conventionally managed but with little pesticides and herbicides and with a great love and care for the land. Corn was the main crop. Corn demands a great deal from the soil and so the farmer relies upon artificial fertilizers for its growth year after year. Steps toward organic farming then had to be well-planned and gradual. Now the farm, dairy herd and garden is certified organic through MOSA. We ship our milk to Organic Valley. |
Community Homestead now farms about 220 acres of land. We own 140 and rent the rest. We balance traditional, natural, organic, methods to produce healthy animals and crops. We practice rotational grazing, and natural pest and weed control such as cover crops and timely cultivation. All the animals have plenty of outdoor space for pasture and exercise and are tended with care by the community members. The manure from the animals is used in the garden and on the fields, often in composted form, as part of a balanced and sustainable nutrient cycle. |
