Connecting the dots between what we eat and how it’s grown

We farm together.

David: David began his work career as a commercial pilot for small business, and as a flight instructor in small planes. In fact, he instructed his son Dan to his first pilot’s license. (In the Air Force Reserve, Dan is an instructor in the new F35 fighter jets.)
From pilot and flight instructor, Dave became a licensed chiropractor and served patients in Polk County, Wisconsin and the Twin Cities metro area for over 30 years. Dave is also certified by the State of Wisconsin in nutritional counseling.
A respectful hunter, David plants ground cover and berry bushes for game birds and other wild life. He works to nurture and protect the land, water and animals placed on this earth for our careful stewardship.

Sylvia: I’m a Latina Baby Boomer from New York City. My family’s apartment in the South Bronx was a third-story walk-up in a brick tenement building. It was one of thousands. The smells and sounds of a dozen nations spilled into the streets where my friends and I played soldier, stick-bat baseball, hopscotch and tag. Young boys would sometimes do battle with hand-made kites, their long tails affixed with razors and broken glass – perfect for arial competition. And when a kite was sliced free and began to spiral to the ground, kids would yell “Ahh-hoooo-tah” as they scrambled for the falling trophy.
After college, I became a television reporter in Duluth, Minnesota. That was in the early 1970s. After leaving the newsroom, I enjoyed a long career in public relations where I served public and private organizations in health care, sustainable agriculture, manufacturing, law enforcement, and education.

My appreciation of delicious, nutritious foods was deeply influenced and informed by my maternal grandmother, Nana. But it wasn’t until I was an adult that I put her long-fermenting example to work. The focus on fresh ingredients began with my ever-growing organic garden in the early 1980s. I began baking whole grain breads in the 1970s, but really became focused (some might say obsessed) on sourdough breads about 15 years ago. Over the years, I welcomed bread enthusiasts to the farm to hone their skills in baking sourdough.

We are now transitioning from cattle ranching to medicinal permacuture. For the last six years, I’ve been studying medicinal herbalism, with a focus on the plants, shrubs and trees that thrive on the farm, in our region and in our climate. I invite you to join me for an Herbal Safari – a guided herb walk to identify the many helpful plants that likely grow in your neighborhood and back yard. I also offer a hands-on class in making a range of herbal-based oils, tinctures, teas and powders, salves and creams.