Hello Everyone,
We are a small family owned farm that specializes in organic fruits, vegetables and chickens - with the newly added addition of pigs now as well! We have plenty of acreage, 5 greenhouses, newly upgraded resident rooms, and years of experience growing vegetables. We are looking for like-minded, easy-going, and hard-working individuals to help us have a successful growing season. We will operate 5 greenhouses, a chicken coop, 2 - 3 acres of fruit, and 4 – 10 acres of vegetables.
Location - Our 80 acres are located just outside of Madison, WI. Only a 15 minute drive to the State Capital building, but we are still surrounded by all farmland. Our farm is surrounded by rolling green hills, pockets of forest, and neighbouring farms. On the horizon one can observe the spinning towers of a small wind farm, and at night, the state capitol building illuminated above a distant tree line. We have the benefit of being next to Pheasant Branch conservancy, a nature preserve that offers hiking, sight-seeing, and bird-watching.
Description - Our farm is used in a combination of farming, gardening, orchard-growing, and natural activities. We have some large fields of alfalfa, some medium sized organic vegetable drip irrigation operations, an established organic chicken egg operation, a thriving bee operation (50+ hives this summer), a mature orchard with apples, cherries, pears, plums, and peaches, and so much more. We will be harvesting and replanting an acre of garlic, raspberries, and strawberries this Summer. We also have a prairie restoration, a private wood lot, as well as a community garden on site. We have 5 active greenhouses and - if time permits - would like to erect two more yet this year. Some wildlife makes its home on our farm - we get lots of rabbit, deer, squirrels, groundhogs, racoons, birdlife, and an occasional celebrity wildlife such as coyotes, turkeys, cranes, turtles, pheasants - even a mink once in a while. We have small forest and orchard. Most of the fruit trees are heavy producers. We also have a small area for grapes. Our farm has several buildings - a barn & silo, and two houses on it. The farm house is over 100 years old and so are some of our farm buildings. Other buildings are brand new and some will be built this Summer.
Activities and Recreation - After the good day in the field or orchard, we like to shift gears by either completely relaxing around a campfire or at least decompress with some frisbee, swimming, canoeing, hiking, biking, attending a festival, or playing music. We will organize couple of day long canoe trips over the summer on the Wisconsin River and barbecue or even camp on the sand bars.
Expectation/Stay - We ask the Woofer to stay a minimum of one week, but will give preference to guests that want to stay longer, and we prefer to have most of our guests stay for long periods of time, but a mixture of long term guests and long term guests is good too. Pets are welcome. We expect the Woofer to work a few hours each day, but plenty of time will be devoted to recreation and education. Our greatest expectation is that you enjoy your stay with us and learn about organic gardening.
Meals/Diets - As part of the WWOOFer arrangement, we provide room and board in exchange for 5.5 hours per day for 5.5 days per week. We have a dedicated in-door WWOOFer facility, with lofts, bunks, shower facility, kitchen, and hang out areas. Good camping spots and trailer parking is also available. We cook a wide variety of dishes, including meat dishes, but if you happen to be vegetarian we will absolutely accommodate! The quality of our meals varies depending on whose cooking and time of year. During the harvest, we are kings; during other times, we eat the best that our opportunities provide, which is generally pretty good. There may be some occasions where you be responsible for cooking some of your own meals but all food will be provided and we have a kitchen available.
Projects - It is difficult to know what you will be working on when you get here, but you can expect to be doing a variety of tasks each week including: working in the greenhouse, working in the vegetable field, working in the orchards, assisting with our local farmers' market activities, taking care of animals, building fences, restoration carpentry, working on our catchment/irrigation system.
Goals – We are committed to the production of the highest quality food with the least negative impact on the environment. We intend to be a role model for other agricultural operations.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Cattle farming
Wild foraging
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Traditional crafts
Green Building
Food justice / sovereignty
Methods or systems
Holistic management
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Nonprofit / Community
Certified organic
32.4
Hectares
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80
Acres
Accommodation
