Accepted!

ORGANIC FIELD SCHOOL ANNOUNCES 2013 INCUBATOR FARMS:
BOSSY ACRES AND HUMBLE PIE

NORTHFIELD, Minn. – October 23, 2012 – As part of the 2013 growing season, Organic Field School (OFS) at Gardens of Eagan will be home to two new incubator farms, Bossy Acres and Humble Pie, both focusing on organic growing practices and community involvement.

The organic farm incubator program was established by OFS in 2008 as a way to bolster the efforts of beginning farmers near the Twin Cities — who often face challenges in securing land for small-scale farming — while providing an educational connection point for the wider farming community and general public about the benefits of sustainable growing practices. OFS is the only farming incubator program in the state to offer up to three acres for new organic farmers to launch their businesses, and one of just a handful of such programs in the country.

Bossy Acres, which had its first growing season as a certified organic farm in 2012, will continue to provide vegetables and herbs for its community supported agriculture (CSA) members and farmers’ market customers, while benefitting from the guidance and resources of OFS.

“We’re very excited to be part of the OFS incubator program,” says Bossy Acres co-founder Karla Pankow. “This is such an amazing opportunity to get a solid foundation for our farm and to work with such a broad range of leaders in sustainable agriculture.”

Humble Pie Farm was started in 2012 by Jennifer Nelson and Mike Leck, both of whom have organic farming experience as employees of Gardens of Eagan. In 2013, they will grow cut flowers and herbs as a specialty add-on to CSA shares of Fazenda Boa Terra.

Both farms will help to advance OFS’ mission of transforming our food and farming systems through education and support, believes Allison Goin, OFS Program Director. “We’re proud to welcome two such distinctive farms into our incubator program,” she says. “As OFS broadens its reach in the community, we know that farms like Bossy Acres and Humble Pie represent the future of our growing, robust organic farming community, and we’re looking forward to fostering these viable, independent farm businesses.”

Incubator farms receive access to land, training, equipment usage, affordable supplies, and expertise through the Organic Field School’s partnership with Gardens of Eagan, an organic vegetable farm operated by the Wedge Community Co-op. The program meets a crucial need in our community for linking dedicated new organic farmers, who have some training and expertise, with access to affordable land and equipment. Past incubators include Loon Organics in Hutchinson and Fazenda Boa Terra in Northfield.

On November 17, OFS will host a fundraiser at Kitchen in the Market to support the expansion of the incubator program this year. For more details and to RSVP, please visit the OFS Facebook page.

For more information about OFS, visit http://www.organicfieldschool.org.

Organic Field School at Gardens of Eagan

A 501(c)(3) project of the Wedge Community Co-op, OFS provides on-farm, organic and ecologically based practical education and research for farmers, educators, policy makers, and the public, articulating the benefits and values of regional, organic farming systems.

Bossy Acres

Started in 2011 by farmers Karla Pankow and Elizabeth Millard, Bossy Acres focuses on sustainable farming practices, strong land stewardship, and community-based programs. With its first full production season in 2012, Bossy Acres employed the community supported agriculture (CSA) model and will be expanding its reach in 2013 through inclusion in the OFS incubator program. More information is available at http://www.bossyacres.com.

Humble Pie Farm

Humble Pie Farm was started in 2012 by Jennifer Nelson and Mike Leck, both of whom have organic farming experience as employees of Gardens of Eagan.  In 2013, they will grow cut flowers and herbs as a specialty add-on to CSA shares of Fazenda Boa Terra.

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