Minnesota Farm

“Growing food is stressful,” explained Jade and Carrie of the artist-led Black Radish Urban Farm in Minneapolis. “It’s also a beautiful thing. Local food can build community.” “Our farm in non-traditional in every aspect,” states Carrie. “We feel like it’s more community art than farming. We want to be able to replicate our model and grow into other neighborhoods. More people should be able to come together in their own community through food.” 

Welcoming visitors of all ages, Nate and Tracy enjoy being a destination for multigenerational families, fermentation aficionados, or day trippers just looking for a change of scenery — their front porch, also known as the Keepsake Cider Tasting Room, truly is a family-friendly site.

That education piece allows Jessica to be a representative and advocate of agriculture. “I especially want people to know that each cut of beef, each pound of hamburger is a long time in the making.” Your hamburger patty starts with the soil. The better the soil conditions, the more nutritionally dense the corn, grasses, and hay that feed the cattle. 

The founding of America’s only certified Bee-Friendly Farm Distillery began with a homework assignment. Cheri Reese and Mike Swanson, owners of Far North Spirits, were living in St. Paul following careers in marketing and communications. Mike was pursuing an MBA from the University of St. Thomas where his entrepreneurial class project included a business plan for a distillery that grew its own grain.

This story starts with a couple of 25 gallon fish tanks in a St. Olaf dorm room.  Growing up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Ian became interested in reducing fertilizer runoff when he learned that sources of pollution like nitrate and phosphorus were invisible as they leached into the groundwater or local streams. Parts of the watershed were overloaded with nutrient pollution whose negative impact increased as it moved downstream.

“Half of our company is about the apples. The other half is about the space,” explains Nick Revoir of Simple Cider Co. “The space will be designed for all generations of a family. It will be a place of wonder, like walking into a children’s museum, where the ceiling and the floors aren’t just a normal design. It will be built as a safe place for the kids to be themselves while adult friends connect, commiserate and support each other.”