This whole lifestyle started with a yearlong sailing adventure. My husband, Jeff, and I had quit our jobs, and had a chance to reset. That year, we ate really well—all these fresh fruits and vegetables from local markets—and just felt healthier and more creative. But we missed having a sense of community.
So, when we thought about our eventual return to the Midwest, our focus became keeping this outdoor lifestyle and contributing to something bigger. That's when we heard about the idea of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. We found this old farmhouse close enough to Sioux Falls, and the first time we drove down the driveway, it felt like coming home. Neither of us had any farming experience, but we moved in April 2011, and by May, planted our first crops. It was shockingly easy. Our dads, who both grew up on farms, helped a ton, we had about 100 CSA members, and got rain when we needed it. We doubled our operation the next year, only to be met with a devastating drought.
But we're farmers now—eternal optimists, always believing next year will be better. We adapted, learned, and persevered. In 2019, we decided to do something with that beautiful old barn that initially drew us here. We went all in on fixing it up, and not too long after, felt like we had a place where people could gather.
We began renting out the space and hosting events, like our pizza nights, using my father-in-law’s red sauce recipe, homemade dough, and fresh ingredients from our farm, which is why I like to say, “we grow pizzas.” Now routinely serving 150-200 pizzas per night during warmer months, it has really helped sustain the farm financially. We also started a farm animal sanctuary, which is a separate nonprofit and now home to about 25 animals, including T-Bone the miniature steer, Rex, the Shetland pony, and our donkeys, Maria and Rita.