Farm Sol
John and Kelly
Minnesota
The Farm
Farm Sol is a regenerative farm in northeastern Minnesota focused on growing chemical free, nutritious produce for our local community. We are a human-scale (no tractor) and no-till farm, managing all growing areas with low-impact hand tools. To eliminate the need for commercial fertilizers, we generate all of our fertility needs on farm, using our small flock of Icelandic sheep and 100 egg laying chickens to manage our land, making compost and homemade amendments, and keeping worm bins. Each year, we dedicate resources to improving wildlife habitat on our farm for insects, bats, frogs, toads and birds.
The Project Funded
We are so excited to use this award to purchase a root vegetable washing system! Our past market seasons have identified small root vegetables, specifically baby carrots, to be a profitable and popular produce offering. Our customers specifically appreciate well-cleaned, ready to eat offerings and growing quick-to-market baby carrots allows us to maximize revenue for our small, dedicated growing space. However, cleaning root vegetables is time and labor intensive, has restricted our previous production capacity.
Project Impact
Investing in a barrel-style root washer will allow us to efficiently clean small roots and bring more to market, increasing our farm's total profitability. This root washer will also allow us to expand our production of baby carrots and increase efficiency with cleaning other root vegetables, like potatoes. With the ability to bring more produce to market, we will be able to provide more members of our community with nutritious, local food choices.
