The Sinsinawa Mound Collaborative Farm: seven years of supporting beginning farmers
The Sinsinawa Mound Collaborative Farm offers land, education, infrastructure, and mentorship to beginning farmers. Sara Wiegel, General Operations Admin Assistant at the Farm, talks about the beginnings of the Collaborative and how it evolved through the years.
Around 2010, the Congregation at the Sinsinawa Mound went through a multi-year planning process regarding the land and its future. During this planning process, the Sisters learned about the challenges in agriculture involving access to land and educational opportunities for those who wanted to learn to farm and how to do so sustainably through organic production methods.
In 2015, the Sisters worked with Southwest Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and developed a master plan. This laid out the groundwork for the Collaborative farm, which was launched in 2017. Six beginning farmers were selected for the inaugural year, and the hope for the program was to provide a space for those interested in exploring a career in agriculture to do so with little financial risk or upfront capital investment. These six farmers worked with Sr. Christin Tomy during the winter months of 2016-2017, attending workshops to learn about designing crop plans, the organic certification process and business planning.
The collaborative is now in its eighth season at the Sinsinawa Mound. Some of the inaugural farms from the 2017 season have found success in the model and moved out of the collaborative and onto their own land. Blue Barrel Farm, run by the Conleys, were able to purchase land locally and shifted operations to their new location in 2020. The Boekes, who run Dubuque Urban Farm, shifted back to Dubuque in 2020, wanting to focus their growing within the downtown community they serve. Returning in 2024 are two long term members of the collaborative, Sandhill Farm and City Girl Farming, both of whom are seven year members. Sandhill Farm, owned and operated by Andie Donnan and Ashley Neises, grows a diverse vegetable crop on one acre and serves 70 CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) along with selling to local restaurants, grocery stores, and at the Dubuque Summer Market. City Girl Farming, owned and operated by Justyna Miranda, grows diversified vegetable crops on ¼ acre and sells locally to restaurants and the other side of her business City Girl Farming Prepared Meals, which serves people in the local community homecooked healthy meals. In her second season is Dropseed Farm, Jessica Carryer, who joined this fall and has already been a great asset to the group. She wants to focus on market production this year and plans on growing a variety of crops and seedlings for sale.
The program has been able to provide fresh produce to the local community! The program has also been impactful by providing land with rich soil to those who do not have access.
To learn more about The Sinsinawa Mound Collaborative Farm, visit: https://www.sinsinawa.org/about-us/collaborative-farm/
