bossy

Bossy Acre’s Story

Bossy Acres got its start in Zambia, Africa. It was there that we aspiring farmers, Karla Pankow and Elizabeth Millard, met while on a Habitat for Humanity trip. Already advocates of sustainable agriculture and delicious, healthy food, we both fell in love with the way our Zambian hosts created such a strong sense of community. The conversation about bringing that feeling back home, in the form of a new organic farm, turned into reality once we came back to the Midwest.

 

After renting land in July 2011, we began going to workshops on a range of topics, from mushroom growing to controlling transportation costs. We attended a Farm Beginnings course to gain insight into farm planning, goal setting, and marketing. Organic farming conferences taught us more about soil health, native pollinators, and sustainable strategies.

 

Now headed toward our first anniversary of growing, we feel we\’ve worked hard to establish deep roots, through connection with other farmers and food advocates, as well as opportunities that have allowed us to grow our market. We\’ve started a community supported agriculture program for our farm, participated in indoor winter farmers markets, and taught a workshop on vegetable growing to a local Boy Scouts troop.

 
We want Bossy Acres to be more than a vegetable farm. We intend to be a central point in a community-focused food system. Our mission is to encourage education about sustainability, explore issues like food access and nutrition, and boost enjoyment of natural, organic foods that support our neighborhoods, towns, and cities.

 

To achieve that aim, we need the type of equipment and tools that will allow us to flourish in our first full growing season. With $2,500 in funding, we could obtain the type of resources needed for production, including harvest bins, seeders, hand tools, coolers, farmers market tables, and an irrigation system (particularly important in this year of potential drought).

 

We admire Raising Organic Family Farm\’s mission to develop a more robust farming community and a food-focused system that will benefit all of us. We\’re excited to be part of that effort, and feel that by getting a solid start to our farm, we\’ll be part of the future of sustainable agriculture, community building, and most of all, great food!

 
We\’re working diligently to become a resource for our community, and we have many bossy plans for the future. We intend to create classes and workshops for people who want to learn more about growing vegetables for their families.

 

We\’re also developing a workshop that will help fellow farmers to utilize social media more effectively, so they can connect with their customers, their communities, and the larger farming community.

 

Our farm will be a source of organic and fresh vegetables and herbs for dozens of local families, and a place of refuge for birds and native pollinators through the land\’s biodiversity. Most of all, Bossy Acres will represent a place where the community can come together —to learn about sustainable agriculture, to meet their neighbors, and to discover the joy and nourishment that comes from getting your hands dirty.