The USDA has declared this week, August 7 – 13 as National Farmers' Market Week. We celebrate farmers' markets just about every week, especially this time of year, which is important to my family farm and to Nebraska agriculture.
Although I was raised in a rural town, I was not a farmer until I married my husband, Tom. We now own and operate a farm that has been in Tom’s family for over 100 years. Our children, who are both helping on the farm, are the 6th generation to operate the farm.
About 10 years ago we transitioned the majority of our acres into organic production. Our rotation primarily consists of alfalfa, corn, soybeans and wheat. We also own a commercial hay grinding business. In 2009, we started a small apiary (also known as a bee yard), and in 2010, we put up two high tunnel greenhouses and are now growing organic vegetables such as mixed lettuce, turnips, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, herbs and potatoes.
Although we sell our produce to area grocery stores (Countryside Market in Bertrand, SunMart in Holdrege and Boogaarts in Kearney) and restaurants (Tru Cafe and Alley Rose in Kearney), we are great supporters of the wonderful, hard working people who grow the vegetables that are sold at the local farmers' markets.
Because I am the primary record keeper/bookkeeper on our farm, I typically spend at least part of my day working in our home office. Record keeping is a huge part of organic agriculture, so I have had to put a lot more time into that the last few years. I also do everything from drill wheat, plant alfalfa, disc ground, irrigate crops, run the combine during harvest, work bees, weed vegetables and hand-harvest vegetables.
Did you know that Nebraska has over 70 farmer markets across the state? Click here to download the complete directory from the Nebraska Department of Agriculture.
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