Gina

I spent several years apprenticing on organic vegetable farms, which led me to Tillers International in 2012, where I learned to farm using horses and oxen for tillage. After a season interning at the Tillers farm school, I became the first resident farmer of their incubator program. I cultivated two acres of vegetables by myself, and I sold them through a small subscription service (Community Supported Agriculture), at local markets and to restaurants. I am joined now by my husband Silvano, whose background in construction and carpentry makes him an ideal partner for starting a farm business.

Our patronage of local farms has helped us identify opportunities in the food system, such as a high demand for organic fruit, egg, and meat producers. We love making and eating delicious food, and we believe delicious food starts with quality products from farms that are accountable to their consumers. In the long-term, we would like to have an on-farm store, where we sell not only our own farm products, but also have dry and grocery goods sections featuring Latino and Asian products. We are Mexican (Silvano) and Filipino (myself), and it is difficult to find quality "ethnic" food products near us, as we are an hour's drive outside of the Twin Cities.

We also have a strong interest in traditional skills, such crafting nets and hammocks like Silvano's family made and sold when he was growing up on the west coast of Mexico. I have a passion for blacksmithing, and for training and working with oxen (cows that pull and do farm work). Once our farm is set up for public visitors (e.g. with ADA-compliant bathrooms and other public facilities), we hope to host educational events.