Photo courtesy of @blueheroncommunityfarm
For Alex Young and Linsey Stoner, owners of Blue Heron Community Farm, nothing beats looking up and seeing a line of smiling (masked) faces waiting to buy their produce. Blue Heron Community Farm is a first-generation, certified organic farm located in Reedsville, Wisconsin.
Alex learned to love vegetables while spending summers on his grandparent’s garden in Idaho, “At a young age I was really into vegetables -- I was the kid that would go to the salad bar and only eat some red cabbage,” he said. “Vegetables have always been a really huge part of my life.”
After coming from a background in organic vegetable farming, Alex realized he wanted to do direct marketing to farmer’s markets with an emphasis in sustainability. He and Lindsey purchased their farm in 2016 after deciding to settle down in Wisconsin.
Alex Young. Photo courtesy of @blueheroncommunityfarm
“Outdoors and the environment and sustainability were always a huge part of our lives and so we really wanted to start an organic vegetable farm tailored to local markets,” Alex said. “The dream was to have a business that was just my wife and I. We pretty much do everything ourselves and we like to have our hands in every part of the business.”
Alex and Linsdey, who met 12 years ago at the University of Utah, now work seamlessly as a husband and wife team to run their farm. They are perfect complements of each other, Alex explained, “I grow vegetables and my wife is really amazing at selling vegetables, and so that is what has been one of our biggest strengths -- we have opposite skill sets that complement each other really well.”
Alex described three pillars of being sustainable that are important to them and their farm: environmental sustainability, economic sustainability and social sustainability. They focus on soil health and biodiversity and were certified organic last year. Alex explained how they, “consider the ecosystem of the farm in everything we do, and how our farming practices impact the environment we share.”
Photo courtesy of @blueheroncommunityfarm
Offering a wide variety of different vegetables, Alex and Lindsey want to make sure their customers know how to use what they buy -- which is where their online recipe directory comes in.
“We wanted people to understand how to cook with kohlrabi or celeriac or some of the more unusual vegetables,” Alex explained. Now, customers can search on their website for any ingredient they want to find a recipe on how to use it. “We think that helps make local food a little more approachable,” he added.
Photo courtesy of @blueheroncommunityfarm
Blue Heron Community Farms joined the Monroe Street Farmer’s Market partway through last season. Alex explained why they love being vendors at the MSFM, “hands down the best part of the market are the amazing customers. They are friendly, gracious, very well educated about seasonal vegetables and patient with the new market set up this season.”
To shop Blue Heron Community Farm, and other amazing vendors, visit the Monroe Street Farmer’s Market on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Edgewood High School. For more information on what produce Blue Heron will be offering weekly at the market, Alex urges customers to sign up for their weekly newsletter on their website.
“ We would especially like to thank our regular customers who come every week to support us and compliment our vegetables. We work very hard to grow the best produce we can, and the greatest compliment we can receive is a customer telling us that they love our lettuce or tomatoes.”
Photo courtesy of @blueheroncommunityfarm
For more information on Blue Heron Community Farm, visit their website: https://www.blueheroncommunityfarm.com or follow their instagram: @blueheroncommunityfarm