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Talking Through Tough Choices

Transforming a Wish List into a Viable Farming Operation

By Brian DeVore
July 12, 2023

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There’s a bit of a disagreement over how many enterprises were originally on a certain wish list when Hannah Frank and Justin Thomas were considering launching a farm.

“Didn’t we have, like, 40 different enterprises on our goal sheet?” Thomas asks Frank on an overcast day in July while the couple stands next to a hoop house on Rue de Bungaloo Farm.

“Oh, we did not!” Frank shoots back. “I’m going to have to go back and count them. I still got the binder. I think it was more like, maybe, seven. Not 40.”

“It was a lot,” says Thomas.

“Well,” concedes Frank with a laugh, “you have to work through them all and see what you like.”

Apparently, a dinner wager is on the line as to whose number is right. But one fact is clear: Frank and Thomas have used the holistic training they received through the Land Stewardship Project’s Farm Beginnings course to narrow down what they will focus on, and to figure out how to balance profitability and environmental sustainability, along with a little fun.

Since purchasing 12 acres of a former dairy farm from Hannah’s father, Dale, in 2021, Frank and Thomas have been busy building an agricultural business in north-central Wisconsin’s Marathon County. After just two years, their farm is already showing signs of being relatively diverse, even if the enterprises can’t be counted in the dozens.

Justin Thomas and Hannah Frank on their farm in Marathon County, Wis.

 

As the couple’s good-natured argument makes clear, striking items off the wish list hasn’t been easy. But it was a particularly heart-wrenching decision for Frank when it came to one enterprise they had to put into the “no”column: a small dairy. That choice came laced with economic, quality-of-life, emotional, and familial repercussions.

“It’s kind of hard to have a normal conversation about that kind of thing. It’s stressful,” she says. “But when we were doing it as an exercise in the Farm Beginnings class it was really helpful for both of us to kind of lay out the things that we wanted to be happy, to not be totally stressed.”

Local Roots

When she was younger, including anything related to agriculture on a wish list was pretty much out of the question for Frank. In fact, she grew up on a small dairy just across the fence-line from her current farming operation. When she was about 15, her family sold the 32-cow herd because they, like many small dairies, were unable to make it financially anymore.

“I did not want to farm at all,” recalls Frank, 27. “I didn’t really like it, so I didn’t really pay very good attention.”

But she increasingly became interested in the source of her food and how it could be produced in an ecologically healthy manner. There are three well-established organic vegetable operations in her community — Stoney Acres Farm, Cattail Organics, and Red Door Family Farm — proof that a living can still be made in agriculture. Frank eventually majored in agriculture studies with an emphasis on environmental science at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Thomas, 44, grew up 15 miles away and although he didn’t come from a farming background, always had an interest in plants and vegetables. The couple met while they were both working at Stoney Acres, and eventually set about gaining as much farming experience as possible. Frank was particularly interested in “reviving the family farm” by starting a micro-creamery on her family’s land. She worked at the River Falls dairy plant and got cheesemaking experience at a micro-dairy in western Wisconsin. She and Thomas eventually enrolled in the Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms program and worked on two farms — one in Italy and one in France — that produced farmstead cheese.

Cheese Dreams

At one point, their plan was simple, if a bit full-to-the-brim: launch a micro-dairy and market cheese off the farm, all while raising market vegetables. They had the hands-on production experience in dairy and vegetables down, but knew such an audacious plan would require business acumen as well. Kat Becker, the owner of Cattail Organics, suggested they enroll in LSP’s Farm Beginnings course, which, among other things, provides in-depth training on holistic business planning and goalsetting. During the winter of 2019-2020, the couple drove to the class in Menonomie, Wis., where they were able to crunch the numbers with the help of trainer and northeastern Minnesota farmer Cree Bradley, gather resources on regenerative agriculture, and, perhaps most important of all, run an increasingly lengthy wish list through a gauntlet of questions. Are their markets available in the area? How much infrastructure is involved? What is the up-front investment? Will we enjoy doing the kind of work involved with this kind of enterprise?

“Just how you envisioned your lifestyle, what you wanted your life to be like, in the community and as a person, and what would make you a happy person?” says Frank of the questions they considered during that part of the training. Then, turning to Thomas, she adds, “Just seeing what you had to say in response to those questions was good for us and our relationship. It’s not something that would always come up in conversation if you didn’t actually sit down and talk about it and put it on paper. If we’re mentally broke down by farming, then we definitely can’t do it successfully or well, and then we can’t feed people, and that’s not good.”

Thomas concedes that he had not really had much experience with big-picture, holistic planning. “We just farm and get everything done, and not plan for the future,” he says, explaining his approach to agriculture previously.

The Farm Beginnings course also put them in touch with other farmers who were stepping off the conventional path to make a living in agriculture. Frank and Thomas say that through Farm Beginnings and other groups like Marbleseed and the Savanna Institute, they’ve greatly benefited from visiting various farmers in the region and seeing what they’re doing to make a go of it — warts and all.

“When I see their farms are not perfect, it makes me feel very good in a way, because it’s like, ‘Oh I don’t have to do everything right and I can still be successful and there’s no one set way of doing things,’ ” says Frank. “It makes me feel you don’t have to attain every standard of perfection.”

One question the couple mulled over at length was whether operating a micro-dairy was viable. Eventually, they realized after going through goalsetting and planning that they really like working with plants outdoors. In addition, having a livestock enterprise would tie them down to the farm more than they’d like; they love traveling. Finally, Frank and Thomas found the regulatory, economic, and marketing environment for on-farm cheesemaking not as accommodating in Wisconsin as it is in, say, France.

“It’s very dreamy to make cheese in Europe,” says Frank. “It is not as dreamy here.”

But Frank admits she fantasized for a long time about dairy cows returning to her family’s land.

“People were excited about it, and for awhile I felt like I was letting people down and I felt guilty about it,” she says. “But there’s a reason there’s not a lot of micro-dairies. Going through the Farm Beginnings course, doing the holistic analysis of what we wanted, we realized we shouldn’t do it just to do it. It has to be something that meshes with our lifestyle, that we’re going to be happy doing.”

What they did figure out they’d be happy doing is creating a farm centered around such enterprises as fruit and mushroom production. It turns out those enterprises make sense from a marketing point of view as well. Although there are plenty of vegetables being raised in the neighborhood, farmers’ markets and other outlets lack access to locally produced fruit and mushrooms.

After buying a piece of the original dairy farm, the couple set to work planting an orchard. They put up a deer fence scrounged from a neighbor’s scrap pile, and planted in a former hayfield dwarf and standard apple trees representing 40 or 50 different varieties. They’ve also planted raspberries and currants, and have over 500 mushroom logs — harvested from the property — representing various varieties, including shiitakes.

The farm now has two hoop houses, one built with funding from the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). The EQIP funding was key, given that the hoop house was erected when steel prices were exploding.

The sale of mushrooms through a local farmers’ market and a small Community Supported Agriculture share arrangement has been brisk, and is providing income for the farm at a time when other enterprises are still in the “potential” stage.

Home is Where the Farm is

While providing a tour of their orchard and hoop houses, Frank and Thomas talk about the support they have in the community. Despite some disappointment that cows won’t be milked here, family members are excited to see a new farm business of any type get launched in the neighborhood and have stepped up to help.

Frank’s father has provided tractor support and helped build mushroom tables, all while sharing insights on soil types and local weather. Her mother, Marilyn, owns a local restaurant and has promised to buy what they produce. Community and family are important — Frank points out her father’s parcel next door, as well as land her grandparents long farmed and still live on.

Now the couple represents a new generation rooted in the community’s past, but also bringing in new ideas. After all, the farm’s name — Rue de Bungaloo — combines local family lore with the couple’s love of the chef and foodie icon, Julia Child.

Both work off the farm on neighboring organic vegetable operations. Hannah is at Cattail Organics, and Justin works for Tony Schultz at Stoney Acres Farm, where, as “the most famous waiter in Marathon County,” he helps serve over 300 pizzas during pizza nights. Their eventual goal is to be able to live and work fulltime on their own operation.

One thing that gives them confidence is the network of people they’ve created through Farm Beginnings and right in their own neighborhood — people who see a future in farming. Such a network is of practical importance.

“We have enough people in the area to help stretch plastic on a hoop house,” jokes Thomas.

But there are also bigger, more quality-of-life issues at stake.

“We should make this a community where people want to stay,” says Frank while standing just a few hundred feet from where she grew up. “I hope that’s what we’re working toward doing.”

This profile was originally published in the No. 1, 2023, Land Stewardship Letter.

Category: Farm Beginnings Profiles
Tags: Farm Beginnings • fruit • Hannah Frank • Holistic Management • holistic planning • Justin Thomas • mushrooms • orchard • Rue de Bungaloo Farm

Give it a Listen

On episode 306 of the Land Stewardship Project’s Ear to the Ground podcast, Hannah Frank and Justin Thomas share how Farm Beginnings helped them whittle their enterprise “wish list” down to a sustainable size.

2023-2024 Farm Beginnings Class

LSP is now accepting applications for its 2023-2024 Farm Beginnings course. For details, click here.

Farm Dreams: is Farming in Your Future?

Farm Dreams is designed to help people clarify what motivates them to farm, get their vision on paper, inventory their strengths and training needs, and get perspective from an experienced farmer. To get started, click here and download the Farm Dreams visioning exercise in pdf format.

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June 2025

Saturday June 21

1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Farm-Scale Deep Winter Greenhouse Tour
Saturday June 21
1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Farm-Scale Deep Winter Greenhouse Tour
Owl Bluff Farm, 12314 County Road 4 Houston, MN 55943

The University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) and Owl Bluff Farm will co-host an open house to celebrate the completion of the state’s first farm-scale deep winter greenhouse. The event, held on the farm about 45 minutes east of Rochester, is free and open to the public. RSVPs are required at z.umn.edu/OwlBluffOpenHouse.

Wednesday June 25

2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Wednesday June 25
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
LSP-PFI Grazing Field Day at Hoosier Ridge Ranch
Hoosier Ridge Ranch, 15998 Wabasha County Rd 26, Altura, MN 55910, USA

Over the last 50 years, livestock have left many farms. Eric Heins is doing the reverse: bringing cattle – and their poop, pee and hooves – back to his land. Come see how Eric is using his Normande-shorthorn crosses in a variety of grazing situations. During this Land Stewardship Project-Practical Farmers of Iowa field day, you can view permanent pasture, where Eric (like everyone) is battling the cool-season grass takeover. You’ll also learn how Eric is using his cattle in cover crop mixes, prairie and woodlands.

Since purchasing the farm in 2020, Eric has converted the cropland to pasture. He also custom-farms a diverse rotation of crops, covers and small grains on neighboring farms, including an established prairie on Iowa Department of Natural Resources land. A possible bonus: Eric is hoping to have virtual fence collars by the time of the field day, but no guarantees!

A meal featuring Hoosier Ridge Ranch burgers will follow the field day.

See & Discuss

  • Cash-flowing the conversion to pasture on owned versus rented cropland
  • Stockpiling pasture for winter grazing
  • Mechanical buckthorn clearing for silvopasture
  • Grazing agreements on DNR prairie and neighboring cropland
  • A sudangrass mix after a canning pea crop
  • An extended rotation with oats, barley and Kernza

For details and to register, click here.

Friday June 27

9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Agrivoltaics Field Day
Friday June 27
9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Agrivoltaics Field Day
West Central Research and Outreach Center, 46352 MN-329, Morris, MN 56267, USA

Join University of Minnesota Extension for presentations and solar site tours at the West Central Research and Outreach Center. You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the benefits, considerations and opportunities of farming using solar energy. Session topics include cattle and sheep solar grazing, solar site forages, grain crops under solar panels, and solar developer perspectives. Register here. Can’t attend the field day? Check out the July 22 agrivoltaics webinar on growing forages and grains.

Saturday June 28

4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Saturday June 28
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
LSP's Boots & Roots: A Celebration of Land & People
Dream Acres, Co Hwy 8, Spring Valley, MN 55975, USA

Join Land Stewardship Project members and supporters to kick-start the Driftless summer with an evening of good food, good music, and good times. We’ll have activities for all ages that will get you out in nature, exploring the connection between our region’s farms and your community’s food, land, and water. Bring a side or dessert to share for dinner, and the Dream Acres wood-fired oven will provide locally-sourced pizzas and flat breads. Dinner will be followed by live music and contra dancing by the Crater City String Band.  

To reserve a spot, click here.

Camping sites are available at nearby Masonic Park and Forestville Mystery Cave and Lake Louise State Parks. Camping at Masonic is rustic,first-come-first-serve, free, and does not require a reservation. Fillmore County, who manages the park, only asks that you call the dispatchers at507-765-3874 when you arrive with your vehicle information and phone number in case of emergency. State Park reservations cost $25 a night and can be made online.

July 2025

Wednesday July 9

8:00 am – 10:00 am
Risk to Resilience Climate Cohort
Wednesday July 9
8:00 am – 10:00 am
Risk to Resilience Climate Cohort
Online

Farming has always required adaptability, and today’s changing weather patterns are creating new challenges and opportunities. The Land Stewardship Project, in collaboration with University of Minnesota Extension, has created a resilience-focused program that gives commodity and small grain growers the opportunity to join a cohort with other like-minded farmers and learn how to prepare their operations for the future. At this Risk to Resilience cohort, you will learn:

  • How changing weather patterns in the Upper Midwest are likely to affect your farm. 
  • How you can prepare a plan that protects your farm from a changing climate.
  • How to improve your planning skills and meet with experts for opportunities to grow climate resilience  on your farm.
  • How to build community with fellow farmers interested in creating operations that are sustainable and resilient in the long term.

Program Details:

  •  Online format — join from your home or farm.
  •  Four sessions, 10-15 hours total investment — built for busy schedules, beginning July 2025. We’ll pause workshops for small grains harvest and resume in August 2025.
  • A $250 stipend will be provided to participants who attend the sessions and provide feedback on experience and content.

Dates of the Risk to Resilience Sessions:

  • Wednesday, July 9, 8 a.m.-10 a.m.
  • Wednesday, July 16, 8 a.m.-10 a.m.
  • Harvest Break
  • Wednesday, August 20, 8 a.m.-10 a.m.
  • Wednesday, August 27, 8 a.m.-10 a.m. 

To register, click here. 

View Full Calendar

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  • ‘Returning Cattle to the Land’ Field Day June 25 in Altura June 3, 2025
  • Make Your Voice Heard at Upcoming NRCS-SWCD Meetings June 3, 2025
  • Rolling Out the Welcome Mat for New Neighbors May 30, 2025
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