Contact Information
Chapter Coordinator: Pam Boettcher, 715-699-2927, upnorthwi
hughes
net
General email: infolakesuperiorfarmingorg (infolakesuperiorfarmingorg)
Visit the Lake Superior Chapter’s website at www.lssfa.org.
About Us
The Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association is a non-profit coalition of producers and consumers moving farm practices and food systems into a sustainable future.
Our Mission
Supporting sustainable farming systems with innovation, demonstration, education and farmer-to-farmer networking.
Chapter Update – July 2011
Karola Dalen
Festival of Farms Public Farm Tour Slated for Saturday, July 16 at Morning View Farm
Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association (LSSFA) in partnership with Gayle Gonsior and Larry Fickbohn invites the public to Morning View Farm for a tour on Saturday, July 16 from 1:30 to 4:30 pm in Port Wing, WI. The farm tour, “Lives in the Balance” will walk and talk with participants about operations management of a highly diversified family farm, while still having time for personal, family, community and a professional life.
While at Morning View Farm, participants will be exposed to a myriad array of enterprises to include grass-fed, sustainably-grown or raised lamb, pork, beef, eggs, turkeys, and vegetables. In addition, Gayle and Larry utilize high tunnels for production, raise much of their own animal feed and fertilizer, participate in University of WI Extension’s hazelnut production trials with 1500 hazelnut trees planted, and are one of two agricultural areas participating in a biomass tree planting experiment in conjunction with Excel Energy and Bayfield County. They have put 100 acres of woodland into a 50-year conservation protection plan and have the capacity to make their own biodiesel from waste oil for use in their tractors.
Gayle and Larry love living and working off of their land as much as possible, and enjoy all the silent sports available in the Chequamegon Bay area. They live simply and economically, supporting local businesses and arts as a matter of philosophy and quality as much as they possibly can. There is a lot to see at Morning View Farm and a lot to learn from Gayle and Larry. Come join LSSFA for this wonderful farm tour opportunity!
The tour is free and open to the public. Time will be divided into a formal tour and informal questions and answers. Refreshments will be provided. Please wear boots and be prepared to walk in potentially inclement weather (it could be muddy). Morning View Farm’s address is 79730 Evergreen Road, Port Wing WI. The farm is located on the east side of Evergreen Road. People can pull into the driveway and park on the north (left) side. If you choose to park on Evergreen Road, be sure to pull to the side. Please do not rely on MapQuest and similar online maps as they’ve proven inaccurate with directions to Morning View Farm. See directions below.
Directions from the West: Head towards Port Wing by exiting highway 2/53, going east on Highway 13 about 30 miles. You will see a wayside on the left. About 1.5 miles after the wayside is Evergreen Road. Go left for 3 miles to the farm at 79730 Evergreen Road.
Directions from the South: Take Highway 2 to Iron River. Head north on Highway A almost 12 miles. Take a left on Port Wing Line Road (found at the top of the hill). Travel 2 miles to a T-intersection which is Evergreen Road. Take a right for .75 miles to the farm at 79730 Evergreen Road.
Directions from the East: Take highway 13 to Port Wing. Travel 2 miles past Port Wing to Evergreen Road. Take a left and travel 3 miles to the farm at 79730 Evergreen Road.
The farm is on the east side.
The Morning View Farm public tour is a participating farm tour in the Sustainable Farming Association’s Festival of Farms™ event. Festival of Farms is an opportunity to learn about sustainable agriculture, network within the community, and have fun at various farms across the state of MN (and for the Lake Superior Chapter, WI too!). The Festival is unique to each chapter, but the goal is the same – to build a unified sense of SFA’s presence in communities across Minnesota and Wisconsin and tighten connections within the local food community.
As a neat side-note, July 16 is also Lake Superior Days with many activities planned in Port Wing and other nearby WI communities. Come to the area for the day! Visit www.portwingwi.com and click on ‘events’ for more information.
Photos: Morning View Farm’s iconic red barn and pasture land.
Lake Superior Sustainable Farming Association is just as busy as ever. The growth and interest in local foods and local farming is moving at a pace difficult to keep up with. Our chapter is busy connecting farmers with consumers, consumers with farmers, and training farmers through Lake Superior Farm Beginnings. On January 21st we held a delightful annual meeting where members got together, networked, and socialized. We enjoyed winter hardy soups made with local food and homemade bread baked by member Dave Hanlon. Instead of workshops we tried a format called “tabling” which is an open educational format of tables hosted by local farmers and food experts. Each table had a topic and attendees were able to mingle and approach different tables and talk with the expert. A few of the many topics included pastured poultry, food preserving, grafting fruit trees, working draft horses, and organic soil management. Approximately 50 people attended the Lake Superior SFA annual meeting and 29 memberships were renewed. Joel Rosen, Michelle Cartier, Leah Nelson, and Jamie Zak were voted in as new board members. We consider the meeting a great success!
9th Annual Farmers Take Stage
The Lake Superior Chapter held its 9th Annual Farmers Take the Stage fundraiser on March 25 at Amazing Grace Bakery and Café in Duluth. It was a fun-filled night of song, poetry, storytelling, and community. Several hundred dollars were raised to support the work of Lake Superior SFA.
Lake Superior Farm Beginnings
Lake Superior Farm Beginnings is in the middle of its third program year with 17 farm units participating. The first two years the program was held in Cloquet, MN at Fond Du Lac Community College but this year the program is being held in Ashland, WI. The opportunity to hold Lake Superior Farm Beginnings in Ashland is possible due to assistance from the Agriculture & Energy Resource Center (AERC). The AERC serves the Chequamegon Bay area of Lake Superior and all of Ashland, Bayfield, Douglas, and Iron Counties of Wisconsin as a resource for organic farming, sustainable agriculture, permaculture, biomass and bio-energy opportunities, community based agricultural systems, and strong local food systems. This has been a great partnership and we hope to continue this partnership by holding Lake Superior Farm Beginnings in Ashland every other year. To learn more about Lake Superior Farm Beginnings please visit www.lakesuperiorfarming.org
Superior Grown
Currently we are working on developing “Superior Grown”. Currently Superior Grown is a farm directory website for the Lake Superior farming region but also has the potential to become a powerful marketing label for local producers. Superior Grown is a partnership between Lake Superior SFA and Silver Creek Institute. To learn more visit www.superiorgrown.org
Coordinator Nicole Wilde Moves Lake Superior Chapter Forward
After nearly two years as Coordinator Nicole Wilde informed the Board of Directors of her resignation. Nicole oversaw a number of critical improvements and laid the groundwork for continued success of the Lake Superior Chapter. She organized a member drive in which current membership nearly doubled. Nicole also diligently completed all the necessary paperwork for Lake Superior Chapter to officially become its own 501 c3. As Coordinator of the Lake Superior Harvest Festival, Nicole’s professionalism in organizing the event was greatly appreciated by the Board of Directors, Harvest Festival exhibitors, and the community of 1,400 people who attended the festival. Nicole continues to support the Lake Superior SFA by assisting in the transition to a new Coordinator and working on the Superior Grown effort.
The Future
For the future, Lake Superior Chapter will be working for continued funding and support for Lake Superior Farm Beginnings and training in a new Chapter Coordinator. In addition we will be busy planning the Urban Farm Tour, Farmers Take the Stove, and the Lake Superior Harvest Festival.
