Waves of Grain is proud to announce the start of a new farm season and the start of new farm. Friends Farm is WOG's sponsored farm for the 2024 season. It's a new team of three farmers who met working on a certified organic farm in Boulder County and wanted to start their own thing. We are happy to announce that Friends Farm will manage the grow operations at Nyland Farm this season, produce a CSA, run a twice weekly farm stand and pick-your-own field.
In 2023, WOG experimented with the farm start idea, with coop worker-owners Red Clifford and Ben Sargent managing the grow. The coop suffered but we did prove that the model worked: The coop was able to sell everything the farm produced. This year, Red will support the new team while also working on other projects for WOG and for Holly Hills Consulting.
This season, the farmers don't have to run the coop and they don't have to worry about selling what they grow. Of course they will sell as much as possible on their own. Like our other farmers, they need to capture as much value as possible in direct-to-consumer sales. Unlike other farm starts, they can focus on growing, as the coop expects to absorb as much first quality produce as they can make available.
Last year, Holly Hills helped WOG remediate fallow fields with manure, gypsum, and cover crops (need permaculture design? contact hollyhillsconsulting@gmail.com). Those fields will be in vegetable rotation in 2024 and we expect Friends Farm to triple the output from Nyland. This is how we grow production as we scale up access to local, better-than-organic produce. Yay!
The Friends Farm CSA will be available via Waves of Grain, with weekly pickup at Nyland starting in late May.
About Friends Farm
Friends Farm is more than a vegetable grower. The team also grows community, through meals, classes, and social events: "We look to push the boundaries of what is possible with organic and regenerative practices through minimizing tillage, and by using cover crops, perennials, natural pest control, biofertilizer teas/ferments and biostimulants. What really sets us apart, though, is our tandem mission to explore the field of possibilities around a truly regenerative culture and building a new kind of community."
You can come to the farm to volunteer, take a class, dine in community (twice a month), and enjoy a variety of fun and celebratory events. Join the Friends Farm mailing list (email them at info@friendsfarm.org) or follow @friendsfarmco on Facebook or Instagram.
The Friends Farm Founders
Angela: Angela here! I would love to share a meal and my love of cooking with you. For over 20 years I have been a chef, gardener and homesteader and always bring the treats that leave friends and family asking for more. I believe in my heart that a more beautiful and just world is possible and that our “small” local actions can plant the seed of this future.
Oliver: I love to help others create systems and lives more in harmony with the Earth and real community. Maybe you’ve also wondered what cultural change and having a regenerative society will really take? For over a decade, I have studied ecology, farming, anthropology, community building and systems thinking. I have worked on a variety of farms and taught classes in foraging, soil and regenerative technologies. I am excited to help create and learn together with you on this journey!
Sam: I am a Boulder local bringing soil expertise and a stiff back to help Friends Farm grow into a beacon of education and food awesomeness. In my studies on soil and the earth I have learned how powerful our little slice of heaven can be, and am motivated to conserve and steward the land for future generations. I hope you will stop by, the only way we are doing it is together, and we have the best office view in town! Join us for my favorite farm foods: pesto, bruschetta, and arugula salad.
