You can imagine how wonderful the certified organic vegetables and berries taste coming from one of the pioneering organic farms in our region and the country. We spoke to Richard de Wilde about the amazing Harmony Valley Farm that has been a steward of Wisconsin land for over 30 years.

The Farm
Harmony Valley is a family-owned, diversified farm located in an isolated valley in Southwestern Wisconsin where their silt loam fields are high in organic matter, humus and biological life. Out of concern for his family and the environment, Richard set out to prove that organic farming was viable. Thank you Richard, for your success! The home farm consists of 175 acres of woods, pastures and crop land lying along Spring Creek. Richard, partner Annake Witkop and the farm team of 25 grow a wide variety of standard and specialty vegetables and berries. They are best known for their salad mix, sauté greens and spinach.

Farm Practices
The farm is certified by the Midwest Organic Services Association and farming goes even beyond the basic certified methods. Richard has implemented many innovative techniques to promote soil health and fertility and believes strongly that organic farming produces the highest quality and best tasting food. His organic farming techniques go way beyond any minimum standards set by the government that may be met on organic factory farms. Harmony Valley has a beautiful natural environment to operate in. The air and water is wonderfully clean, the wild areas are filled with a robust biodiversity of wildlife and the land all around provides a natural protection for growing healthy food.

Typical Farm Day
Running a diversified organic farm is a huge management undertaking. Unlike the large factory farms growing rows and rows of one crop, organic farmers need to know about lots of different crops, a variety of practices to control weeds and pests, and many approaches for skillful and efficient growing and harvesting. This means that there is a lot of training for the farm team and significant planning each day so everyone can be productive.

Fresh Picks will be offering you fresh salad greens, spinach, cilantro and more from Harmony Valley in June and other great tasting food from them throughout the year!