Growing as Vegetable Interpreters
Viroqua, Wisconsin
“When a member sends us a note at the end of the season saying that you changed my life through changing how I eat, that’s the real bottom line for us,” explains Richard de Wilde, co-owner of Harmony Valley Farm with his wife, Linda Halley. With the same tender care they devote to the land and certified organic crops, Richard and Linda passionately nurture and educate the folks purchasing their harvest, resulting in a passionately committed 400-member CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), a loyal chef, ever expanding farmers’ market following and consistently reliable wholesale commercial accounts.
Located in a secluded spring-fed valley in Viroqua, Wisconsin,
Richard and Linda started Harmony Valley Farm in 1985. It now comprises 70 acres in growing fields and 130 acres in woods and pasture and grosses over ten thousand dollars per acre. About half of the farm’s business results from the CSA, which Richard and Linda started in 1993 and now has twelve drop off points from Madison to LaCrosse, Wisconsin. Harmony Valley’s 30-week CSA season runs from the beginning of May through mid December. This lengthy delivery season for a cold climate CSA operation is supported by specialization in root crops like turnips, parsnips, beets and hardy greens that grow well into the early Midwest winter, with flavors often enhanced by frosts. All of Harmony Valley’s growing is done outside, with cold frames only used for hardening off transplants. Richard and Linda direct seed as much as they can and also start some seedlings in a greenhouse.
Richard and Linda realized early on that they needed to go beyond just providing fresh produce to grow a loyal CSA member base. They took on the role of seasonal eating educator, helping members decipher the edamame, eggplant and escarole in their weekly box deliveries. “We have about an eight-five percent annual retention of our CSA members. It’s one of the highest in the country, considering that most CSAs on average loose ten percent of their members annually through natural processes like people moving away,” explains Richard. “We realized early on that new members especially need extra support the first year as they make what is often a big transition to eat seasonally.”
Harmony Valley Farm’s weekly newsletter provides recipes and helpful cooking and storage tips, focusing on less familiar items in the current week’s box selection. “Never refrigerate sweet potatoes as they will suffer cold damage. And also don’t keep them in plastic or moisture can develop, shortening their life,” comes from six paragraphs dedicated to the wonders of the distinct spud.
Harmony Valley Farm also harnesses the power of the Internet. An active web-ring encourages members to share recipes as well as browse an extensive recipe collection on the farm’s main website. New members also receive encouragement and support from seasoned Harmony Valley CSA members through a “mentoring committee” of volunteers to help new members with questions and advice and post tips on the farm website. “When working with root vegetables a sharp, heavy-duty knife is necessary . . . Turnips and rutabagas are interchangeable in any recipe,” posts long-time member, Jane, on the website.
Once new members develop experience in cooking seasonally, the freshness and flavor of Harmony Valley’s produce keeps them shareholders. “Because the flavor of our produce is so much better, our members often tell us that they have discovered they really do like many vegetables they once had no desire to eat,” comments Richard.
To encourage members to experiment with new vegetables and still minimize waste, Harmony Valley Farm developed a unique “choice box” system. “With some of the more uncommon vegetables, such as fennel, we’ll include a little bit in all members’ boxes that week, along with a feature in the newsletter and various recipes,” explains Richard. After that, we’ll put fennel in the choice box at each drop-off site for folks who want more fennel to help themselves.” Volunteer coordinators at each of the twelve drop-off site will often take any leftovers in the choice box to local food pantries and keep Richard and Linda posted via e-mail if more or less of something is needed the following week.
A volunteer core group advisory committee meets every fall to give Harmony Valley Farm feedback for the following growing season. In addition to comments on types of vegetables, fruits and herbs, many of the core member group’s suggestions help from a practical business perspective. “We were offering ten dollars to each member each time they recruited a new CSA member, which worked as a recruiting tool, but it cost us a couple thousand dollars at the end of a season,” admits Richard. “Our group advisory committee suggested we change this from a cash amount to a ten dollar gift certificate for additional produce. It ended up costing a lot less to our bottom line and was just as effective.”
The second half of Harmony Valley Farm’s income results from the weekly and nationally renowned Dane County Farmers’ Market around the Capitol Square in Madison, as well as loyal restaurant and wholesale accounts, including L’Etoile, one of the Midwest premiere restaurants dedicated to local, organic foods, and Willy Street Co-op, one of the largest food co-ops in the country.
Harmony Valley Farm also offers an on-site farm chef, taking seasonal eating to an even deeper level. During the growing season, around twenty seasonal employees and interns work on the farm, with one person hiring on as the farm’s professional chef with their main job to provide two meals a day, five days a week for the growers. In the past ten years in this chef position, Richard and Linda hosted a mix of culinary students to professional chefs seeking to round out their experience. Chefs find the opportunity attractive as they can cook and experiment with produce at its peak of ripeness and freshness. The farm staff benefits from healthy fresh meals and community shared around the dining table, resulting in happier employees. CSA members may come to the farm and join in a meal and the summer chefs contribute a column to the weekly newsletter, again providing tips and recipes for some of the lesser-known produce.
“Our CSA memberships go beyond just a business transaction for us. Over the years, mutual friendships have grown out of our desire to provide high quality, fresh organic produce,” Richard says. Such combined passion for sustainable agriculture and customer relations has earned Harmony Valley Farm its reputation as one of the nation’s premier organic farms. In 2003, the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Services (MOSES) bestowed their first Organic Farmer of the Year award to Richard and Linda.