Renewing the Countryside

Story Clearinghouse

Medicinal Herbs on the Urban Fringe

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Unique Income Source Renne Soberg was raised on his family’s dairy farm in Lakeville, Minnesota, where his family have been farming since the 1890s. The farm, greatly reduced in size after surviving many permutations, is now under Renne’s care. After working in Washington for the USDA, Renne returned to Minnesota to finish his education, and […]

Apple Crisp Cooperative

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A “Core” Effort Southeast Minnesota is a countryside dotted with picturesque apple orchards, a development led nearly a century ago by the University of Minnesota. Partly due to the Mississippi River and partly due to landscape conditions created in the last glacial age, climate and soil conditions are unique to the area and ideal for […]

Hickoryworks

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Syrup seeped in distinction Trafalgar, Indiana At first glance, the story of Hickoryworks shagbark syrup in Trafalgar, Indiana, sounds like a business fairy tale: A chance meeting with a mysterious stranger leads to acquisition of a secret recipe that results in a national gourmet goldmine. But chat with owner Gordon Jones and his real recipe […]

Bobolink Dairy and Bakeyard

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Artisan foods for contemporary times Vernon, New Jersey Ask Jonathan White to describe the cheese and bread he and his family make at Bobolink Dairy and he’ll quickly say, “It’s the joyful accumulation of everything we do.” Based on an unconventional passion for keeping dairy cows outside on a natural diet of grass, this 200 […]