FAARMS

Supporting local ag

A celebration of local growers

Cass County Electric Cooperative sponsors FAARMS Fargo Farm Tour

When a couple dozen strangers stepped off a bus and onto Family Roots Farm on Sept. 14, Daisy the Great Pyrenees was not impressed. The genetically predisposed sheep protector barked from a distance as the farm’s owner greeted the visitors with a warm and welcoming smile.

“This is my little slice of heaven,” said producer Jen Skoog, gesturing to the few acres of gardens, alfalfa, chicken coops, beehives and pastureland just east of Christine, N.D., that she calls home. It’s the farm that has been in her family for generations, electrified nearly 80 years age by Cass County Electric Cooperative (CCEC). But Skoog is bringing a new energy to the land – and she was ready to share her story.

This was the first stop of the Fargo Area Farm Tour hosted by the Foundation for Agricultural and Rural Resources Management and Sustainability (FARRMS) and sponsored by Cass County Electric. FARRMS is a North Dakota nonprofit that creates programs to educate and support budding farmers in the state.

“We started doing farm tours as a supplement to our internship program, to allow the interns to get a more diverse view of different kinds of farms,” explained FARRMS Executive Director Stephanie Blumhagen.

“Then we decided, if we’re helping these farmers grow their businesses, the main thing they need is customers, so how do we connect the public and consumers to the farmers? We decided to open our tours to the public and give them that firsthand view.”

Tour guest Jocelyn Hovland, CCEC Communications Manager, hoped fellow attendees could experience how they could close the gap between farmers and buyers and advocate a more local, sustainable and interconnected food system. “CCEC’s roots are firmly planted in North Dakota farms and agriculture, so supporting events and programs that connect member producers with CCEC communities and residential members is a legacy we are proud to continue,” she said.

Skoog is a graduate of FARRMS’ Farm Beginnings program, a three-month sustainable business course. In addition to FARRMS programming, she has leveraged a network of local growers (and a few books and YouTube videos) to learn how she can use a little to create a lot of sustainable opportunities on her patch of land, from growing potatoes in alfalfa mulch to shearing wool from her angora goats. She’s able to share the fruits of the farm (including fresh eggs, lamb meat, and herbs) at local farmers markets and online.

From Family Roots Farm the bus made its way to Exit 44 Flowers & More, a fresh-cut flower farm off of Interstate 29 east of Walcott, N.D. Owner Alyssa Jones started her rural flower business three years ago, finding inspiration from serving as Skoog’s FARRMS intern.

“Jen took me under her wing,” Jones said, leading her guests through rows of colorful blooms, willow trees and decorative corn. She now has a FARRMS intern of her own, helping her and her husband tend to the four acres they have now planted.