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(e.g. Rivenrock Gardens or CA0002)
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Business type:
Farmer, Grower, or Rancher
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click to zoom
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EarthRise Farm
Locale ID
MN5205
Run by
Kay and Annette Fernholz
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About
After 40 plus years in the service of their community of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Annette and Kay Fernholz directed their ministry to the 240-acre family farm near Madison, Minnesota. Their parents, Armond and Gertie Fernholz, purchased the farm from John and Elizabeth Mueller in 1944. Once again this farm would see new beginnings in 1996 when Kay and Annette established Earthrise Farm.
Earthrise Farm takes its name from a quote made during the first moon landing, when an astronaut said, "We have seen the splendor of Earth rise above the horizon of the moon." The sisters feel it announces the coming of a new paradigm. They hope that people will gradually discover that "we have no existence apart from this Living Earth."
The gardens at Earthrise are comprised of a four acre portion of their family farm, with the remianing acreage farmed organically by their three brothers, Carmen, Chuck and Tom.
The Fernholz sisters follow the model of "teikei," a Japanese approach where small farms provide their neighbors and communities with fresh fruits and vegetables and, in return, families make a lasting commitment to the farm. The American model of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) closely resembles the principle of teikei.
For 12 years Sisters Kay and Annette - along with season interns and sometimes local high-school and grade-school students dubbed "garden angels" — they provided local families and communities with fresh nurtitious organic food grown at a fair cost of production. During the next two seasons, Nick and Joan Olson, a young farming couple, successfully and creatively managed and directed the CSA. During the 2010 season the budget has not allowed Earthrise the opportunity to hire garden managers so this summer finds them directing their subscriptions to their neighboring CSA, Easy Bean Farm, where the fresh produce is grown, harvested and prepared for delivery. Each week someone from Earthrise is grateful to pick up their shares and distribute them to the Earthrise subscribers.
There are still vegetables growing at Earthrise. During the 2010 season vegetables will be grown for the school lunch program of the Marshal Area Christian School in Marshall, Minn., and other local lunch program who has entered into the Farm to School program. Some of the garden plot is being rented to another local CSA for growing root crops for winter shares and some space is reserved for children's gardens. Who knows where the future may point us as we continue to grow good food for more and more people.
If you visit Earthrise on any given day, you’ll witness one of the many community gatherings, celebrations, and various activities, that make up the energy of the place.
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* QR Code is registered trademark of DENSO WAVE INCORPORATED
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Last Update:
August
25, 2010
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; "EarthRise Farm")
