In 2002, while apprenticing at Caretaker Farm in Massachusetts, Dan decided that someday he wanted to own his own organic vegetable farm. He’d just graduated from college with an Environmental Science/Political Science degree, just fallen in love with a girl back in Iowa (any guesses who that girl was?), and was just barely making his student loan payments.
Fast forward. Dan and Julie got married. Dan got his Masters of Environmental Science. Julie finished college and taught high school English.
Julie had always said she would never marry a farmer and never move back home. Never say never! After our first son was born, we moved to Julie’s hometown of DeMotte, Indiana, purchased 20 acres of land--11 acres of woods, 8 tillable acres, a 1918 Montgomery Ward slap-together farmhouse, and an assortment of buildings, including a dilapidated yet gorgeous red barn. We called it Perkins' Good Earth Farm, inspired in part by Pearl S. Buck's classic novel.
Fast forward some more. Dan began working for the Jasper County SWCD. We farmed on the side. Our second son was born, then our third son arrived, then a daughter. We continued the balancing act of Dan working full-time off-farm, farming, building our CSA community, and raising a family of young children.
Meet the present. In 2019, after 10 years of working for the SWCD, Dan said goodbye to a job he loved to fully embrace another job--a lifestyle really--that he loved and had dreamed about since 2002. Full-time farming. The beautiful, sometimes chaotic, get-your-hands-dirty, oh-so-satisfying working of the land.
We’re so grateful to grow produce for this community, food that our customers--YOU--both need and love, food that we both need and love to grow for you.
You can read more about our farming practices below.
Our Farming Practices
Family
Our farm systems and management must benefit our family and not cause stress or conflict.
Quality
Our farm products are of the highest quality, produced for you and your health.
Sustainable
We are not defined by a minimum standard but rather by balancing complex and dynamic relationships within the whole farm system.
Regenerative
We use the 4 principles of soil health to guide our growing practices.
- Maximize diversity.
- Living roots 365 days a year.
- Maintain soil armor.
- Reduce soil disturbance through no-till and deep-mulch compost.
Certified Organic
We are inspected annually to ensure we are practicing organic production techniques. Click here to see our farm's profile and view our inspection reports.
Food Safety
We have a certificate in Food Safety from Purdue University and compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). We have a food safety officer and train our employees in hygiene and food handling.
Research, Grants, & Publications
2022 - Article on Leaf Mold Compost published in Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems
2021 - Speakers at Rural Relevance Indiana Farm Bureau Conference
2021 - Hoosier Young Farmers Podcast Series
2021 - Carrot Weevil Resistance Trial with Purdue University
2020 - Indiana Small Farm Conference Key Note Speakers
2019 - Grafted Cucumber Research with Purdue University
2018 - Carrot Taste and Quality Trials with Purdue University
2015 - SARE Grant for On-Farm Recipe Trials and Yield Impact for Fermented Compost (Bochasi) for Vegetables
2015-2017 - SARE Grant for Evaluating the Impact Biochar on Soil Fertility and Crop Productivity through Farmer Participatory Research and a Student Internship Program
2011-2012 - SARE Grant for Scaling Up Production by Improving Worker Comfort and Efficiency in No-Till Organic Seed Garlic Production System