More than local food

Eric shapes beds to plant the garlic crop in late October 2019.

Farmers Markets begin May 13

The seasons are ever changing, there is no stopping mother nature. The weather, the seasons, length of daylight, rain and lack of; mother nature determines our work on a day to day level as well as our long term success. Weather will never be as apparent and in-your-face as when you farm for a living or have an intimate connection to the land. Everything depends on it. Farming is the work we have grown to love, while the most demanding of any job we have ever immersed ourselves in, it has also been the most fulfilling and rewarding in large part for the people we get to interact with on our farm as volunteers and visitors, at our farmers markets as customers and in our community lending a helping hand.

Thank you to each and every one of you who has supported our farm making it an important part of our community. We look forward taking part in the culture of local food farming with you.

View our TRANSPLANT availability list HERE

FARMERS MARKETS: Find We Grow at the Medford Farmers Market on Saturdays starting early May until the end of October which is located at the Taylor County Fairgrounds and open from 8 am to noon. You can also find us on Tuesdays at the downtown Medford Market which is located across from the post office from 1 to 5 pm until the third week of October. If you live in Price County, find We Grow delivers to our Phillips drop-site at Cabin Creations on highway 13 every Tuesday afternoon. Minoqua, Rhinelander, Tomahawk customers can order our products through the Northwoods Farm Share program for delivery every Thursday all-year long.

CSA farm memberships: Please visit our CSA information page or go straight to the online store to make payment.

What is We Grow?

We Grow LLC is a produce farm in northern Taylor County providing pastured heritage breed pork and free-range broiler chickens along with a wide-array of in season vegetables grown without the use of synthetic inputs in a community supported agricultural (CSA) system. We choose to use only organic certified, non-GMO seeds. We sell weekly garden shares, direct off the farm during the growing season and at the Medford Farmer’s Markets on Tuesday afternoons and Saturday mornings. We are currently undergoing USDA organic certification.

Spinach at We Grow LLC

Spinach in the high tunnel in April.

We offering large, small and market voucher shares to the public which gives farm members priority and first chance at the produce we grow. Produce that remains after our members’ bags have been filled goes to the farmers markets in Medford.

In a CSA system, consumers pre-purchase shares of produce that will be distributed throughout the growing season. There are a variety of share options based on your needs. The pre-purchase not only allows the grower to determine how much to plant, but also provides the capital needed early in the season to get the crops in the ground. You are making a commitment to more just local food system.

The first step in planning the coming season is to know how many farm shares we are growing. That is why we ask you to sign-up in advance so we can plan. In reality, we plan much farther in advance than a few months. We plant our garlic in October and our cover crops for the new field spaces in July. Not to mention, we have to pick rock and prep fields all spring to get it ready for those cover crops. No wonder it is difficult to put a price on each tomato or broccoli head. Seeds are purchased in November and December. That said, we set our goal for a number of farm members each season and allow folks to sign-up until we reach that goal. Please don’t be afraid to get your name on our list if our program is at capacity.

Planting celery with Medford Summer School students at We Grow in summer of 2018.

Why We Grow

We Grow food following USDA organic rules for many reasons. First and foremost, we are extremely passionate about healthy, good tasting food. We also believe that food grown without pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals should be available locally and within the financial means of those who live in the area. Not to mention, using only organic certified seeds ensures we are reducing our impact on the environment through the purchases we make. Vote with your dollar for the system you want to see!

Food grown in high intensity agriculture operations thousands of miles away is not a sustainable food distribution system. Chemicals used in these systems pollute our waterways, our soil and our bodies for many years.

The farm to table connection benefits the consumer by providing the freshest food with the minimum carbon foot print created in transport. At We Grow, our sustainable growing techniques ensure that each year we will be able to maintain the same level of production without the input of chemicals or genetically modified seed.

When you buy from a family operation, your money stays in our area. And your purchase goes towards much more than just local food. Community education, donations and sponsorships are a huge part of being a community supported farm. We spend a great deal of our time with school groups, community garden groups and more.

We Grow Memberships

You are considered a member of our farm when you join our CSA at any share level. Aside from getting the freshest vegetables possible from a  local family-farm, benefits of your We Grow membership include:

Week 20 Share 2017

Week 20 CSA farm member share in the 2017 season included pie pumpkin, lacinato kale, brussel sprouts, baby oakleaf lettuce, beets with greens, tomatillos, brussel sprouts, winter squash (choice of variety), basil/cilantro/parsley, and rutabaga.

• Freshest produce. Our members receive our first produce. We fill our season extension growing tunnels with produce ear-marked for our members first shares in June. Many items we grow only for our membership like brussel sprouts, many varieties of winter squash, sweet onions, and more. When there is a small amount of a product just starting to ripen, large shares will get priority, small shares will usually receive the item the following week. If there has been a crop failure of a specific item it may be available on a first-come basis.

• Add-ons. Members can let us know if you would like to add-on to your share based on availability of produce not included in your share. We will deliver to the farmer’s market, pick-up on farm or to your pick-up location.

• Part of the farm. Members will receive weekly newsletters in their shares with recipes and information about what’s in their box as well as what’s happening on the farm.  Get to know your farmer!

• Farm events. Our goal is to host events, but we need feedback from our members to plan what you want. Is there something We Grow can offer our community in terms of an event? Plans are underway for the coming season events and we look forward to hearing your suggestions as we grow to suit our customers demands.

• First you-pickers. Members will be notified and scheduled ahead of the general public for all you-pick opportunities. This will include green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and more. When you sign-up, you can select text notifications, email messages or a phone message in regards to you-pick opportunities you wish to take part in.

Your support of our farm supports our work within our community. Your We Grow farmers volunteer hundreds of hours each season in our community as well as providing funds in specific instances. In 2019, our farm was a sponsor of the United Way Dueling Piano Fundraiser. We also provided veggies to many great groups doing their hard work including groups like Medford Youth Hockey. We also hosted school, youth, and senior citizen groups and had well over 100 kids on our farm learning about where food comes from. We sponsored the Huey’s Hideaway Childrens Museum outdoor garden including  growing the seedlings and planting the raised beds. In addition, the Rib Lake School District gardens received seeds and plants for their renovated school gardens. Our crew had fun joining the summer school students in their growing project. Teaching kids about growing food is the highlight of our operation. Thank you for allowing this to continue with your support of our farm through your patronage.