About Us
Our mission:
Little Society Farm's mission is to produce good food using regenerative practices. By considering the farm as part of a food-producing ecosystem, we work in harmony with natural systems and maximize productivity. We aim to support the community with food, education, and by inviting them into our little society.
The name:
Little Society comes from Candide (by Voltaire)--the book is super depressing about the state of the world and humanity, but it ends with the main characters getting together and realizing that all they need in life is 20 acres to work the soil with their little society all working together. Brad read this literally the day after we put in the offer on the 20 acre property we ended up buying. (If you're interested in reading it, here's the link to the relevant chapter).
In addition to the Candide reference, fostering community and working cooperatively are at the heart of what we want to do here. The name "Little Society" speaks to the community feeling behind our intentions. Additionally, if you learn about permaculture, you'll understand the importance of polycultures and plant guilds, which basically are a diverse group of organisms working together productively--little societies within the whole. So there you have it!
The farmers:
Eleanor works part-time on the farm, and full-time at a local library. She is a lifelong vegetable eater and is excited to combine her love of nature and being outdoors with her desire to provide healthy food for her local community in an environmentally responsible way. Prior to becoming a professional green thumb, Eleanor had a worker share at a CSA for three years, volunteered on six different farms with Brad through WWOOF, attended several farming educational opportunities, and has been growing her own vegetables for several years! Eleanor is in charge of the animal operations on the farm.
Brad spends most of his time at his full time job in Madison. His farm passion developed when a previous employer gave him a community garden plot. Despite not knowing what he was doing and largely neglecting his garden, he was amazed to find the kale he planted was flourishing and if he harvested it right, it would magically regenerate every couple weeks! Since then, despite still getting excited by the beautiful act of taking a seed and turning it into a life-giving health machine, he has also become fascinated at how these simple acts can have enormous ecological, philosophical, social and economic significance. Brad takes the lead on growing the veggies on the farm.
We bought the house and 20 acres in October, 2017 and feel enormously lucky. We are within a long walk of downtown Baraboo and a shorter walk from Devil's Lake State Park.