OUR FARMERS

Broxonberry - Markle, IN

BroxonBerry is a Certified Naturally Grown produce farm established in 2016 and located in Markle, IN, primarily growing a variety of roots and greens. The mission of BroxonBerry is to provide a vital need to the local community by growing healthy food through sustainable agricultural practices, supplying local grocery stores, selling directly to consumers, as well as supporting local specialty food products companies.

This mission connected us with True Kimchi in 2019 at the YLNI Farmers Market, and in the spring of 2020, we started growing Napa cabbage. That fall we added Korean radishes to our crop profile. Our aligned goals of offering top quality, healthy food to the community have been instrumental in the continued growth and success of fulfilling BroxonBerry’s mission.

 

 

Hawkins Family Farm - North Manchester, IN

We are a fourth-generation family farm outside of North Manchester, Indiana. We rotate cattle, hogs, poultry, field crops, and produce around our 99-acres using a whole-systems approach, and market our products through Community Supported Agriculture, an online store, and to restaurants. The farm also hosts weekly Fridays on the Farm pizza nights during the summer, which feature artisan pizzas made with locally-sourced ingredients and baked in an outdoor, wood-fired brick oven.

We use the health and wholeness of soils, waters, plants, animals, and people as the standard by which we farm. In practice, this means we grow our crops without the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides. Our animals are raised outdoors on pasture without subtherapeutic doses of pharmaceuticals, and our hogs and chickens are given a non-GMO feed ration that we mix on the farm.

While our farming could be called natural, biological, agroecological, or regenerative, due to the fact that we have chosen not to pursue USDA certification, we cannot legally call it “organic.” Instead, we opt to be "customer certified" (to borrow a phrase from Virginia farmer Joel Salatin). This means that our CSA members are always able to contact us with questions or visit the farm to see for themselves how their food is raised. In fact, we encourage it by hosting weekly pizza nights in the summer and occasional work parties. One of the reasons we love CSA is that it gives us the opportunity to see members face-to-face, during which we’re more than happy to talk your ear off about soil health, cover cropping, minimum tillage techniques, crop rotations, raising animals on pasture, and other practices we use.

 

What they grow for us: Napa cabbage, Korean radish, scallion, seasonal veg (Hakurei turnips, French Breakfast radishes)

 

Tree Frog Farm - Avila, IN

Tree Frog Farm began back in the 90’s with my mom, Marilyn, growing vegetables for the Historic Southside Farmers Market and the 3 Rivers Food Co-op. In 2003, we returned to the market scene in Northeast Indiana and have been a steady vendor at various farmers markets in Fort Wayne, and  specifically at the YLNI Barr St Farmers Market since 2016. After graduating college in 2019, Tina rejoined the farm as a managing partner, focused on marketing and launching a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program in 2021. Our goal is to be able to be good stewards of the resources and soil on the farm through rebuilding soil health and balancing soil nutrients. We strive to provide fresh, local produce while maintaining current organic standards of production.

 

Fox & Fodder - Fort Wayne, IN

What they grow for us: Napa Cabbage, Bok Choy