By Kelly Schubert
Northside News
Nestled next to Central Wisconsin Center near the end of Troy Drive sits an agricultural treasure chest. Here, a hub of nonprofits and micro-agricultural industries call Troy Farm home.
Paul Huber joined me to talk about Troy Farm and other programs that are part of the larger organization, Rooted.
Huber was born in Illinois but considers himself a Wisconsinite. He studied soil and land management at UW-Stevens Point, where he tended campus gardens and met his wife, Sara. Afterwards, he and his wife moved on to farming on rented land where they cultivated vegetables and had a flock of 300 chickens.
When the land they rented was sold, the couple looked for other opportunities to farm, and Huber took the farm manager position at Troy Farm. Now, seven years later, he says this is home — like having the best of both worlds Wisconsin has to offer.
Sitting across the table from me, Huber enthusiastically described many of the programs Rooted has to offer the community. One such program, the Troy Collaborative, was the focus of our discussion.
Troy Farm Collaborative currently offers six organizations and businesses and their owners a unique opportunity to get started. Troy Farm provides land on which to farm for a nominal annual fee, instruction on use of the farm’s infrastructure (like the green house where plants get their start before it is warm enough to plant outside), irrigation (watering) systems, and farm equipment that includes everything from trowels to tractors. As businesses grow and need additional guidance or land, Huber can connect the owners with other support organizations in the area.
Over the course of a year, these businesses will collectively provide commercial composting within the greater Madison area, flowers as an add-on to the CSA shares sold at Troy farms, and foods of the African Diaspora (the worldwide collection of communities of people descended from Africa), as well as education about how to grow and use those foods.
One business, in addition to spicing up the food at local restaurants with Scotch Bonnet peppers, even has your morning cup of coffee covered. The collaborative also contributes to the many events Troy Farms presents each year on-site, and supports the Purpose-Grown Project, which provides fresh vegetables and education at local community centers.
Troy Farm Collaborative members include Occupy Madison (flowers), Yen’s Flowers, Brain Plate Grows (community composting), FarmHER Greens (Afrodiasporic foods), TradeRoots (Afrodiasporic foods and education), and 40ACRE Farm (Scotch Bonnet peppers and coffee business).
Upcoming events at the Farm
May 9 – Spring Plant Sale – come get your garden starts
August – Friday Pizza Nights – food, music and fun
Oct. 3 – Harvest Fest – food, fun, education and more
Check the Rooted web site at rootedwi.org.
