About

Hi, I’m Jess…

I started the farm solo. Of course, the insects, soil, sun, wind, and birds have always been on the team, but I am responsible for paying careful attention to the whole network that delivers the vegetables to you.

I grew up in rural Iowa canoeing the driftless rivers. I enjoyed a career in conservation for 8 years as an environmental educator, which prompted me to teach by example. I began farming for markets in 2014 in Maine.

My true passion is art. I am working towards us all being able to spend more time being creative.

How my personal values drive my farming practices:

• I enjoy art. Reading, listening, and feeling the works of intention by indigenous authors and creators ques me into ways of stewardship that my non-native self lacks. They remind me that we already have the instructions that we need within our own wild selves.

• I learn. I strive to understand the history of the people across this area of the Midwest. We sustain our lives today on the careful work of the Ho-chunk, Meskwaki, Ioway, and many more indigenous peoples. The fertile soils we watch and aid in washing away were not built up by accident or  ignorance to a more “civilized” agriculture system, but stewarded intentionally to replenish the lives of the ones we depend on today. Lives of the soil microbes, insects, people, plants, and animals.

• I connect with people. I get to know my neighbors, understanding that we are all in this together.

• I reflect. I try to understand my own limitations and histories. This is the work of reflection and usually requires staring at the field, or out the window for a very long time. Sometimes art and writings come of this work. It is always true that forgoing this work will cloud a person with irritability, confusion, and an extreme desire to rest.

Farming Experience:

In 2014 I began working in Maine on a 12 acre organic market farm called Peacemeal Farm. I’d call it baptism by fire. We all lived on the farm, worked sun up to sun down, and did everything together. This farm is known for working long hard days. The time-tested methods of harvesting, weeding, planting, washing and marketing remain my primary reference today. I landed next at Gardens of Egan in Northfield, MN. Brassicas and conveyor belts was the main game. It was the first job I accepted that did not offer housing and livable compensation. I slept in my little car for a month until I found a room to rent on Craigslist. The people are my favorite everywhere I go, and this is especially true for this 2015 farm crew at Gardens of Egan. Out of survival, I prioritized a higher wage farm job, which delivered me into a management position for an 800+ member CSA for three years. I coordinated the daily operations of a farm crew of 8-12 people. The comradery I feel with this team remains unmatched. When I realized that my middle-management position made me complicit in labor exploitation, I began job hunting like my life depended on it. I returned to a career in conservation as an environmental educator working for the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation. I started Dropseed Farm in 2023 with a renewed outlook. I have reconnected with formative mentors in the conservation field and I carry those influences into my farming endeavor.

Do I plan to farm for the rest of my life? Farming is something that I am doing right now, but it is not the end-goal. I am working towards us all spending more time being creative.

What did I do before farming? I worked as an environmental educator (also known as a Naturalist) leading outdoor learning programs that fulfill state curriculum standards. I have a Bachelors degree in Forestry from Iowa State University.