Food that Heals: Caring for Land and Community at Rising Sun Farm and Orchard
Lindsey Baris and Ryan Browne are rebuilding soil and community health through organic, pasture-based, and small-scale practices on their farm outside of River Falls, Wisconsin.
Story by Sarah Wescott | Photography and Videography by Sarah Carroll
As you may have guessed by its name, Rising Sun Farm and Orchard in River Falls, Wisconsin is a sight for sore eyes at the break of dawn. At the farm’s entrance, glowy fog engrosses a small farm store brimming with fresh vegetables, eggs, syrup, honey, and cider as the dawn approaches.
A chorus of human life is not far behind. Ryan and Lindsey emerge from their cabin with their daughter Tillia in tow, ready to greet workers, interns, and customers who pour in with the brightness of the day. In addition to their on-farm store, they offer farm-direct lamb and pork as well as a CSA.
A group of farm friends leaving for a canoe trip pile into the farm store to stock up on fresh food for their journey. A friend of the family arrives to look after Tillia, a daily deed she has done for close to four years out of the kindness of her heart and in return for a steady supply of veggies. Roger, Ryan’s father, and farming predecessor emerges on bike from another cabin in the sugar bush, leisurely pedaling down the lane in search of the morning paper.
This community shares more than just the morning ritual at Rising Sun, they also unite over the values of sustainable, humane, and ethical practices.
Take Rising Sun’s organic U-pick apple orchard, the only of its kind serving the Twin Cities metro area. A dear friend of Lindsey and Ryan prunes their apple orchard by hand and maintains traditional varieties that are dying out. Instead of pesticides, Rising Sun uses insect traps, regular monitoring of tree health, and alternative bug repellents to keep pests at bay.
In the garden, interns looking to gain farming experience weed by hand, reducing the need for chemical herbicides. In addition, the farming team at Rising Sun doesn’t till the soil. This builds the soil structure, bolsters drought resistance, and reduces erosion. “That’s our goal, to increase the amount of land that’s continually covered as opposed to allowing it to be tilled and exposed to the elements where it can be washed away and the carbon can be released into the atmosphere,” states Ryan.
As a result of these practices, their produce is certified organic through MOSA and the Real Organic Project. The vegetables go to local stores, a farmer’s market, and into the farm’s CSA program, or Community Supported Agriculture, a pay-upfront subscription for consumers to regularly receive boxes of produce directly from the farm.
On the curved hillside, the family rotationally grazes sheep and chicken, leaving behind nutrient-rich manure that feeds the microorganisms under the soil’s surface. When the microorganisms eat and the living roots of plants flourish, the system can store carbon underground which can help mitigate climate change.
And then there’s the maple syrup. Each March, friends and community members help with the sugaring process. Unlike many agricultural products, maple syrup does not require killing the plant. This means the maple trees at Rising Sun grow strong and tall, offering up a renewable batch of sap each winter.
In the coming years, Lindsey, Ryan, and their community of helpers want to continue testing more sustainable practices. With help from a grant from the Mill City Farmers Market, they added silvopasture, a system with livestock pasturing among trees. The silvopasture includes hazelnut trees, honeyberry, blueberry, mulberry, and elderberry plants, totaling 120 perennials for animals to graze around.
Despite how naturally the little family of three may fit into this community, they weren’t always dreaming of farm fields. Ryan, having grown up on the farm, left home to attend The Evergreen State College in Washington state where he would later meet Lindsey. Like Ryan, Lindsey left her home in the Missouri suburbs in search of a life outside of the lines.
Lindsey took a soil science and ecological agriculture course that exposed her to the balance and beauty of farming and Ryan began volunteering at farms in the area. After a visit home to Ryan’s dad, the couple started seriously considering joining the next generation of Rising Sun Farm.
In 2012, they returned to the Midwest and began taking daily lessons in farming from Ryan’s dad, Roger. Just three years later, they purchased the farm business from him and the neighboring property with the orchard. Today, they run the entire farm along with a lot of help from friends, family, and neighbors. Their support system makes their business possible and, in turn, their business makes the farm a resource for the community.
Talking with Lindsey, it’s clear that this reciprocal relationship was crafted with intention. She openly shares her growing practices at the local farmers market, constantly encourages friends to come and breathe in the life of the farm, and wants guests and visitors alike to feel as though this land is shared.
For the couple, farming is about far more than food production. It’s about products that they feel good eating, a nourishing community environment, and a life that centers togetherness in nature. “It’s possible to have a farm that’s healing people's souls, as well as their bodies through nutritious foods,” Lindsey states.
Ryan and Lindsey are members of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, the National Young Farmers Coalition, and the Land Stewardship Project. Lindsey serves on the board of the Whole Earth Market Co-op and River Falls Farmers Market. She also serves as the vice president of the Pierce/Pepin chapter of the Wisconsin Farmer’s Union. The couple donates food to local causes whenever possible.
“If you’re going to be a farmer, you have to have principles that expand beyond growing food because this is a very hard industry. It’s hard physical work, it’s not very monetarily rewarding, so if you’re just in it for a job, it’s not going to work out,” says Lindsey. “My husband says it all the time: We’re some of the wealthiest people. We may not have a ton of money, but we have a ton of other things. We live in beauty, we are taking care of things that rely on us, we are protecting the land, and that really increases the quality of our life.”
You can find their products in River Falls Wisconsin at their on-farm store, at Whole Earth Market Co-op, Fresh and Natural in Hudson, Wisconsin, and River Falls Farmers Market.
For more information about the farm, head to their website at www.risingsunfarmandorchard.com or find them on Facebook at Rising Sun Farm and Orchard.
