Welcome to Encore Farm

Encore Farm is located three miles west of Stillwater, Minnesota. On three acres, I grow heirloom varieties of edible dry beans using methods that conserve and nourish the soil. The farm supports thriving populations of birds, butterflies and good bugs. In keeping with Wendell Berry’s belief that the best fertilizer for land is the footsteps of the farmer, I work by hand, using well-designed wheel hoes and hand tools.

My mission is to introduce people to the beauty and flavor of heirloom beans, thereby helping to maintain their lively diversity. They are grown and tended using hand tools, and are harvested, threshed, and winnowed by hand. In addition, they are sorted by hand at least three times, and are packaged kitchen-ready.

This venture began in 2007 as a midlife career change, after working on another farm for three years convinced me to start my own. As much an idea as a location, Encore Farm is dedicated to fresh starts and new beginnings.

Currently I live in St. Paul with my husband Jim, who helps me farm, and our border collie Eli, who doesn’t.