The bluff country of southeast Minnesota is a mix of high ridges and river valleys that present a variety of opportunities and challenges for agriculture, particularly for a diverse vegetable farm like Featherstone.

With its main harvesting and packing area settled on an extremely fertile flood plain west of the town of Rushford, Featherstone Farm grows vegetables on some of the richest, most productive topsoil in the entire region.  Over the millennia, flooding from the nearby Root River* has laid down 5+ feet of black silt loam in this area, on top of a coarse sand subsoil that provides excellent drainage.  This combination creates a remarkably advantageous environment for many vegetable crops, and is the “secret” to Featherstone Farm’s great tasting carrots, squash and other vegetables.

But because all horticultural crops- from asparagus to zucchini- each have a unique set of soil and microclimate preferences- and because hailstorms, pest infestations and the like pose such persistent threats- Featherstone Farm also grows crops on several farms in valleys and on ridges nearby.  So potatoes can be rotated over several years among fields miles apart, to prevent the buildup of Colorado Potato Beetles over time.  Broccoli can be planted on several fields in a variety of locations in a single season, as a hedge against drought or flood.  And tomatoes can always be planted on high, dry ridge tops where good air movement helps keep moisture born disease at bay.

The diverse topography of the bluff country has also created a landscape of small farms- dairies, livestock, and grain producers- that support a vital local farm economy in the region.  Featherstone Farm is fortunate to have a place in such a unique and vibrant rural community as Fillmore County.

* now held at bay ½ mile to the south by a state highway road grade; the area has not flooded since the road went in 100 years ago.

Last updated on March 4, 2011 by Featherstone Farm