Our History

Featherstone Fruits and Vegetables was founded by Jack and Jenni in the spring of 1995 when the two of them moved to the land and planted the first 1⁄4 acre of strawberries. They erected the first electric fence to exclude deer that summer, and installed rudimentary irrigation to bring water to the field from a spring fed draw nearby.

In 1996 Jack and Jenni took out the first of several loans to capitalize the farm, purchasing a cultivating tractor and a few fieldwork tools, and constructing a 1200 sq. ft. heated greenhouse. That year they planted 100 or so grape vines and began cover cropping in earnest in fields that now are in vegetable production.

In the spring of 1997 Jack’s brother Ed arrived from Oregon, where he had been managing another organic vegetable farm. The three of them teamed up and launched their first full time vegetable season, taking up farmer’s markets in Winona and Rochester and initiating a 20 member subscription (C.S.A.) program. Their 8 acres that year were certified organic by O.G.B.A. (Organic Grower’s and Buyer’s Association) for the first time.

1998 saw Rhys’ arrival at Featherstone. Fresh from managing orchards in the Pacific Northwest, Rhys was looking for orchards in the area to buy and came to vegetables as an experiment of sorts. Additional loans in the spring of the year funded the purchase of a second tractor and a number of new field tools. In 1998 Featherstone produced 14 acres of vegetables and served a 35 member CSA. In late autumn Ed, Jack and Rhys salvaged a 3600 sq.ft. greenhouse from a Winona florist, and erected it at the farm for tomato production.

The following year, 1999, Ed decided that the season would be his last and Rhys made the commitment to become a full partner in the business. Once again, new loans provided capital for another tractor purchase and the addition of more specialized vegetable equipment. Field production grew to 20 acres and supplied a growing number of wholesale accounts. Rhys launched the Rochester CSA program and found 44 members in the first year! In October he applied for and received a grant from the state of Minnesota to construct additional unheated hoophouses on the farm the following spring.

In 2000, we decided not to increase our acreage or debt any further, but to do more with what we had. To this end we modified several of our tools to increase efficiency, and employed more people to care for what we plant. Our goal this season was to serve 160 shareholders in the subscription program while maintaining our presence at farmer’s markets and in stores in our area. Jenni decided to scale back her commitment to the farm this year as well, limiting herself to writing the CSA newsletter, so that she could pursue her work as a doula more thoroughly.