Sapsucker Farms - beyond “Minnesota nice”
On June 4, we left our home in California. For months, we had been excitedly preparing for our first WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) experience at Sapsucker Farms in Mora, Minnesota. A brief chat over zoom assured us that our hosts were “nice.” We committed to working for five weeks at the farm in exchange for room and food. Oh, and cider! One of the most appealing aspects of Sapsucker Farms was that it not only grows vegetables for CSA boxes, but it also has apple orchards and produces hard cider in a variety of flavors.
Our main reason for WWOOFing was to connect more intimately with folks that live in different areas of the U.S. We’ve traveled to many foreign lands and realized we know very little about life in rural communities domestically. This was a great opportunity for us to get to know people while also gaining new skills. The learning began straight away! We received a warm welcome by Jim and Debbie Morrison and their two adorable dogs, Dilbert & Xena. They gave us a quick tour around the property: the cider barn, the bee box field, the bunk house (our own little cabin), the hoop houses, the hen area, the sugar barn (for maple syrup), and the orchards which make up a portion of their 172 acres. Our closest neighbor was half a mile away.
On our first full day, it was established that I would oversee the chicken coop - something not too technical that needs daily attendance. The romaine lettuce was bolting so I also helped get that out of the field and processed for the cooler. Martin would tackle clearing the prairie vegetation around the apple trees and repairing the drip system. We really appreciated how patient and understanding Jim and Debbie were with a couple of city slickers. We’re fast studies and they are seasoned WWOOF hosts - providing enough guidance to build our confidence while also leaving us to work through the small struggles to build our confidence and agency. My first personal achievement was driving the ATV; I’m mechanically averse and would default to walking the property versus driving. But when you have to get work done, and there’s a heavy load, these vehicles come in handy…and they’re pretty fun! Each day, we’d wake and meet Jim and Debbie on the back porch, enjoy a cup of coffee and then head out to address the needs of the day. The workload is reasonable and we are able to grab sustenance as we need it, including the Sapsucker Farms homemade root beer slushy!
There are various ways Jim and Debbie show kindness with their farm: re-establishing prairie land, planting wildflowers to support an endangered bee, and putting up several houses for the Purple Martins and Chimney Swifts, bird species that are threatened and are facing plummeting populations. They truly care about nature. They also contribute greatly to their community by offering various ciders, apple juice, root beer, kombucha, honey, maple syrup, eggs and heaps of organic produce at very reasonable prices. The cider barn is the central draw for folks far and wide. A different food truck rolls up every Friday, Saturday and Sunday - a welcomed change to local fare. This is not just a watering hole; it’s a family affair including educational presentations and arts-n-crafts workshops.
By the afternoon, the parking lot, including the plot across the road that a nice neighbor provides, is at capacity. Live music is happening on one of the stages. Children are playing board games, foosball or corn-hole. This is not a quick stop. It’s the place for people to while away the day: stroll around the property, visit the hens, swing in a hammock, catch up with each other. Sapsucker Farms not only connects people far and wide, it draws in a team of locals to help run the whole operation. It fosters stability, diversity, and Minnesota “nice” all around.
What goes around comes around, as they say. People come by with bags of rhubarb - a kind contribution to the cider! One family, the Dunsmores, offered their whole supply of rhubarb. When we showed up to their property, Adam was already on the J.O.B. - piles of pulled rhubarb were waiting for us to cut and store in bins. Pretty soon Adam’s wife, Jodie, and their son, Levi, pitched in. Together, we picked over 600 pounds of rhubarb. As an outsider, I was thrilled to learn about the family, visit their award-winning cows and discuss Levi’s plans to run a bee pollinator business. After just a couple of hours of knowing each other, the Dunsmores invited us to attend Levi’s graduation party. That’s “Minnesota nice.” (Unfortunately, we’re away that weekend, but the hospitality warmed our hearts.)
Martin and Sabrina show off a truck load of rhubarb with Bob Van de Camp.
The next day we headed to Bob Van de Camp’s home to cut up his supply of rhubarb. The day was hotter and the work wasn’t easy, but Bob kept us entertained with his stories - many of which were very personal and not what I would have expected from this old-timer. Turns out, one of Bob’s sons lives in Woodstock, Virginia - my family’s “neck of the woods.” When we were done, he insisted on taking us on a tour of his flower garden. At one point, I stopped and said to Martín, “This is the HumanKindClub in action. This is why we volunteer, why we WWOOF.”
Kizzy holds up a cabbage leaf in the middle of our CSA prep day.
These first two weeks have been fully satisfying. We have enjoyed the long days of labor and leisure with our hosts. It feels like we are an extension of their community. Each time we’re introduced to an employee, neighbor, or friend, we’re met with smiles - not the saccharine type either. Everyone can tell by our accent, or lack thereof, that we’re not from these parts, but we are not “othered.” It would be understandable if our story were to be dismissed - we are short-term volunteers after all. At Sapsucker Farms we have meaningful discussions and personal exchanges with our hosts. Jim and Debbie are open to suggestions and encourage WWOOFers to contribute something unique to the farm, drawing from personal and/or professional experience. Martin is providing insights from his restaurant operation experience and I plan to create an educational activity for the trails. They both willingly placed a HumanKindClub sticker on their laptops! Some may question Minnesota’s reputation for being nice; but here at Sapsucker Farms, it’s in the groundwater.
Debbie and Jim Morrison, founders of Sapsucker Farms
I asked Debbie to share her thoughts on kindness. Here’s her take on how running Sapsucker Farms is a way to be kind:
To Herself: I’m expressing my passion for growing, nature, animals, conservation and community.
To Those She Knows: I get a chance to work side-by-side with them, inspire and challenge them to do what they really want to do.
To Those She Doesn’t Know: We have a community where they can all come together to learn what we do and we learn what they do AND we belong to WWOOF where we invite people into our lives to live and work with us.
To Nature: We have a profound interest in regenerative agriculture and merging agriculture with conservation, creating habitat for birds, insects and a diverse host of species.