Frontier Co-op is investing $210,000 to advance regenerative agriculture at Etzel Sugar Grove Farm over the next three years. Located north of Marion, the farm has been operated by Indian Creek Nature Center since it was gifted in 2016.
The farm has been certified organic since 2021. Frontier Co-op’s investment will allow the farm to quadruple its production capacity. This will be done through regenerative land management practices, such as controlled burns and the removal of invasive species, the construction of a 6,000 square foot workshop, and increasing the utilization of the permaculture field to 100%.
produce favorable yields using ethical and sustainable methods. Increasing the capacity and production of the permaculture field will make it economically self-sufficient. An active farm cooperation that shows how a farm can be financially and environmentally sustainable can be a powerful tool for educating the public. Regenerative agriculture practices can improve the health of Iowa’s farmland, watersheds, environment and people.
Bedard, Frontier Co-op’s chief executive officer, in the release.
Etzel Sugar Grove Farm has a 6-acre permaculture field growing organic produce, a flock of more than 100 pasture-raised chickens, 14 acres of woodlands, an apiary, and a 500-tree orchard.
Frontier Co-op can be credited with the farm’s growth after an initial investment of $150,000 in 2018. That support helped get organic production started at the farm and inspired others to invest in regenerative agriculture. After Frontier’s initial gift, six corporations and 25 private donors have collectively contributed more than $1.7 million to expanding the farm’s operations.
“The renewed investment from Frontier Co-op will help make Etzel Sugar Grove Farm economically viable and put more organic produce in the local market. This educates farmers and consumers across Iowa, and the country, about an alternative agriculture system that frees farmers to earn a living growing the food we need and care for the land that sustains us all,” said John Myers, executive director at Indian Creek Nature Center.
