Fifth Bend Farm is a small no-till farm that practices regenerative agriculture. We love growing, cooking, and sharing food with friends and family. We understand that high quality produce starts with high quality soil, soil that is full of life.
“We are obsessive about soil quality!“
We produce our own compost (examined under a microscope to improve soil biology), we focus on feeding the soil instead of the plants, we practice crop rotation and cover cropping, and we use only organic and natural soil inputs.
Our crop selection strategy centers around growing crops that have proven to be profitable at a small scale–fast growing root vegetables, greens, and select summer vegetables. We also love to experiment, however, and find ourselves frequently planting crops that are not so profitable. These crops may be highly productive in terms of calories–potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, jicama; have high culinary value–specialty herbs, microgreens, heirloom peppers; or they may have high cultural value–heirloom crops that are endangered because we treat crops as commodities and grow only the most profitable varieties.
“We are happy to take a loss on some of these crops for the sake of learning and promoting other values.”
We also produce pastured eggs since the chickens fit nicely into our soil building system and our kids love them!
We always grow more produce than we can sell or eat and we give much of it away every week.
“Everyone should have access to local produce and know who grows their food.”
Contributions to support our food sharing program are welcome and appreciated.
Our farm has a bold vision for the future – we want to become an incubator farm that empowers aspiring farmers to start their own agricultural and food-related businesses. We believe that by providing a supportive environment, access to resources, and expert guidance, we can help cultivate the next generation of successful farmers. Our incubator farm program will be designed to be a collaborative effort, where farmers-in-training work side by side with experienced farmers and food entrepreneurs to gain hands-on experience, develop their skills, and build a support network.
Our aim is to ensure that our employees are treated with respect and dignity.
While we are still a small farm and have a lot to learn, we are committed to paying all workers a living wage, providing fresh produce for their families, and paid time off. We are not yet profitable but we plan to share any farm profits with our employees. We believe that the success of our farm depends on the hard work and dedication of our employees, and we want to ensure that they are rewarded fairly for their contributions and have plenty of opportunity for advancement.