Photo via Facebook / Stone Bank Farm Market
The Stone Bank Farm Market (N68 W33208, County Hwy. K, in Stone Bank, near Oconomowoc), features fresh produce and pasture raised meat, along with Wisconsin made delicacies like syrup, cheese, milk, yogurt, jam and flour. The 75-acre property includes a working farm and woodland, but most importantly, it serves as a platform to engage and educate the community about the importance of conservation, soil health and our connection to food.
Stone Bank Farm Market is located on farmland that Scottish immigrant John Ferguson purchased in 1844. Ferguson and his descendants farmed and operated a gristmill and dairy operations for nearly a century. Agricultural activity on the land ceased during the 1950s, when Ferguson’s son-in-law left farming to pursue other work. No farming occurred on the land for nearly 50 years.
In 2003, the land was purchased by the Faye Gehl Conservation Foundation. Faye and her husband, John, were dedicated to conservation and preservation. When Faye died in 1990, John and his family established the Faye Gehl Conservation Foundation in her memory to help protect the natural resources of the Lake Country area. The Conservation has protected and preserved nearly 1,000 acres of land, including the Stone Bank Farm Market property.
Reviving Land Through Regenerative Practices
Regenerative agriculture is described as regeneration of the land for future use through fundamentally improving soil health. Stone Bank Farm has three greenhouses and raised bed gardens where they grow food produce such as their signature salad mix, spinach, arugula, Swiss chard and kale. The greenhouses are heated, so they can grow some produce year-round.
Their Red Devon beef, Berkshire pigs, meat chickens, egg hens and lamb are pasture raised. Michelle Relford, manager and the “idea person” at Stone Bank Farm Market, says they use rotational grazing, in which the animals constantly move around to different pastures. The practice is healthier for the animals and allows for better manure distribution.
In addition, Relford says they grow their own feed for the chickens, and their pigs also pasture in the surrounding woods. They have beehives that help with pollination and produce honey, which is sold at the market.
“We use no synthetic inputs—no chemicals, no synthetic herbicides and no pesticides,” says Relford. “Nature is all there; you just have to bring the earthworms and bugs back to life. They will create the nutrients that plants and grass need to grow. You don’t need any inputs; you just need biology.”
Market and Education
The market is in a former Presbyterian church originally built in 1858. The market features produce grown on the farm, along with their grass-fed and pasture-raised meats. They also partner with other farmers to provide items they don’t grow. They’ve got potatoes from Olden Organics, in Ripon, Wis., and milk and yogurt from Clover Meadows Family Farm. Customers can find Wisconsin cheeses, and shelf stable items such as Wisconsin-grown and milled flour, cornmeal and oats, jams, granola and beans.
The market includes a kitchen with a lunch menu available Wednesday through Saturday. Four full-time chefs make weekly prepared meals and grab-and-go items. “The idea behind the kitchen is to use any leftover produce from the farm so we have zero food waste,” says Relford.
An education building on the farm hosts workshops and programs for kids age 3 and up. They also host cooking classes and a Seasonal Eating for Your Health series, in which they partner with dieticians to promote healthy seasonal eating.
Yoga classes are held on Wednesday and Saturday in the restored barn. Night Out on the Farm events include music. Dinner in the Barn events, held monthly, include a guest chef or speaker.
“We want to bring awareness and education about food and let the community know about what the Faye Gehl Conservation Foundation is doing in our area,” says Relford.
For more information, visit stonebankmarket.com
