181. Oakhaven Permaculture Center
Hesperus, Colorado · By Rachel Turiel Hinds In another time and place Tom Riesing crunched numbers on Wall Street. Christie Berven taught elementary school. Since meeting in 1998, the two have become born-again zealots for their cause: soil, earthworms, beet greens. Tom and Christie are the creators of Oakhaven Permaculture Center, tucked into the Gambel oaks and lichen-covered rocks at 8,700 feet at the mouth of La Plata Canyon near Durango, Colorado. It consists of a 2,200-square-foot greenhouse, outdoor gardens, ponds, chickens, and the ever-watchful gazes of its creators.
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182. Whipstone Farm
Paulden, Arizona · By Tim Swinehart Having cleaned chimneys for much of his life, Cory Rade decided about ten years ago to mix things up a bit and try farming. He was unfazed by the fact that he and his family had very little farming experience. Today, as he talks about how he came to love being a farmer, Cory retains some of the archetypal chimney sweep’s good nature – a sparkle in his eye, excitement in his voice – as he describes how they learned to handle the soil on Whipstone Farm, north of Chino Valley, Arizona, and how he lives and works there today with his partner, Shanti Leinow.
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183. Bob Kauer’s Shared Harvest Community Garden
Durango, Colorado · By Charles E. Jones and Rose Houk When Bob Kauer purchased thirty-six acres of an historic farm east of Durango, Colorado, in 2001, he wanted to live a dream. He would have Gaited Morgan horses frolicking in pastures (which he got), and he would raise a bountiful organic garden beside the Florida River. Even more, he desired a place where the community could tend and harvest copious amounts of produce, with enough left over to give away to charities. Thus, Bob provided an acre of land and the water for a garden where “we share the work and we share the produce.”
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184. Thirteen Mile Lamb & Wool Company

Belgrad, MT · Dave Tyler and Becky Weed epitomize modern day pioneers, blending historic roots with 21st Century business savvy. Drawing from the rich history and inspiration of the early settlers' love for the fertile Montana landscape and combining it with today's entrepreneurial world of Internet-based businesses and rural FedEx delivery, Dave and Becky created the Thirteen Mile Lamb and Wool Company. The family-run businesses offers certified organic products and meats from their flock of sheep and herd of cattle in southwestern Montana.

185. Angelic Organics
Caledonia, IL · About 75 miles from the booming metropolis of Chicago, Angelic Organics grows a dizzying array of vegetables and herbs on about 25 acres of the entire 90-acre farm. Their fresh vegetables and herbs are sold directly to over 1,000 customers who buy Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) shares in their farming operations each year, making them among the largest -- if not the largest -- of such operations in the United States, grossing more than $575,000 annually.
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186. Diné Be’iina and the Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land
When one first sees a flock of Navajo Churro sheep moving across the sage-covered flats of Navajo Nation lands, it is easy to imagine that they have been here, adapting to this land, since time immemorial. Their colors – buffs, browns, silvery-blues, cream, and black – seem to reflect the sky and the geological strata on the cliffs above them. They are the first and oldest continuously produced breed of sheep in North America. The ones on the Colorado Plateau today are probably descendants of those brought into northern New Mexico by the Oñate entrada in 1598, after their ancestors had adapted for millennia to the arid conditions in Spain, northern Africa, and the Middle East.
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187. Bow View Farm
Crofton, Nebraska · Nestled in the rolling countryside of northeast Nebraska, farmer Curt Arens along with his wife, Donna, continue earning his livelihood from the family land first purchased by his great grandfather in 1914, sprinkling sunflower seeds, Christmas trees and other diversification into the growing mix. Even though his young daughters are just four and two years old, Curt's strategic plans for the farm are motivated by a desire to continue to keep Bow View Farm profitable, manageable as a family-run business and not needing to join the mega-farm trend of more acres, equipment, resources and employees. "My goal is to create income opportunities for our kids to remain on the farm," adds Curt.
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188. Darthia Farm
Gouldsboro, Maine · To some, gliding over new-fallen snow in a horse-drawn sleigh might seem like a wintertime fantasy -- or a scene from a Courier & Ives print. To Darthia Farm, a 50 acre homestead and certified organic farm in Gouldsboro, Maine, it's a way of life. Owned by Cindy and Bill Thayer, the farm grows a diverse assortment of fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers while also tending to small flocks of chickens, turkeys, goats and sheep as well as a few beef cows and Haflinger work horses. With annual sales topping $75,000, their numerous farm-fresh and value-added food and fiber products are sold through their on-site Darthia Farm Store, mail-order catalog and, in the case of their packaged salad mix, to a local high-end restaurant in the summer.
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189. Crones' Cradle Conserve
Citra, Florida . "I think right now we're juggling about eight different businesses here at Crones' Cradle Conserve," Jeri Baldwin says with a smile. From workshops to market gardening, from retreat facilities to value-added products, Jeri's vision as owner and manager of the Conserve is to be an on-going "demonstration project," exemplifying how business can merge caring for the land, community and connecting people with quality food sources and education.
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190. Agua Linda
Amado, AZ · Harvest spring lettuce, wander a corn maze, pick pumpkins, flock with the sheep in the petting zoo. Whatever the season, Agua Linda Farm in Amado, Arizona, offers a buffet of reasons to keep coming back to the farm throughout the year. And that's just how owner Stewart Loew likes it. "We always have something available to pick, eat or experience," says Stewart. "We provide a slice of farm life, an opportunity to have fun in a new setting for an afternoon."
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