Posts

New Farm (Club) market eases operations

,

Loma Farm and Farm Club now have a third farm operation in the family: the on site farm market and processing facility opened earlier this year. For owners Gary and Allison Jonas, and Sara and Nic Theisen, it’s been a long time coming. “When we did the first drawings, we had the market on it,” says Nic Theisen. Until it opened, they compressed the bakery, brewing operation and market into the existing Farm Club restaurant. Which worked, sort of — space was at a premium, especially in the kitchen. That was then, and this, finally, is now. The nearly 2,000-square-foot market boasts two levels. The upstairs is home to the market and bakery; the lower level is mostly for storage. “We use the new building for canned and bottled beer and cider conditioning and cold storage,” says Theisen.

Read more
/by

Nic Theisen, Loma keep farming, even in winter

, ,

“Growing food in summer and fall is easy,” says Loma Farm owner Nic Theisen. “Growing during winter is a more interesting story.” Spoiler alert: he’s right. Winter is cold and snowy. There’s significantly less light. It costs lots of money to provide electricity if you want heat spaces to promote growing. It’s a huge challenge to try to grow under those conditions. Why even bother? There are a few reasons. One is because Theisen wants to promote better, longer-lasting use of the land. Another is to keep his workers employed year-round. And there are those that depend on the products from the farm, especially Farm Club, the nearby restaurant that Theisen and his wife Sara own along with Gary and Allison Jonas.

Read more
/by

Growing Farmers, Feeding Artists at Loma

Spending a moment in the shade with Nic Theisen is a treat. It doesn’t take long into our interview before I start wishing I could be one of Loma Farm’s privileged 50 CSA shareholders, to be invited to private farm gatherings, receive personalized typeset pressed thank-you notes, and follow more closely the agricultural calendar as visually and deliciously evoked by his wit and craft.

Read more
/by