View the Ashland County Grows web page here!
September 2025 Newsletter:
Local Farm Tours are a Hit!
Thanks to five local farmers in Ashland and Bayfield counties for opening their farms to community tours! Brian Clements, owner/farmer of Northcroft Farms in Ashland County, organized the tours in the spring and lined up a monthly visit with a variety of food producers each visit.
To date, about 85 people have attended the first four tours, coming from as far as Duluth, Hayward, and Park Falls. There were many positive comments about being able to visit family farms, and several dozen visitors asked to be on our email list to stay in touch with a local food movement.
Farm hosts included Suri Fina Alpaca Farm (Washburn), Wild Hollow Farm (Ashland), ThroughDirt Farm (Washburn), Hermit Creek Farm (Highbridge), and Northcroft Farm (Ashland).
The final tour will be at Brian’s Northcroft Farm, 67240 Cross Rd, Ashland, on Saturday, October 18 from 3:00 to 4:30 PM. Registration is not required; tours occur rain or shine.
Brian’s Facebook page says: “Northcroft Farm is a sustainably oriented northern Wisconsin farm dedicated to the production of high-quality fruits and vegetables.”
(715) 413-0509 for more information.
The Giving Garden Project – Adopt a Rhubarb! – Starting in 2026
An ad hoc group of people in Ashland and Bayfield counties are starting a local program that encourages people to plant edible, sharable food on their properties. We’re calling it The Giving Garden Project: Each year starting in 2026 for the next three years, we will be giving away free rhubarb, berry plants (2027), and asparagus (2028)Will you adopt one or more free plant roots to plant on your farm? Ideally, adopters will offer free ripened stalks to CSA customers or at farmers market, but you are also allowed to sell them, especially to local restaurants that can cook with them.Locally sourced plants will be ready for distribution in May 2026, in pots with local soil amendments.Please let us know if you can participate by adopting some free plants!
Meet Big Lake Organics!
Farmers have their own compost piles on farm, and a locally owned and operated composting business has composted soil amendments for commercial and residential uses. (Excerpt from web site) Big Lake Organics grew out of the composting program at Northland College. Almost 30 years ago, students started the campus composting program, which eventually became part of the Hulings Rice Food Center.
By 2020 the demand for both compost collection and finished compost in the Chequamegon Bay region had far outpaced the capacity of the college’s compost infrastructure. In the true spirit of business incubation, the college had proved the value of a compost business and was ready to spin-off as its own business.
That’s where Todd Rothe (former farmer in Ashland County) and Jamie Tucker, co-founders of Big Lake Organics and Northland alumni, stepped in. Launched in 2021, Big Lake Organics set out to divert as much organic waste from the landfill as possible, and turn it into rich, healthy soil that can help to protect our water, stabilize the climate, and grow nutritious food. Also employed by Big Lake Organics is Ryan Padrutt, owner/farmer of ThroughDirt Farm, Washburn.
Finished products and costs for commercial and residential products are HERE (can be ordered by the cubic yard and delivered). Email info@biglakeorganics.com; Call 715-209-2357
(Quick note: UW Extension doesn’t sponsor or endorse businesses, but we do want to share info with you about related services that our local food producers might need. Let us know if you want to share info about your product or service related to local food production and services.)
Meet Marengo Valley Sheds
37973 Sate Highway 13, Highbridge; 715-316-3607
This local company makes custom-built animal shelters, chicken coops, gardening/farming sheds, portable cottages, garages, hunting cabins, and playhouses. They offer free delivery within 50 miles. Stop in to see what’s being built in the new workshop on Hwy 13!
(Quick note: UW Extension doesn’t sponsor or endorse businesses, but we do want to share info with you about related services that our local food producers might need. Let us know if you want to share info about your product or service related to local food production and services.)
Need Soil Tested?
The University of Wisconsin Soils Forage Analysis Lab in Madison offers affordable soil testing for farmers and horticulturists. Visit the soil lab for information about and instructions for sampling soil for soil testing.Sample kits, submission forms, brochures, and mailing envelopes are available for pickup in the Ashland County office during office hours, or you can email soil-lab@mailplus.wisc.edu to request the testing kit, which includes sampling instructions, the form you need to submit, and bags for mailing the samples.You can reach the Soil and Forage Analysis office by phone at 608-262-4364.
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Wanna Webinar About Farm Topics?
We’ve heard from some local food producers who would like 60-minute webinars this fall and winter on specific topics, as well as scheduled time to just talk with each other in person.
LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS!
What time of year works for you?
Topics I’ve heard about so far:
Land Access: What are some strategies we could talk about to share land access or to collaborate on land to grow more food. I’ve found numerous great specialists about this that could help us share land, rent owners’ land, etc.
Volunteers: I get asked by volunteers who want to do farmwork to help farmers with special projects (raise a greenhouse) or even pull weeds or plant in the greenhouse. Do you want to talk about arranging a farm volunteer corps?
What topics do YOU want to talk together about with others farmers?
Emerging Wisconsin Crop Elderberries
Thinking about adding a fruit crop to your farm or homestead?
Recently, a Spring Green experimental farm called Savanna Institute’s Valley Farm hosted an elderberry U-Pick free event! The elderberry breeder with the Savanna Institute offered pickings with the mission of getting opinions about elderberries and their commercial opportunities.
Help for Farm Stress
To all the farmers and livestock ranchers rising with the dawn and burning the midnight oil every day, working in the field and the barn and the packing shed and the market: We see you.
We recognize how hard the job of growing and raising our food and farm products can be. If you’re feeling the toll of physical, mental, or financial stress related to your agricultural work, please visit UW Extension’s farmers first aid web site.
The COMET program is especially useful and is virtual and only takes at most two hours. Let me know if you want a free training scheduled for a group of us taught by Extension specialists.
HAVE A QUESTION?
Lissa Radke serves Ashland County as the Community Development Educator. To learn more about Community Development Programming and the role of Extension in Ashland County, send an email to lissa.radke@wisc.edu or call the Ashland County office at 715-682-7017.
In accordance with federal law and its enacting regulations, any person with limited English proficiency (LEP) has the right to request and receive information related to Extension’s educational programming and services in a language other than English. In order to receive assistance with interpretation and/or translation needs, or any other matter related to language access issues, please contact: oaic@extension.wisc.edu
