A little about Dakota, our lead farmer

My interest in farming can be traced back to when I was a kid. I would work in the garden with my mom where we would grow tomatoes, peppers, and corn. Once I hit high school my interest in farming grew. I started my own garden in the backyard growing cantaloupe, carrots, and tomatoes. I also started an interest in homesteading. My grandfather bought me subscriptions to homesteading magazines to help me develop this interest.

After graduating high school I went to Purdue to join the engineering program. While there I learned about hydroponics and aquaponics. This stirred in me a new interest in farming technologies. For my senior year I had to create a project that utilized the skills I learned there. For this project I decided to design a hydroponic system and to create a business plan around the product. I built an aeroponic system which utilizes sprayers to water the plants. I can recall how the living room would smell of the fertilizers I used. As part of that project I also got to meet other farmers that used hydroponic technology.

After graduating college, my interest in farming and technology continued. I continued to develop my hydroponic system and to learn about farming. Over time I started to get busy with life and work and did less with hydroponics. Around 2020 my interest in hydroponics and farming started to be developed again. I came across microgreens while reading about farming and took an interest. I then took several months to learn as much as I could about microgreens. After a few months of learning I started to grow microgreens. I experimented with growing radishes and learned what worked and what didn’t. In the beginning I often had failed crops due to issues such as ventilation and over watering. In the fall of 2020 I started to sell microgreens to a few people. I then  decided to make a business out of it to be able to sell microgreens and to start my vision of having healthy food for people. I developed the business with the vision to help people grow in their development and to build better communities and a better planet.

As my business develops, my vision is to develop local farms throughout the US and eventually other countries. I also will keep the business working towards sustainability and organic agriculture.