Local farm advocates for sustainable food practices
Whether it’s your first semester at Augustana or you are a life-long Sioux Falls community member, there are always new places to explore in South Dakota. Luckily, the city offers many opportunities to practice sustainability while adventuring with friends.
The Good Earth Farm LLC continually provides fresh experiences that promote sustainable practices. This Community Supported Agriculture farm spans five acres in Lennox, South Dakota. It focuses on growing fresh produce and offering entertainment and unique experiences to the community throughout the spring, summer and fall.
Nancy and Jeff Kirstein began The Good Earth Farm with the intention of growing vegetables and selling them for a CSA profit. They hope visitors and community members gain an understanding of the time and energy it takes to grow and harvest produce when they visit and buy from the farm.
“As people get further removed from the growing of their food, I feel that it’s important to give them an opportunity to connect with it,” Nancy Kirstein said. “It can be really easy for a person growing vegetables in a raised bed in their yard. When you are growing on five acres, there are other things you need to consider. Helping people understand how their food gets to their table has always been rewarding.”
The knowledge of where one’s food comes from is crucial in taking steps to live a more balanced and sustainable lifestyle.
Buying locally grown produce helps reduce one’s carbon footprint, keeps money circulating within the economy and allows community members to support one another.
Nancy and Jeff Kirstein strive to provide more opportunities for community members to experience the flavor of local produce.
“A lot of the food that we find in grocery stores are grown not for their flavor but for their ability to be transported,” Nancy Kirstein said. “I get to grow food for flavor. I’m able to harvest it at the peak of ripeness and get it to the customer that same day. As a grower, I also don’t want to work with chemicals that are hazardous.”
Sustainable practices at The Good Earth Farm have allowed the Kirsteins’ creativity to flourish.
After buying two woodfire pizza ovens in 2022, the farm now offers fresh pizza made with local ingredients on Friday and Saturday nights throughout the summer and into the fall.
“We got the opportunity last spring to purchase some used pizza ovens,” Nancy Kirstein said. “We had also just completed the renovation of our 125-year-old barn, so it seemed like the right time. As I get older, the work of growing on this scale doesn’t get any easier physically. The pizzas will still allow me to grow vegetables but on a smaller scale.”
The pizzas are made using produce grown on the farm and layered on top of sourdough crust made by Breadico, a local bakery. The cheese is sourced in Wisconsin.
Bison meat comes from Wild Idea Buffalo Co., a farm in Rapid City, South Dakota, that focuses on restoring native prairie grass by rebuilding the bison population and humanely field harvesting.
“We hear time and time again that it’s a peaceful, relaxing place to be,” Nancy Kirstein said. “There aren’t too many dining experiences like this. You have 25 acres to explore, animals to watch or feed or a large deck to look out onto the prairie — plus the pizza is some of the best around.”
The Good Earth Farm provides other forms of entertainment as well. During the summer, it holds events, has lively music and offers opportunities such as group camping, farm tours and visiting the animals.
Nancy believes the choices one makes in the kitchen are an easy step towards a more sustainable lifestyle.
“We’ve traded convenience for sustainability in a lot of instances,” Nancy Kirstein said. “I used to be intimidated to cook, but now I have a few staple meals that I really enjoy preparing and they taste just as good as most restaurant meals.”
Whether you are cooking up a locally sourced meal or grabbing pizza with friends, The Good Earth Farm allows you to practice sustainability right here in Sioux Falls.
