Harmony Valley Farm

Harmony Valley Farm is situated in a beautiful, sequestered valley along Spring Creek in southwestern Wisconsin.  There, Richard de Wilde and Annake Witkop grow 100 acres of certified organic, fresh market produce for CSAs, the Dane County Farmers Market in Madison, and wholesale and retail outlets.  They also rotationally graze certified organic registered Angus beef cattle.  Richard has been farming at Harmony Valley for over 30 years and is considered a pioneer in organic farming by going “above and beyond” organic.  In 2005 de Wilde and Witkop combined their Community Supported Agriculture farms to offer CSA shares to the Twin Cities area in addition to Madison, LaCrosse and Viroqua residents.

Harmony Valley produces crops too numerous to list including the favorites like heirloom tomatoes and peppers, but they also specialize in greens and unusual root crops like burdock, celeriac, parsnips and parsley root in the fall and winter, and salad mix, baby spinach and bunched greens of all kinds in the warm months. Probably everyone’s favorites, of the many crops grown at Harmony Valley, are the unbelievably flavorful watermelons and cantaloupes in the month of August.  

The success of Harmony Valley is dependant on the hard-working, professional crew who handle everything from harvesting to record-keeping to machinery repair. Harmony Valley offers employees year round employment, health care and retirement benefits and a competitive wage. The farm chef caters lunches for the crew and writes recipes for the CSA newsletters. Visitors to the farm will be able to see the chickens, pigs and goats Harmony Valley raises to help feed the crew, in addition to the beef cattle and vegetables.

Why is growing organic a priority for your family?
It is the only way to be sustainable on this planet, the only way to treat our employees and ourselves in a healthy manner.

What is your favorite part of being an organic farmer?
We love knowing we are having a positive influence on so many lives by providing them with delicious and nutritious food and the opportunity to learn more about foods through our newsletters and on-farm events.

Why should people buy organic products instead of other options?
It’s important for the health of the planet and the workers and their own bodies.

What makes your farm special?
We really look at our farm as a whole, in the context of its environment. We apply many unique techniques that we develop here through close observation and examination of the needs of the crops and the people. For example, to attract and keep more beneficial insects and songbirds, we have planted hedgerows of perennials right in our fields. Songbirds use the curly willow as nesting sites, beneficial insects use the hedgerows as a source for pollen and nectar. We built bluebird houses to place in all of our fields and have provided bee “houses,” as well. The flock of chickens provides fly control for our angus herd. Cover crops provide protection for our soil over the winter and early spring months and help add or capture nutrients which our vegetable crops later use.

Where can consumers get your products?
We deliver CSA boxes to Viroqua, LaCrosse, Onalaska, Mazomanie and Madison in Wisconsin; and Minneapolis, St. Paul, Bloomington, Plymouth, Maple Grove and Rosemount in Minnesota. We also sell to directly to retail stores in Madison and the Twin Cities and to Madison restaurants. We attend the Dane County Farmers Market on the Square in Madison every Saturday. Our produce is also available at the Whole Foods Markets in the Chicago area. Our Grazier’s Organic Beef is available at the farm or for delivery.

Updated 1/8/2007