FarmHer Profile: Christine Johnson, Katie Szymanski, Emmy May, Wild Trillium Farm at Natural Farm Stand
Farm name and location: Wild Trillium Farm in Richmond, IL — sharing land with Natural Farm Stand
Years farming: 6 years as Wild Trillium Farm, with a combined 26 years between the three farmers
What are you growing/producing? Best-seller?: We grow seasonal vegetables and flowers from A to Z. Arugula to Zucchini. Atriplex to Zinnia. Our best seller is our seasonal CSA share which runs from June-to-October.
Why farming: We started Wild Trillium Farm because our jobs in restaurants were put on hold during COVID and we had all been itching for a change. The Gaugers (farmer owners of Natural Farm Stand) invited us to farm their land, given our history of all working for them in the past. Now six seasons later, we’re still farming- and playing outside like when we were young. Overall, it’s the connection to nature and community, not working under fluorescent lighting, and watching finches in the sunflowers at dusk.
Feelings about or notable experience being a woman farmer: It feels natural. Farming means dedication and caring, observing, and inventing. It feels fulfilling to watch our plants grow and then to share them with our community.
However, it can be a struggle to exist in this practice, which has in (recent) history been dominated by men and subject to late-stage capitalism. We have experienced significant doubt, frustration, and hesitation as we try new things while simultaneously listening to our own creativity and intuition.
We are also guilty of not asking for help when we really needed it because we didn’t want to “rely on a guy.”
After six years, we will accept all the help. Send us a note about workdays or farm events!
Biggest win/what makes you happiest?: Feedback for the win. Hearing what a customer or a restaurant chef made with the vegetables we grew; seeing a picture of the flowers we grew on a kitchen table. It’s meaningful to spend time and effort on something that another person also finds beauty and nourishment in. When so many things are happening, it’s disorienting not to know your part. But, for us, farming helps to ease that anxiety and helps us stay grounded.
Biggest challenge?: Balancing life on and off the farm. It’s really so demanding to farm. The season doesn’t wait for you. You miss a lot of birthday parties. Not to mention, it’s just the three of us handling accounting, social media, deliveries, while also working off-farm jobs. We are trying to focus on avoiding a grind culture/lifestyle (though we aren’t practicing that yet).
Farming till dark is balanced with hammock naps at the farm.
How are you thinking about your farm in the future?:
We’re thinking about the ways in which farming can impact our bodies and minds. We’re thinking about collaborative opportunities to get more people on the land to help keep us from overworking ourselves and make agriculture and growing food more accessible. We want to give back to our community, elders and future generations. We want to find the right way to do this for a long time.
“Regenerative /ecological” practices on farm?:
The Gaugers have been practicing soil building practices for decades, and it shows.
We farm without using any pesticides, with limited irrigation, and implement conservation practices where we can. We continue to prioritize and implement diverse field rotations and year-long cover-cropping for parts of the farm. We’re experimenting with a no-till perennial garden. We save certain crop seeds, generating resilience for climate/land adapted food production. The farm is alive, and with that recognition of connection, we plant extra for the groundhog, and celebrate the sandhill cranes who come through.
Anything else you want to share?:
We are eternally grateful to the Gaugers who host us on their land. And we are so appreciative of all the friends and family who support our farming passion- we think about all the weekends you have come out to do yard work, help with deliveries, and just agreed to sit in the sun with us for hours and hours.
Find out more about Christine, Katie and Emmy of Wild Trillium Farm here.
