The Farm Build

The photo above was taken exactly one year ago in February 2025. Cellanie’s small team imagined the yet-to-be-planted crop fields and yet-to-be-built hoop houses, inspired by the work ahead.  

The farm’s beginning started with a look into the future – what is the ultimate vision for this land? How would the farm function 20 years from now? We considered how to best establish sustainable systems, an efficient infrastructure, and gather community support.  

The land on which Cellanie Farms sits was stewarded by several generations of dairy farmers and at least two farming families over the last 80+ years. In order to transition from row crop operation to specialty crop production, Cellanie’s team and partner contractors began site renovations:   

• Environmental surveys including wetland delineation and infiltration testing were performed. 

• Dilapidated structures were taken down: including a Harvestore silo full of silage from the 1980’s 

• An old concrete floor that once supported the milking barn was excavated and crushed. Unfortunately the barn was lost in a wind storm in the 1980s. The crushed concrete was used to create roads.  

• A stormwater pond and drainage piping was built to manage stormwater runoff.  

• A well was drilled to irrigate the fields  

• Farm roads were mapped out and later covered in wood chips to reduce soil erosion, ground compaction and run-off. 

• Crop fields were mapped out and crop plans were made.  

• Gas lines, electric lines, communication cables, and water pipes were extended to the hoop houses to enable year-long growing.  

(Thank you to Robinson Brothers, Silha and Sons, Hooper Corporation, Midwest Electric, JSD Professional Services, OPN Architects and JP Cullen for their help in this huge endeavor!)  

And before the land could grow nutrient-dense food, the soil needed some attention. Since the land had been in conventional farming for decades, soil was tested, soil amendments were applied, and finally cover crops were planted to boost the health and fertility of the soil. (You can read all about the importance of soil health in our previous blog post).  

Now that the farm had it’s footing, it was time to move on to the good stuff; the produce. The cover-cropped fields were measured, mapped out and prepped for growing!  

Eight acres were transformed into an apple orchard with the installation of over 1,000 steel trellis posts, ready to support a high-density orchard with nearly 10,000 trees. It was a big project and the Madsion Fence Company did an amazing job seeing it through! The intricately measured rows will make navigating the orchard seamless and the trellis posts will support dwarf apple trees at a manageable width and height for picking.  

Over one third of the trees were planted in May of 2025 by the Cellanie crew with support from the Heartwood Tree Company. Support wires and irrigation lines were installed. The trees are looking great! Our 2025 farm crew and volunteers also worked hard weeding between trees all season so that the young trees didn’t have to compete with weeds and grasses for water and nutrients.  

In the fall we planted turf grass between tree rows, which established beautifully. It took a lot of hands but the orchard is off to an incredible start.  

On the eastern edge of the property lives over 40 acres of prairie land, home to 30+ perennial species native to mesic prairies that once thrived in our region. Adding prairie to the farms landscape was an easy choice as it underpins our mission to create a diverse functioning ecosystem, farming in harmony with nature. This area homes pollinators, beneficial insects & predators and adds delightful pops of color. The prairie was planted in 2024 and is thriving! Visitors are often surprised to learn it is only two years old, and not five as it would appear. A definite overachiever! 

Now that Cellanie Farms has found its footing, we invite you to follow along to find yours.