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Hannah Breckbill Hannah has been working on farms for a decade in Minnesota and Iowa. In 2017 she started a worker-owned cooperative farm, Humble Hands Harvest, in Decorah, Iowa. Hannah has worked as a farmer advocate with the Land Stewardship Project and Practical Farmers of Iowa. She completed the Farmland Access Navigator training in the winter of 2019-2020 and since then has been working with beginning farmers on land access, with a lot of interest in group and community ownership models. Hannah was recognized in 2021 as a Changemaker by MOSES. |
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Amber Mohr Amber and her family started Fork Tail Farm seven years ago in Avoca, IA where they produce pasture-raised meat and poultry. A beginning farmer herself, Amber has relied on the wisdom of experienced farmers to help her navigate decisions. She completed the Farmland Access Navigator training in the winter of 2019-2020 and has been working on farmland access since then. Amber also advocates for farmers as Executive Director of Avoca Main Street Inc., a local community economic development organization. |
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Monika Owczarski Monika Owczarski has been farming in Des Moines since 2016, when she founded Sweet Tooth Farm. It is her mission and passion to provide fresh, nutrient-dense foods that are not a luxury item. She believes that farmers should make a living wage - and that all people deserve nutritious food. Monika started the first Community Fridge in Iowa in collaboration with the farm to help realize that belief. |
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Joe Klingelhutz Joe Klingelhutz became a Farmland Access Navigator in the Fall of 2022. He lives in Iowa City, IA where he works and is involved in farming vegetables, honey bees, perennials, and chickens. He runs his own independent beekeeping operation and has worked for several other farms including Rainbow Roots Farm, Buffalo Ridge Orchard, Ebert Honey, Wild Woods Farm, and Grimm Family Farms. Joe has 4 years of experience working with Iowa landowners and land seekers through his role as the Farm Specialist for the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust. As a beginning farmer and with his experience in increasing farmland access in Iowa he is excited to work as a Navigator helping other farmers find land to meet their goals. |
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Aaron Blyth Aaron helps direct LEDC’s Agricultural Program working to secure grants, managing the program budget, and coordinating LEDC’s Agricultural training activities including; business technical assistance to farmers, loan application assistance, marketing assistance, and in-field technical assistance. Aaron is a graduate of the University of Santa Cruz’s Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems’ Apprenticeship program in Ecological Horticulture. He spent over 8 years working and managing Organic vegetable farms in Oregon and Minnesota and 6 years as the farm manager of Big River Farms, an Organic vegetable training farm that works with emerging and immigrant farmers. Most recently, he spent 5 years as the Director of Shared Ground Farmers’ Cooperative, a majority-owned Latino marketing cooperative in St. Paul, MN. |
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Katie Kubovcik Katie has been working as a farmer educator in the Twin Cities since 2010, providing services to farmers in the areas of business planning and farm management, land access, transitioning to organic farming, accessing USDA programs and selling to wholesale markets. Katie started her career as the training program coordinator/manager at Big River Farms, a program of The Food Group, and continues to support farmers through Big River Farms as well as Renewing the Countryside when she started as a Land Access Navigator in 2020 and an FSA/NRCS Connector in 2021. With her family, Katie operates Prairie Smoke Gardens in St. Paul.
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Moses Momanyi Moses Momanyi co-owns the 20-acre organic certified Dawn2Dusk Farm in Cambridge Minnesota. Currently he sells vegetables at Mill City and Kingfield farmers markets in Minneapolis. President of Kilimo Minnesota, a nonprofit farmer incubator & African Growers and Producers Alliance. |
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Brett Olson Brett is a co-founder of RTC, its creative director, policy specialist, and spends most of his time providing business support and coaching to farm and food businesses. Brett has served as a Farmland Access Navigator for the Hub since its inception and worked with 35 clients since then. He has worked with beginning farmers for over a decade and is also knowledgeable in farm succession and transfer. Brett has helped organize and conduct many workshops and trainings for farmers and food businesses. Brett also has expertise in farm-to-school, agritourism, and regulations that pertain to farm and food businesses. |
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Xiong Thao Growing up in Wisconsin and Minnesota his parents always had a small garden to farm on, either rented or borrowed. They grew mostly herbs, corns, and Asian greens, like Chinese mustard, only producing enough for their own use -- both parents were too busy, and never produced enough for farmers markets.
Xiong hopes to eventually transition into farming fulltime. He says" I know it'll be more work and hours but it'll be more satisfying working for myself."
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Nicholas Leete Originally from Minnesota, Nicholas has spent time in Iowa studying soil, water, and sustainable agriculture, has worked in middle-income housing in New York, and has researched perennial crops at the University of Wisconsin. He spent several years working with community-focused food and gardening projects before joining Rooted as the Gardens Network Manager. When not working on his own community garden plot, Nicholas enjoys cooking, biking, and the Madison lakes. |
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Nou Thao Nou grew up on the eastside of Madison. She has volunteered with Troy Community Garden for many years before joining Rooted. Food is woven into the fabric of who she is. You can find her eating and surrounded by food all day long. She has worked to help address food insecurity in the community. She is an educator, an advocate, and community organizer. Nou is passionate in connecting communities through food and storytelling. |
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Bonnie Warndahl Bonnie owns Winnowburrow Farm & Florals, a small sustainable cut flower farm, home-based floral design studio, and agritourism business in Colfax, Wisconsin. I’ve been on my current farm for three years now and have been farming for seven. My business is based on beauty, sustainability, nature, and healing. Last summer I achieved a long-time dream of opening a farmstay so that I could welcome guests to relax and rejuvenate in natural surroundings. My farm is nestled into beautiful rolling hills along the Red Cedar River and the views from my hilltop flower field are breathtaking. I plan to add more pollinator habitat to my land and increase the biodiversity here by planting more native trees and shrubs. I also hope to do some soil regeneration and weed/brush mitigation by using sheep and/or goats in rotational grazing. |