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About Us -
Eric & Joanna Reuter
We both grew up rurally, in families that grew large gardens, put up
food for the winter, and cooked real meals from scratch. We can clearly
trace our love of real food, desire for self-reliance, and interest in
the natural world to these roots. These were also the factors that led
us to each other while at graduate school in Vermont, where a friendship
based on cooking, geology, and birding blossomed into more. Following
graduate school, we moved to Virginia to work at Shenandoah National
Park while evaluating our plans and goals for the future, and began
spending more and more time visiting and working at a nearby sustainable
vegetable farm. This experience crystallized our growing conviction that
farming was the best outlet for our dreams, principles, and goals, and
we subsequently moved to central Missouri and found the land on which we
founded Chert Hollow Farm in 2006. |
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A Homestead
Farm
Our goal is to live and farm in ways that our great-grandparents
would respect and recognize, emphasizing sustainable practices,
conservation of resources, and support for our local economy. Through
organic methods, we can improve the soil and the natural ecosystem while
growing quality food that sustains ourselves and our community. We
strive to reduce the energy and resource consumption of our home and farm,
and generate very little waste: our electric bill averages between
$40-$50 a month, and we produce about one bag of trash every 4-6 weeks.
We make a point of supporting locally-owned independent businesses in
our community, keeping the money we earn here circulating through the
local economy. Limiting unnecessary consumption and practicing
conservation allows us to focus our resources where they are most
effective, and helps make this life possible. |
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Professional Interests
Eric currently sits on the board of
Sustainable Farms &
Communities, a local non-profit that works to promote and support
local agriculture and markets. SF&C's current focus is on fundraising and planning for a
permanent pavilion to house the Columbia Farmers Market. In January 2008, he was elected to the
board of the
Columbia
Farmers Market. He manages the web sites of both organizations. We
also try to study and appreciate our local ecosystem; Joanna's current
work with the U.S. Geological Survey is focused on studying the habitat
needs of the endangered pallid sturgeon in the Missouri River, and we
really enjoy exploring the diverse natural areas of Missouri. We try to
keep up with the latest ideas, methods, and issues surrounding
sustainable farming, food safety, and local agriculture, attending
many conferences and reading heavily. |
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Other
Interests
We pursue many hobbies when we can, especially photography, birding,
and hiking. Browse our Ecology & Landscape
page for collections of nature photography from the farm and elsewhere.
Joanna is an especially avid birder, and also enjoys knitting, sewing,
and reading about gardening and ecology. Eric is an avid railfan and
model builder, as well as a voracious reader of news, politics, and
non-fiction. We are both experienced canoeists, and truly enjoy a good
canoe trip, whether in the Boundary Waters of Minnesota or the Ozark
streams of Missouri and Arkansas. Though farming does not allow us to
travel as often as in the past, we have focused our attentions on really
enjoying the diverse natural areas our region has to offer. |
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