Raisin’ Roots Farm is your local farm, supplying fresh and nutritious produce year round to the Fort Collins area. We farm on and steward 4 acres in Larimer County. It is our privilege to grow food that is delicious, and truly nourishing for our community
Owners/Operators/Farmers Ben Pfeffer & Carolyn Fitzgerald follow soil health principles that meet or exceed organic practices. We farm on leased land and are not currently certified organic. Since the majority of our sales are direct to consumer, we are able to achieve transparency with our customers about our growing practices. As we scale and secure a permanent land base, we will pursue organic certification in accordance with our customers values.
Our emphasis on soil health and low-till methods ensures nutritious produce with a commitment to land stewardship and resource conservation. We would love to meet you at one of our Friday Farmers Markets at the farm!
When you purchase from us at our year round Farm Stand, one of our farmers markets, through our CSA, or by getting a Seasonal Farm Box you are directly supporting our family farm. Our crew of 7, including Ben & Carolyn, are all paid employees. Your purchases support a viable livelihood for young farm owners and farm workers. We strive to and are committed to raising wages each season as we improve as a business, and share that profit with the employees who make it all possible. As of 2021 we do not use any form of volunteer labor, and feel that the difficult, skilled, and often tedious work of farming should be compensated accordingly. Building a skilled agricultural workforce in Colorado must be a long term goal of the local farming movement, if local farms will be around for the long haul.
Ben Pfeffer is a farmer who grows diverse food crops to regenerate both the land and the local community. He believes that the path towards improving our food system and the people that depend on it is through building healthy relationships with the soil and with each other. During his time owning and operating Raisin’ Roots Farm, he has built a viable business model through a diversity of production, innovative practices and direct marketing. Ben has studied resilient farming methods from producers across different regions and is proud to implement both new and old ideas and technologies while remaining a perpetual student. As a member of the Larimer County Farmers Alliance he continues to work on land access issues, technical education, and coalition building between producers. He holds a BA in Anthropology from Towson University.
Carolyn Fitzgerald is an eighth generation farmer from Western New York and co-owner of Raisin’ Roots Farm. Growing up she developed a love for farming by spending time with her grandparents on their family farm and hearing farm stories of different generations. Carolyn went on to study sustainable agriculture and food systems in rural Vermont. She has worked in different levels of the food system from being a farm worker, to a local produce buyer for a food cooperative, to a community garden manager. Carolyn believes that producing nutrient-dense food while improving agricultural land for generations to come is important and rewarding work. When not farming you can usually find Carolyn enjoying a good book, hanging with the farm animals, or napping with Raisin.
Raisin works hard to keep deer out of the fields when the farmers need their rest. She is also neighborhood ambassador and takes her protective duties very seriously. As property guardian, one must get into Raisin’s good graces to achieve free range on the farm under her watchful eye.
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