A new chapter (and location!) for the farm
We are grateful to be taking over what was EverGood Farm in Sugar Camp, Wis.! Pictured here are Hannah, Tyler, Brendan & Jenny.
As we’ve been moving toward the new year, which means preparations for the 2026 farm season are coming soon, we’ve also been doing some physical (and emotional) moving! Moody Root Farm has officially relocated to the Northwoods and I’m very excited to finally be able to make this announcement.
This move has been months in the making, as I found out about a vegetable farm for sale outside of Rhinelander earlier in the year. For those who don’t know, for the last two seasons, I’ve been offering a CSA program that included drop-sites in the Northwoods. My roots run deep in the Lake Tomahawk area, as my grandmother was raised there (she along with my parents live there currently). I spent time in Lake Tom regularly on our family’s land growing up – I would say it’s the place nearest and dearest to my heart.
People will ask how I found out about the farm for sale, so I’ll share a bit of the backstory. While my husband, Tyler, and I were searching for our first farm property in 2022 (which, at that time, we thought would be our forever place), it became clear to me that moving any farther north than Wausau to farm could be incredibly difficult, as there was not much for sale that would be suitable for a vegetable operation. I wanted to get as far north as possible, while also thinking about all the factors for the business – access to markets, distance to supplies/equipment, proximity to other farmers and networks – and we landed in Dorchester, not far from Wausau. It was still within a somewhat reasonable driving distance to the Lake Tomahawk area.
But there was always a little piece of me that longed to be farther north, and another nagging instinct that the Dorchester farm was not our final place. Over the course of our three seasons at the farm, it was becoming increasingly clear that we would need to invest thousands (likely hundreds of thousands) of dollars into the property to make it as efficient and manageable as it would need to be for long-term veggie production. I battled with many soil health and water-related issues, especially during the last two incredibly wet years. I was becoming more concerned about the farm’s longevity.
Jump to earlier in 2025. I’d heard about EverGood Farm through my connections in the Northwoods in years prior. One afternoon, on a particularly regular day, something in the back of my mind encouraged me to look up their Facebook page. It was like one of those moments when you hear a song you were just thinking about come on the radio or you see some meaningful numbers show up as your total while pumping gas. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the latest post – EverGood Farm was looking for its next steward.
Skip ahead to just a few weeks ago. Tyler and I met Jenny and Brendan of EverGood to finalize the property purchase. Of course, there had been months of communications between the four of us up until that point. Tyler will joke that he knew he should start packing his bags based on my face as we pulled out of the driveway after our first visit to the farm.
I’m extremely grateful for this new opportunity and chance to farm so close to where my ancestors existed. I am three generations removed from the last farmers in our family line, so this feels like the closest I would ever get to having a family farm passed down to me. My great, great grandparents owned a 90-acre potato farm about 25 minutes away from our new property. My grandma has been able to share stories of that farm with me, which I will cherish deeply as I step into this new chapter of my farming story.
Additionally, I’m excited to continue to bring fresh, local food to the Northwoods and now in a greater capacity than I could do so before. I appreciate the efforts that Jenny and Brendan took before us to create this beautiful place; much of that work will make a huge difference as my farm makes this transition. It is obvious they tended this land very well and I hope to be able to continue this land’s vegetable legacy in the same passionate, mindful way.
It has been a very long few weeks with lots of moving parts (literally and figuratively). I am still sifting through the emotions of leaving the place where I started farming on my own. Even though it definitely feels like the right choice, it was not an easy decision to make, as I had become very intertwined with the rhythms of my former land. I will carry those memories with me long into the future. And even though it is still a bit painful to have left a place I put so much into, I know the lessons I learned there will help guide me as I move forward. That farm provided me with a ton of grit – something that is a necessity in this world.
Going into 2026, I feel incredibly lucky to have this move be the next step in Moody Root Farm’s path. However, to me at least, it also feels like a lot of this was simply meant to be…
Stay tuned for more details coming in early 2026!