Our Team
Abby DeVries
Abby's childhood living overseas was punctuated by summers of visiting the family farm in Forreston, where she would tag along with Grandpa, being his helping hands where she could. The farm was the place where she could feel belonging to a place and purpose in caring for it.
After earning a degree in philosophy, Abby started working on farms around the country, learning land stewardship practices that regenerate soils, waters, and ecosystems with the hope that one day she could bring that learning back to the place that she had loved since childhood. She has been farming now for over a decade and is excited to be putting that experience to work on the land that started it all.
Beech Longnecker
Beech grew up in Massachusetts and started working on a local veggie farm in high school and got hooked. Schooling took him out to Colorado, where he graduated college with a degree in geology but naturally found himself on another farm shortly after graduating.
Beech eventually made his way back to the East Coast and found a role as the garden manager at a community farm in his hometown where he and Abby met. Little did he know at the time that his path would soon take him out to the cornfield country of northern Illinois.
Ursa
Ursa has been supervising farming activities since she and Abby met and joined forces in 2018. Her many accomplishments include herding livestock of all kinds, vigilant vole patroling, occasional groundhog slaying, tick pointing, and deer chasing… Her hobbies include long walks on the beach, quick dips in the pond, rolling in stinky stuff, and playing hockey.