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 Gwenyn Hill Organic Farm and Gardens was born in 2017 to disrupt the planned development of historic farmland in Waukesha County. Located just west of Milwaukee in Delafield, WI, this certified organic farm has managed to incorporate grassfed sheep and cattle, row crops, an orchard, and a market garden—all in just four short years. Gwenyn is the Welsh word for ‘honeybee’, and the farm’s name draws on the Welsh history of the family that stewarded the land for five generations. It also indicates the farm is part of an ecosystem, tied together with the surrounding landscape by its primary pollinator.
Pictured, L to R: Linda Halley, Laurel Blomquist, Lloyd Williams; photo by M. Rae Fotografi
The team at Gwenyn Hill—farm manager Linda Halley and three full time staff, plus two year-round apprentices and six seasonal staff—are committed to integrating conservation practices with production agriculture; with diversity front of mind and a 430 acre canvass to consider, grains were a natural fit. Their focus is on heritage varieties, including Red Fife and Turkey Red wheats, and Sorrel black beans. Linda explained, “We could’ve done what was done here before—an area seed supplier wanted us to grow organic rye for them, so instead of five kinds of grain we would have only had rye. The diversity we’ve chosen may be complicating our lives, but that’s what our values lead us to do.”
Direct marketing is the farm’s primary sales avenue, chosen to cultivate connections between people and the land, and to capture maximum value for farm goods. This primarily takes the shape of CSA subscriptions; the farm has 120 full share equivalents. Gwenyn also sells some items online, and through a farmers' market and farmstand.
Linda finds that her 30 years of experience growing vegetables for established farms like The Wedge Co-op’s Gardens of Eagan in Minnesota, plus understanding how to direct market them, does not necessarily translate directly to grains. Running a CSA, a farmstand, and a farmers’ market (as well as an organization; Linda served as interim executive director of AGC member organization MOSES in 2016) is almost second nature to her. But figuring out how to harvest, process, and handle specialty grains is a whole new ball of wax. From identifying sites and rotation options, to post-harvest handling, storage, and milling, to getting consumers excited about grains as local food, it’s all distinct, newly-challenging territory.
“Lloyd Williams, who grew up on this farm and who plants and harvests our grains on a custom basis, has been our mentor,” said Linda. “Yet working with an eye to food-grade quality is as new to him as growing grains is to me.”
Harvesting wheat at Gwenyn Hill Organic Farm and Gardens
They’re learning together: Lloyd knows how to grow crops for harvest and sale to the elevator, but figuring out food-grade handling methods has been a learning curve for the whole team. One lesson they’ve learned is managing post-harvest handling of black beans to avoid “splits”—preventing the beans from breaking in half during the cleaning process requires gentle manipulation and close attention. Another is determining how to best add grain rotations into their existing vegetable plots.
Agronomists praise the rotation of grains into ground normally planted for vegetables, because, for one, cycling soil through an unrelated plant family eases disease and pest pressure. Yet the harvest and handling of vegetables and grains are so different from one another that this practice is easier said than done. At Gwenyn Hill, the produce wash station is near the flat, irrigated land that’s divided into ⅓-acre plots for vegetables. Planting wheat in one of those plots was simple, but come harvest, their existing combine—one geared for traditional, multi-acre plantings—won’t be able to manage the comparatively small spot.
Another conundrum presented itself as they eagerly acquired a flour new mill in trade for some of their grassfed beef, and explored where to install it on the farm. The most suitable space, a small room inside a lovingly-restored barn, was impossible to insure for milling. While flour dust is certainly flammable, insurance standards aren’t geared for the relatively low amount of risk associated with milling 100 pounds of flour a week; the policies are usually written for exponentially larger production levels. Until a reasonable solution is discovered, their mill will sit quietly in its crate.
 For the time being, Gwenyn Hill will continue outsourcing their milling to fellow AGC member Meadowlark Community Mill, thereby allowing the farm to provide their flour to CSA customers while maintaining the crops’ organic certification. But at nearly two hours away, even the seemingly short distance is a tough trip to fit into the farm puzzle. Linda sees room for more processing to serve her area, and is glad to have AGC to help think through solutions; the isolation of farming often leads people to try to solve problems by sheer force of will.
“This organization [AGC] is the only way I feel like as a farmer I can connect to small craft industries,” said Linda. “I can connect with consumers through CSA and direct marketing, but AGC links me, the farmer, to other farmers and makers.”
For updates on Gwenyn Hill Farm’s mill project and future collaborations, stay tuned to their website, online journal, and social channels using the links below.
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