Wendy, Russell, Lauren and Bill Wustenberg, DVM
Bill and Wendy Wustenberg spent the last 33 years restoring 12 acres of fallow pastures into a productive place to raise kids, invest in sustainable living, and grow Bill’s medical device consulting business, Mycroft Medical, LLC. A key partnership with Northfield Wi-Fi solved rural internet access problems and allowed the business to stay home-based and expand internationally with flexibility for family and community involvement.
Today, Windswept Hill Farm & Studio, LLC is designated a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation and just ended a Minnesota Department of Agriculture Sustainable Ag Demonstration Farm (AGRI grant). It is home to a flock of critically endangered Leicester Longwool sheep, which produce about 300 pounds of fine, lustrous wool each year, and a menagerie of other animals. The farm produces USDA-processed chicken and lamb, sheep’s milk soaps, and handcrafted wood, metal, and fiber products in studios built for personal use and safe, fun, educational agritourism activities. The largest annual crop is solar energy under a co-generation contract with Dakota Electric since 2020. A new hydroponic GroShed will produce vegetables, herbs and microgreens year-round in addition to the seasonal crops grown in traditional vegetable beds and a young apple and cherry orchard.
The farm is a teaching farm for the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine's small ruminant rotation. The Wustenbergs belong to many organizations including the Minnesota Farm Bureau, Minnesota Grown, Livestock Conservancy, Land Stewardship Project, MN State Horticultural Society, Minnesota Lamb & Wool Growers, and the Sustainable Farming Association – Cannon River Chapter.
The Wustenbergs are co-founders of the North Star Farm Tour and the Minnesota State Fair Foundation and the 1854 Society. Bill is a Minnesota state-licensed veterinarian and medical device counselor of the Society of Toxicology. Wendy’s certifications include the Minnesota Department of Health’s Safer Farm Animal Contact Exhibits (Safer FACEs)and the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) training. The kids who enjoyed 4-H at the Dakota County and State Fairs are grown. Russell is an Assistant Technical Director for Feature Film at DNEG in Toronto and Lauren is a lawyer licensed in Minnesota and Washington. D.C., where she serves as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry on the 2023 Farm Bill staff.