Dan and Lara Zimmerli
Dan grew up on his parents' farm in Redwood County. His grandparents on both sides of the family were farmers. Dan and Lara currently farm on land that was farmed by Dan’s maternal grandfather, Ron Coy. Lara’s mother was raised on a farm near Pepin, Wis. Lara loved visiting her grandparents’ farm and always believed she would end up on one.
Dan and Lara operate a small-scale, intensive, diversified vegetable farm. The couple grows over 90 varieties of produce on about three acres. Produce is marketed directly to their community through the Mankato Farmers Market and the Zimmerlis’ CSA. Dan and Lara love that they are able to sell their crops directly to others in their community who take their produce home to nourish their families. The couple regularly invites their CSA members to visit their farm to learn how food is grown.
Dan and Lara dream together and plan the farm’s future direction. They are both involved in the day-to-day activities of the farm. Dan is the operation’s head farmer. He is also a master planner and organizer responsible for developing systems and ways to execute the couple’s farm vision each season. Lara handles social media where she tells the farm’s story, and she is in charge of training and managing employees. Lara works off the farm as a special education teacher as well.
The Zimmerlis are members of the Minnesota Farmers Union, the Minnesota River Chapter of the Sustainable Farming Association, the Mankato Area Growers Association, and the Region Nine Growers Network. Dan serves on the board of the Mankato Area Growers Association and does some consulting work for the Sustainable Farming Association. Dan is also on the board of the St. Peter Food Cooperative. The Zimmerlis are participants in the Waseca Lyceum Project.