Sher’s Stuff in Wood Lake is a great example of a traditional CSA farm imbedded in a local community! Mylo and Sharon Husted are the owners and operators of Sher’s Stuff with Sharon (Sher) being the main decision maker and operator. Mylo works full time as a custom applicator for the Echo Farmers Co-op. After work, he joins Sharon in the garden for some relaxing weeding and picking! “Grandkids are also a part of the work that needs to get done,” says Sharon, “but sometimes they spend more time picking and eating! Nothing better than a fresh snack!”
The couple moved to their current location in the spring of 2003 and after a few years decided to give gardening a try. They have two acres of garden located on three corners of the farm site. Starting in 2007, they started selling at a couple of local farmers’ markets. “After a few years of doing that, we decided that a CSA would maybe be a better fit for us,” shared Sharon. “We started small with just a couple of friends trying it first.”
Now they deliver between 60-70 CSA boxes weekly between June through September (weather dependent) and have quit going to markets. They deliver with a 25 miles radius of their home, with drop off locations varying by participation. They offer three different box sizes to have a CSA size that fits everyone’s needs.
Sher’s Stuff has a self-serve market in an enclosed trailer parked along their driveway that is open daily all summer long during daylight hours. For sale in the trailer are fresh vegetables, eggs, canned goods, and crafts! They also raise a couple steers and pigs annually (mainly for the family) as well as occasional turkeys, ducks, and geese. They have farm-fresh chickens for sale that usually sell out within days of opening for orders each year (they are already sold out for 2023!). After the garden is done in the fall, they do some fall tillage for a neighbor, and the winter is full of ice fishing and planning for the next season of growing.
Sharon says that growing and delivering vegetables is a lot of hard work, but also very rewarding. “The things I love most about running the CSA are being my own boss, working outside, and watching things grow!”
To learn more about Sher’s Stuff and their CSA, find them on Facebook or visit their Minnesota Grown listing!
Minnesota Grown is participating in National CSA Week from February 20-26. It's the most popular week of the year to sign up for a Community Supported Agriculture membership! During this week, we will feature in-depth profiles of local CSA farmers here and on our social media accounts, along with information about different types of CSAs available to Minnesotans.
National CSA Week is hosted by the CSA Innovation Network, a national network for local CSA farms. Read More.