Meet the Mill City Farmers Market Vendors: Clover Bee Farm
Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 2:04AMArticle by Becky Fillinger, photos provided
Editor's Note - This article was written prior to Clover Bee’s announcement that they will be stepping back from farming for the 2025 season. See the end of the article for details.
A Discussion with Andrew Hanson-Pierre, Co-Owner
Clover Bee Farm is the creation of Andrew and Margaret Hanson-Pierre. We talked to Andrew about his philosophy of “wondering about doing things differently,” their organic farm’s products, and where you might find their produce on the menu in Minneapolis restaurants. Here’s something you might really like - you may also camp at their farm!
Q: You have said, “There is great value in wondering how things could be done differently.” Please talk to us about that notion and how you apply it at Clover Bee Farm.
A: Working outside oftentimes by yourself leaves you to your thoughts. This can be a great time to reflect and meditate on so many things. You see redundancies in what you do, however that doesn’t necessarily mean you change how you do things. We’re creatures of habit, and changing things can be difficult. But when you do change something, that oftentimes opens doors to other changes. Margaret came from a background in farming where everything was done by hand, whereas I come from a background in farming that was very mechanized. That meant we approached planting, seeding, weeding, and harvesting very differently. We both brought good approaches, but maybe things didn’t work out as best they could at the scale we were at. It wasn’t until we hit “walls” that we stopped ourselves and examined things to change how we farm. We would seek guidance from fellow farmers to see how we could change practices. By the time we made it to now, 10 seasons, we have gone from farming 4+ acres with a tractor to farming 2 acres mostly by hand. That translates to going from doing a 30-member CSA and two farmers markets to doing a 65-member CSA and a single, but very successful, farmer’s market (2023).
Q: What do you produce on Clover Bee Farm?
A: We grow wholesome organic vegetables that are unique compared to many other growers. Our choices in varieties are inspired by the markets of Europe and dishes all across the world. People seek out our farm because we grow the weird things. We make sure that while these vegetables may look different, they always taste amazingly. We’re adventurous eaters and we always appreciate a challenging dish to make. So, when we try out a new variety of a vegetable, we prepare it and eat it so we can share that first-hand experience with our CSA members and market customers.
Above - high tunnels and harvested garlic. Below - a display of beautiful produce awaiting shoppers at the Mill City Farmers Market.
Q: Do you farm year-round?
A: We farm 10-ish months of the year. We harvest crops out in the field (our high tunnels) into December, transition into harvesting pea shoots and other small greens type of plants during the really cold months, and then we are seeding things in the ground (in our high tunnels) as early as the 2nd week of February. But farming isn’t just working with soil in winter. We’re also bookkeeping, crop planning, ordering seeds and other supplies, reading/learning about some new tactic to managing a farm, updating our website and online presence. It’s a lot that goes on year-round.
Q: Your website mentions that you have several wholesale partners – Sanjusan, Northern Fires Pizza and Laune Bread – what do you supply to these Minneapolis restaurants?
A: We supply the more unique items those particular restaurants are seeking. Mostly culinary herbs like basil, shiso, and parsley. But we also sell cherry and plum sized tomatoes, eggplant, and specialty greens like frisée.
Q: What is Hipcamp and how does Clover Bee Farm participate?
A: Hipcamp is the Airbnb of the camping world. We host campers in tents, pop up campers and the occasional RV. We offer our farm as a site for people to spend a night, or many nights, camping. We’re just far enough away from the city that we have minimal light pollution, we’re not in a flight path, and we’re also far enough away from a major road that it’s relatively quiet here. Those three things equate to an area that is quiet, calming, and a great place to see the stars.
Q: How may we follow your news?
A: We are fairly active on our Instagram, which gets forwarded to our Facebook page. We also put out a newsletter through our website. Following us on Instagram is probably the best way to keep up with what we’re doing. We try to share both the good and the bad of farm life there. Every Friday we have a 6-10 slide show on our Instagram’s stories where we recap the week’s highlights. That’s always a great way to follow the farm’s progress through the season.
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Editor's Note - Recently Andrew and Margaret announced, with heavy hearts, that they will be stepping away from the MCFM:
“Farming requires planning ahead. As does running any business and we wanted to notify our customers, who have so generously supported us all these years, that we need a break. Ultimately we wouldn’t have gotten to where we are today without all of our supporters. It’s with tears in our eyes that we extend gratitude and big hugs to you all. Thank you for seeing in us sometimes what we could not see in ourselves. Thank you for the no interest loan for a tractor when we wanted to expand our growing operations, thank you for the 50 dollars that you donated when our cooler broke in the middle of summer. Your generosity has made our farm what it is. Keep making a difference in ways that you can, the world needs hope and kindness.”
