Meet the Mill City Farmers Market Vendors, Part 2 - Dawn2Dusk Farms

Article by Becky Fillinger

Moses MomanyiA discussion with Moses Momanyi, Owner

Moses Momanyi of Dawn2Dusk Farm believes in bringing others along on his farming and entrepreneurial journey. From Kenyan immigrant in 2004, he now owns farm land in Cambridge and he also runs a non-profit with the goal of fostering emerging immigrant farmers. He does not believe in a zero-sum world. Helping other farmers get established does not diminish his livelihood - in fact, it enhances it. Keep reading, but also visit the Mill City Farmers Market to meet this inspiring farmer and community builder.

Q:  Please tell us about your journey as an immigrant from Kenya to a non-profit leader/mentor to so many farmers just getting started.

A:  I came to this country in 2004. I am originally from a rural village in western Kenya and I grew up tending to cattle and farming seasonally cultivated crops on the family farm. After moving to the U.S., I became interested in having a family and living on a farm again. I saw community gardens one day and became so excited! I went to the city hall and was able to get 3 plots in 2006, and the following year I applied for and received 11 plots, and in 2009 I got 34 plots. That is when I realized I needed to find real mentorship on growing vegetables as a business. I went to Big River Farms in 2009 and 2010 and learned how to grow many crops that I had not grown while I was in Kenya, such as broccoli and zucchini. My wife, Lonah, was involved in learning all about farming, too. After I graduated from Big River Farms, we connected with other farmers who had also gone through their programs and leased farming land from them, too. At this time, we also talked to a USDA Farm Service Agency loan officer to get more information on how we could finance my own land. It is from that point that we realized I needed to keep farming records and put my finances together before we could go back for the loan. We continued to rent land and farm from 2010 to 2014 before going back to the USDA. 

Above, Lonah assists customers with Dawn2Dusk's well stocked variety of vegetables.

We were able to get a beginner farm loan to buy the 20 acres in Cambridge, MN. We continued to sell at farmers markets - Mill City, Kingfield, Fulton and Linden Hills. The murder of George Floyd and the pandemic made us open our land to friends who came to Cambridge in 2019 looking for space for healing and to farm. We decided to give 1/4 acre each to five farmers. By the end of the 2020 season, we had 13 farmers, in 2021 we had 19 farmers, and in 2022 we had grown the program to 28 farmers. We decided to form Kilimo Minnesota – an organic incubator farm with a mission to empower emerging farmers of African descent - and to find a training farmland. In 2020 we found a site in Lino Lakes with 14 acres and the owner agreed to have us there.  All of the farmers, except for two, moved to Lino Lakes from Cambridge. Kilimo also continues to find other farms for collaboration. We give a shout out to Philadelphia Community Farm in Osceola for giving some Kilimo farmers space to farm. We have rented other places in Cocrane, St. Francis and Frogtown. We mentor the farmers for 3-4 years on all aspects of the farming business - production, markets, financial readiness, community building and land access. We have reserved a stall at farmers markets – Mill City and Kingsfield. This year, we have 34 farmers who are actively farming and selling wholesale through food hubs like The Good Acre, to restaurants, schools and directly to individuals. I’m happy to say I can count up to 7 farmers who have acquired their own farm land, and 5 more seeking farmland to purchase.

Q:  Did you always envision yourself as a farmer?

A:  No, I did not see myself as a farmer from the beginning. I loved farming because of the memories I have of farming with my parents in Kenya and selling the extra produce we grew. I wanted to live and raise my kids on a farm. I can happily say that Lonah, I, and our two children now live on our farm in Cambridge – we have twenty acres in certified organic cultivation, plus livestock and two greenhouses.  

Q:  I think I know why your business is called Dawn2Dusk, but can you tell us how you thought of it as the name? 

A:  All along I have seen the farming lifestyle as one of getting up so early and going to bed late after everything else. Some chickens only get into the coop when it gets dark and someone has to lock the door! In Kenya, we would get up at three in the morning to get the oxen yoked up, and we’ll go out and till the land in the wee hours of the morning until about 6 or 7pm...that is to me a "dawn to dusk" affair. I see the same here. We wake at 3am in order to arrive at the market 5:30am.

Q:  What produce are you bringing to the farmers markets this year?

A:  We try to grow all kinds of produce for the market - what can grow outdoors in the Minnesota climate. Spring greens like lettuce mix in early May, to winter squashes in late October.

Q:  Have you ever changed your crops in response to customer demand?

A:  Yes, we test the market for customer preferences - red round radishes vs. French breakfast radishes; fingerling potatoes vs. Yukon gold potatoes vs. regular red potatoes; heirloom tomatoes vs. hybrid tomatoes vs. sungold tomatoes. This is ongoing.

Q:  What do you want our readers to know about your farm?

A:  We are mentoring the future food producers by sharing the skills and all the resources we can muster. Other like-minded farmers are doing the same as we try to connect people to their land and food sources.  We invite your readers to visit a local farm once a year, and volunteer if you can. You will come away with a different perspective on food.

Q:  Are you experiencing any changes to your farming operation as a result of climate change?

A:  Yes. We still struggle with watering crops even though we have an irrigation well. We are transitioning to a no-till approach as we try to grow in less water. We are seeing increased insect pressure due to changing weather. More intense weather events definitely put pressure on farming.

Q:  How may we follow your news?

A:  Come visit with us at the farmers markets and follow us on Instagram.