Farmers

Cala Farm “Origenes”

Rodrigo Cala and his brother, Juan Carlos, grew up in the suburbs of Mexico City where their mother taught them the fundamentals of farming and working in harmony with the soil. When the Cala brothers moved to Minnesota in the late 1990s, they had a hard time finding quality herbs and produce for the Mexican dishes they craved. Having the knowledge and passion to grow their own food, they embarked on a journey to start their own farm. Like most other immigrant farmers, the Cala brothers had to work from the ground up to build their credit score and save money from their full-time jobs in manufacturing. In 2008, they purchased a 46-acre farm in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, and started producing a variety of organic certified vegetables.

When Rodrigo saw the Tree-Range™ system at Regi’s Salvatierra farm, his mind was blown by the benefits to the soil, environment, farmer, and community. He was immediately compelled to implement it on his farm and work cooperatively with other Tree-Range™ producers. Using existing infrastructure on his farm, Rodrigo was able to install a production unit with low up-front costs. He also planted hazelnut trees. As opposed to the labor-intensive process of vegetable production, regenerative poultry takes only a couple of hours of attention each day. Rodrigo and his family are thrilled to have more free time to spend together and to complete other projects on the farm and beyond.

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