{"id":29374,"date":"2018-07-25T04:00:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T09:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=29374"},"modified":"2018-08-01T09:20:21","modified_gmt":"2018-08-01T14:20:21","slug":"immigrant-farmers-help-grow-organic-ag-in-wisconsin-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2018\/07\/25\/immigrant-farmers-help-grow-organic-ag-in-wisconsin-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigrant Farmers Help Grow Organic Ag in Wisconsin and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sandwiched among dairy farms and fields of conventionally grown corn and soybeans outside Spring Valley, Wisconsin, Thao\u2019s Garden<\/a>, is the only immigrant-owned, certified organic farm for miles.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe grow all kinds of vegetables,\u201d says Phua Yang Thao, who owns the farm with her husband, Blia Tou Thao. Phua corrects herself with a laugh, \u201cmostly Caucasian vegetables.\u201d She says vegetables common to cooking in the Thaos\u2019 community of Hmong Americans, like bok choy and Asian bitter melon, are not as popular in the Upper Midwest as crops like asparagus and rhubarb.<\/p>\n

The 28-acre farm has been the Thaos\u2019 full-time occupation since 2007, building on more than 40 years of farming experience in the United States. They grow a diverse complement of garden vegetables, including peas, carrots, potatoes, beets, and peppers, and raise 400 chickens for eggs and meat. Phua says they don\u2019t use pesticides and have no need for irrigation\u2014though sometimes, after a wet spring, they must wait for the soil to dry out before planting.<\/p>\n

\"The

Consistent with the farming practices used in the Hmong culture, Phua and Blia weed and harvest exclusively by hand. That\u2019s why, for the past several seasons, they\u2019ve kept less than half their land under active cultivation, farming on the same 13 acres each year.<\/p>\n

This hands-on approach leads to a farm powered by many hands. They have assistance from extended family members, many of whom live nearby in Minnesota\u2019s Twin Cities, and they sometimes hire local people to help out. Their son Boun, who lives with them, works on the farm most summer mornings before making a one-hour commute to Minneapolis for his job in the Hennepin County library system.<\/p>\n

Phua\u2019s highest concern as a farmer is growing food without pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. \u201cOrganic foods must be the future,\u201d she says. \u201cThe conventional American farmer uses too many chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back in Laos, she says, many of her friends and neighbors lived long lives and died in their sleep. But after more than 40 years in the United States, she has seen members of the Hmong community face health issues unheard-of in Laos. \u201cNow we have heart attacks, cancer, diabetes, strokes,\u201d she says. \u201cIs this from the food?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Thaos were invited to give the keynote address<\/a> at The Food Group\u2019s Emerging Farmers Conference<\/a> in Minnesota earlier this year. But their journey to this green patch of farmland in the Upper Midwest started thousands of miles away and decades ago.<\/p>\n

The Secret War<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In 1961, Blia was 21 years old when he left Laos for a year of military training in Thailand led by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In the years that followed, he joined the\u00a030,000 men<\/a>\u00a0who were to serve as CIA guerilla fighters during the Vietnam War. Their covert military operations are now referred to as the Secret War<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had some schooling when I was young,\u201d Blia says, \u201cso the CIA trained me to operate radios.\u201d The job meant he was not on the front lines, but he recalls the challenges of traversing an almost entirely roadless region of rugged mountains and dense jungle in Laos. \u201cSometimes they would pick us up in helicopters,\u201d he says. \u201cBut sometimes the helicopters did not come. Then we walked for days.\u201d<\/p>\n

After American forces left the region and communist leadership assumed control in 1975, Blia recalls, \u201cThe CIA said we must leave.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Phua

Blia and Phua moved to a refugee camp in Thailand with their four children, and the family\u2019s future was unclear. Blia gave birth to their fifth and youngest child, a daughter, in the camp. After a year, they learned they could move to the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the war,\u201d Phua says, \u201cwe never farmed in Laos.\u201d But agriculture had long been an important part of Hmong culture, and her parents grew corn, rice, and squash. In her youth, Phua learned from them while helping to raise her younger siblings.<\/p>\n

The Thaos stablished their first farm outside Beatrice, Nebraska, where the family moved in 1976 after leaving the refugee camp. A local Lutheran church sponsored their move, and its members also helped them take night classes to learn English. Blia took a job as a janitor and inspector with AT&T and worked for the company for 22 years.<\/p>\n

Blia and Phua moved to western Wisconsin after one of their grown sons, a medical doctor, moved to Minnesota\u2019s Twin Cities, 50 miles west. And for the past 11 years, they have been part of the Upper Midwest\u2019s farm community.<\/p>\n

Contributing to the Local Organic Producers\u2019 Community <\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Thaos\u2019 deep commitment to organics has helped them connect to a network of other producers in the region. According to a 2017 University of Wisconsin organic agriculture report<\/a>, the state ranks second only to California in its number of organic farms, and third nationwide in organic acres.<\/p>\n

It’s not clear how many organic farmers in Wisconsin are Hmong. But according to the 2010 U.S. Census, the state\u2019s Hmong population<\/a> of around 47,000 is the third-highest in the country, and Hmong producers are significant contributors to the area’s farmers\u2019 markets.<\/p>\n

Diane Mayerfield, the Wisconsin Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education state coordinator and an\u00a0 outreach specialist with the University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension, notes that many Hmong producers in Wisconsin also grow ginseng to sell into the commodity market. But she says that diversified producer growers like Phua and Blia are more visible to the general public.<\/p>\n

For example, Hmong producers at the enormous\u00a0Dane County Farmers\u2019 Market<\/a> in Madison comprise nearly 20 percent of the market\u2019s 270 members.<\/p>\n

\"MOSES

Many Hmong growers share Blia and Phua\u2019s commitment to chemical-free farming, Mayerfield says, but the Thaos stand out for their full organic certification. They worked with the Spring Valley-based farmer resource nonprofit Midwest Organic & Sustainable Education Service (MOSES<\/a>) to go through the process in 2012. They’ve also participated in trainings at the MOSES annual conference, the largest event of its kind in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Blia and Phua know that organic certification makes their farm unique, but they’re reluctant to consider themselves innovators in other areas. More than anything, they prize the close personal connection they their land and their produce.<\/p>\n

While the Thaos grow their produce in Wisconsin, all their off-farm sales occur in Minnesota. In addition to the farmers\u2019 market, they have a contract to sell bulk produce to a Twin-Cities-based food hub, The Good Acre<\/a>. The Good Acre works to expand producers\u2019 access to markets, especially among immigrant and underserved farmers, and includes the Thaos\u2019 vegetables in multi-farm CSA boxes.<\/p>\n

\"Blia

\u201cTheir product is always good,\u201d says Rhys Williams, executive director of The Good Acre. \u201cBecoming a good farmer takes time, and I respect the work they do. And it\u2019s all by hand!\u201d<\/p>\n

This summer, staff from The Good Acre will work with Phua and Blia to build an unheated high tunnel greenhouse at Thao\u2019s Garden. Also known as a hoop house, high tunnels are season-extenders<\/a>, Williams explains, because they provide protection from late-spring and early-fall frosts. \u201cAnd since [The Good Acre\u2019s] whole point is helping farmers make more money, season extension is one way to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

They will also host a field day this fall for other farmers who are considering building their own high tunnels. Staff at the Good Acre and MOSES will invite other immigrant and underserved farmers to learn from the Thaos.<\/p>\n

Family Traditions Take Root<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Thaos are grateful for the help they\u2019ve been offered since coming to the U.S.\u2014from Nebraska to Wisconsin. \u201cAnything we need, we go to any neighbor,\u201d Blia says.<\/p>\n

Asked about the future of Thao\u2019s Garden, Blia tells a story about Isabella, one of his 12 grandchildren, who lives in nearby Stillwater, Minnesota, and visits often to help on the farm. Recently she said, \u201cGrandpa, someday I want to take over your farm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am 78 this year,\u201d Blia says, a hint of concern in his voice. Then he smiles. \u201cIsabella is 17.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Phua

 <\/p>\n

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Sandwiched among dairy farms and fields of conventionally grown corn and soybeans outside Spring Valley, Wisconsin, Thao\u2019s Garden, is the only immigrant-owned, certified organic farm for miles. \u201cWe grow all kinds of vegetables,\u201d says Phua Yang Thao, who owns the farm with her husband, Blia Tou Thao. Phua corrects herself with a laugh, \u201cmostly Caucasian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":934,"featured_media":29380,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4632,4479],"tags":[],"coauthors":[4839],"class_list":["post-29374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-farmer-profiles","category-farming"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nImmigrant Farmers Help Grow Organic Ag in Wisconsin and Beyond | Civil Eats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Hmong farmers Blia and Phua Thao put their 40-plus years of experience to work in Spring Valley, where they grow organic produce entirely by hand.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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