She’s kind of a big dill

Local farmer Liz Graznak spreads the organic wealth, providing fresh produce from Happy Hollow Farm to the farmers market and CSA members.

BY TRINIDY THOMPSON

Liz Graznak is the owner and operator of Happy Hollow Farm, a USDA-certified organic vegetable, fruit and flower farm in Jamestown, which is about 40 minutes south of Columbia. The farm is built on the basis of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), where members regularly receive boxes of seasonal vegetables, fruit and recipes.

Graznak’s passion for farming began when she learned about CSA farming practices in graduate school. For Graznak, it became a way to address the social issues that go along with farming, such as fair pay and worker treatment. Last year, Graznak was named Organic Farmer of the Year by the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service.

This is an excerpt from an episode of the Vox Voice podcast, which you can find at voxmagazine.com.

How does Community Supported Agriculture work?

CSA works like a co-op. A co-op has people that pay to be a member and then in exchange get something. In exchange for membership in my co-op, they get a box of vegetables, flowers, eggs — you know, whatever they sign up for.

Eating seasonally is not something that most people are used to. I give a lot of recipes each week that come with the boxes because it does take getting used to. You have to change your eating habits, but the people it works really well for, they love it.

Why did you and your wife, Katie, decide to buy the farm 12 years ago?

In Columbia, I worked at Superior Garden Center for six years. And before that, in Ashland, I worked on a farm for a year. And before that, I was working on other farms, not in Missouri. When I joined a CSA (as a graduate student), I realized that this was a career opportunity. People could do this and make a living. That started the trajectory of me trying to learn what it would take

From Farm To Your Table

Happy Hollow Farm has a variety of membership options that vary with seasons and produce availability. Find Liz Graznak and the Happy Hollow crew at the Columbia Farmers Market. Visit happyhollow-mo. com to learn more.

to be able to start a farm myself, and it took me many years to get there.

The farm that we bought was a blank slate. There was nothing there. So every structure, everything I’ve built, I’ve had to dig water lines. I’ve had to put in electric. I’ve had to be the general contractor for the construction of buildings.

Does the farm require you to be up super early?

It’s a little dependent on the season, but right now (I get up at) 4:30 a.m. (or) 5 a.m. I have always been a morning person.

For the (Columbia) Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, I get up at 3 a.m. in order to be ready to leave the house. We have to go and pack up the trailer so we can drive an hour into town. And we have to be at the market two hours before the start of the market so that we can get all set up. So my day is a very long, hard day on Saturdays.

Why should people care about food production?

I mean, we all have to eat, right? All of us. And food isn’t just as simple as showing up at the restaurant that you’re eating at or showing up on the counter at the grocery store.

Somebody had to grow that food. And historically, the people that do that work are very poorly paid, very poorly treated, (and) significantly taken advantage of. So this is a social issue that affects all of us that we all should be thinking about.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?

It’s growing the food for the people that I know. Feeding them. Those people eating the healthy food that I’m growing — that’s the thing that’s the most rewarding.