A receding late-autumn fog unveils a patchwork of farm fields in Wrenshall, Minnesota, and a small crew skillfully cutting and tossing cabbage into a tractor-drawn trailer.

Rick Dalen, ’03, and Adam Kemp, ’11, are harvesting alongside the workers they employ at Spirit Creek Farm, a kitchen business that produces organic products like kimchi and sauerkraut. It’s a partnership that supports both Dalen and Kemp’s independent farms and their local workforce.

“The most attractive thing about it to me is that it's something that keeps the people that we care about, our farm workers, employed throughout the whole season,” Kemp said.

Dalen and Kemp’s interest in farming took root while studying at UMD. Dalen earned a degree in environmental studies with minors in philosophy, geography, and music, and says his studies shifted his worldview. After completing his degree and an internship at a farm near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he apprenticed at the Food Farm in Wrenshall, Minnesota. There, he gained the knowledge and confidence to launch his own business.

Kemp also studied music at UMD, and loved “focusing on learning and the exchange of ideas.” While in school, he worked seasonally at Dalen’s farm, where the two bonded over music and played guitar at lunch. Before long, Kemp found harmony in the work, purchased the farm next to Dalen’s, and launched his business.

The two now partner on Spirit Creek Farm, which allows them to create their own market for the food they grow. “Cabbage grows well in the region and can be stored through the winter,” Dalen said. “That's really an economic opportunity for us.” The crew can continue working long after the harvest in the farm’s production kitchen, processing vegetables into organic products sold across the Midwest.