A farming family in Sturgis has been promoting the health benefits of home-grown food for more than 20 years.
Now, they share their message by offering educational opportunities for visitors on their land.
Michelle and Rick Grosek own and operate Bear Butte Gardens an organic farm in Sturgis . They offer tours of their 120-acre farm which include activities designed to teach visitors about agriculture.
Michelle said they started with a small farm stand in 2018, at first only growing vegetables. Over time, they expanded to sell their own poultry and beef.
Michelle said they need a combination of customer-based services and off-farm income to fund their operation.
“We try to be pretty diverse, we have a lot of different ways that we are getting income coming in," she said. "The agritourism is a strong one, but mostly during the nice weather in South Dakota. So on the off season the, we really work on, like today I am canning a lot, and we're drying and freezing stuff to have to sell through the winter months.”
The Groseks participate in a Community Supported Agriculture program that's a pick-up model which helps bring income to the farm. Customers subscribe to a weekly or bi-weekly share of fresh organic vegetables. But with this system, customers pickup their produce which saves the Groseks money on delivery expenses.
In 2012, the U.S. Agriculture Department certified Bear Butte Gardens as an organic farm. Michelle said this certification brings costumers from as far as 200 miles away.
“I have one customer that drives from Pierre every other week during the summer, and that’s crazy to me that she does that. And I talk to her every year [to say] ‘there's gotta be a CSA closer to you,’ but she is very dedicated to us,” said Michelle.
She said their passion to grow healthy organic food for friends and family has been the primary driving force behind expanding their farm.
In winter months, Rick said they sell preserved and canned food which helps carry them through financially.
“I preserve as much of our own garden produce from our farm, and other farms in the fall so we can sell it through the winter months,” said Rick.
The Groseks added a commercial kitchen to their farm stand in 2020 to help promote farm-to-table meals and to attract more visitors. They rent out the kitchen to private customers, community organizations, and offer cooking classes that demonstrate farm-to-table menus.
When it’s time to cook, Michelle Grosek said they produce nearly all the ingredients needed for a meal right on the farm.
“I like to grow a lot of colorful vegetables,because you get different nutrients from the different colors of vegetables. So, a lot of purples and reds and of course, the greens also. Then we also do our poultry, chickens and turkeys. Eggs, and goat meat, lamb, and beef. And then, honeybees too,” said Michelle.
The Groseks enjoy sharing the health benefits of fresh produce during farm visits and cooking seminars. They said education is a key responsibility to agricultural tourism.
Peggy Schlechter, Extension Community Vitality Field Specialist with South Dakota State University said the Grosek’s farm stand qualifies as a form of agritourism and creates a stronger visitor connection.
“Getting people to come out to the place and actually purchase food or items that were grown right there, gives them that experience that yes, these potatoes actually grew here, in this ground. And I think we would be surprised to know how many people maybe don’t even know how potatoes grow,” she said.
Schlechter said visitors to South Dakota are often seeking to ‘live like a local’ and connect with nature.
“Less than two percent of the people in the United States now live on a farm or ranch. So, they don’t have that opportunity and they don’t have that connection to the land that people used to have. So, agri-tourism offers that very, very, important opportunity to educate in a hands-on way,” said Schlechter.
The Grosek’s farm stand is open year-round and offers products grown on their farm along with 60 other local producers.
In 2020, they added a studio rental named ‘the cottage’ to their farm. This air BNB-style lodging offers another way to bring visitors to their farm.
Michelle said the idea for a commercial kitchen and cottage rental originated before the pandemic in 2020. Customer demand prompted them to expand their operations.
However, the timing was fortuitous and the cottage was in demand during the pandemic.
“They figured out a way, to, you know, manage COVID in like a healthy way. They found a place they could travel to, and a place that they could stay that was away form a lot of people. They were doing their work, then they were getting done early in the day and going out taking advantage of the Black Hills in the area,” said Michelle.
Our next story on agritourism ventures highlights agritourism entrepreneurs Philip and Amy Kruse who invite guests to stay at their historical ranch in Interior. Their cattle ranch includes an 1880s homestead cabin, bed and breakfast, and a special view of Badlands National Park.
