In Fort Atkinson, Warm Belly Farm combines technology with sustainable agriculture under horticulturist Erin Warner's guidance. The operation features 18,000 hydroponic strawberry plants in raised gutter systems, making picking accessible to all visitors. The farm monitors for optimal growing conditions while minimizing environmental impact.
Copy and Paste the Following Code to Embed this Video:
From backyard garden to high-tech strawberry farm
[upbeat acoustic guitar] – Erin Warner: My horticulture journey professionally started much later in my life. I didn’t know where that was going to lead me, but I knew that it would make sense when I got here. We do the hydroponic strawberry you-pick operation, and that is about 18,000 plants. Every year, all the different containers get refilled and replanted. I’m the horticulturist. I’m also one of the farm managers. The name of the farm is Warm Belly Farm. It just means that we feel really happy. We feel really full. We feel that this is a positive place for people to be. So, that’s what Warm Belly means to us. How’s it going? A good day for me is when people come out to the farm, and they get to experience our strawberries. And they might not have picked strawberries in 20, 30 years. Because it’s a raised gutter system off the ground, no one has to bend over. I don’t know really of many other farms that are open to the public that are hydroponic systems. [uplifting synthesizer] Growing hydroponically just really means that you’re growing not in the soil. We use a media called substrate. This is a Bluelab Pulse Meter, and it’s going to test the electrical conductivity of the substrate. So, I’m able to control how much nutrients are being used, how much water is being used. I have it all controlled from my app. It’s telling me it has an EC of 1.1 and a soil moisture of 35%. The whole idea of hydroponics stem from the idea that the climate is changing. People are being forced to farm in new and progressive ways using more science and technology. We do things as environmentally friendly as possible. I’ve always grown up in nature. You know, I want to preserve it for the future. I grew up in Sheboygan Falls, so just a tiny little town. I learned to garden with my family growing up. [adventurous synthesizer] I would say I always had just a really adventurous, like, wanderlust type of spirit. I went back to school when I was 25. I didn’t graduate until I was 31. I think the passion comes from just taking time in my life to figure out exactly what I wanted to do. I ended up here, and I feel like it’s the right place. We’ve planted around 8,000 more trees on about five acres. We have seven acres total of apple trees right now. So, in the coming years, we expect to have half a million pounds of apples coming down the line. I think that Wisconsin is really special because we have these seasons. It’s part of who we are as people. People are just really connected to the land here, and that’s what makes it great. – Karen Lee: You take care of everything. – Erin: For me, it’s plants, it’s horticulture. It gives me a chance to interact with the environment, to interact with people. [door rolling open] [auto nutrient dosing pump clicking] And it’s also kind of this blend between science and nature that really excites me. It’ll pull from both tanks, the A and the B tank. I see opportunity everywhere here, and I see a future. I see a career. I’m just really thankful that my life led me to this point because this is something that I’m passionate about and I’m excited about. And I’m just really, really looking forward to see what Warm Belly becomes. [tender guitar and synthesizer]
Passport
Follow Us