Producer

We are André and Lillie Eisenbeis of Prairie Roots Farm located near Freeman, SD. We are both native to Freeman and grew up on farms (André's family operates Happy Grazing Diary, which delivers organic raw milk in Southeast SD. Lillie's parents row crop, raise Shorthorn cattle, and grow sweet corn, melons, and potatoes for our operation). Farming has been our vision from the very beginning, because of the lifestyle and the opportunity to work outdoors and grow wholesome food for our family, as well as to steward the earth and bear witness to the miracle of life. We have two small children - Jesse (5) and Willa (2).

We grow mixed vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers on 2 acres. We started with a CSA in 2018, but after 6 years, we decided to focus on Farmers Markets and wholesale accounts. We attend Market at the Meridian in Yankton on Saturdays and Freeman Farmers Market on Wednesdays during the growing season. We also work with a catering company, 2 local grocery stores, and Glory Garden Online Farmers Market.

Other side enterprises include laying hens, pastured broilers, and a few cattle and sheep. We are the 4th generation on this farm, and we were able to purchase it from the family last spring!

Growing Practices: Although we are not certified Organic, we adhere to the OMRI standards for vegetable production in all but the most extreme cases (i.e. spreading grasshopper bait around the edges of our plots last year). We are committed to chemical-free production and our customers expect that. We rely primarily on compost for fertility and insect netting (as well as the occasional application of Bt or Pyganic) for pest control. Weeds are managed with black tarps and hand tools. Soil health is foundational to our operation. We have reduced tillage and we try to keep the soil covered with living plants, organic mulch, or green manures as much as possible, although we do utilize landscape fabric a fair amount! We grow crops intensively using the standard 30” permanent bed system. For season extension, we have 4 Farmers Friend caterpillar tunnels and we have a propagation greenhouse. We hope to get funding in 2026 for a high tunnel.