The Farmers:Lorig Hawkins

Primary Crops: Certified Organic Tomatoes, Leafy Greens, Root Vegetables.

Year Founded:2017

Acreage:30 Acres (15 Farmed Acres)

Farming Practices: “We strive to farm as unobtrusively as possible by using crop rotations, cover crops and organic pesticides and fungicides. We work hard to maintain natural habitat for native pollinators and all the native creatures to the land (looking at you, armadillos!). Since we have sandy soil and sit close to the Colorado river we pay attention to timing when working soil, applying products or planting crops.”

Certifications: "We follow the highest guidelines set by the Food Safety Modernization Act, as well as complete a GAP audit each year.”

Fun Farm Fact: Lorig loves cabbage! Also, these farmers love the land and the creatures living on it, especially the armadillos! Lorig isone of the co-founders of the Central Texas Young Farmer Coalition and a board member of Farmshare Austin, a local non-profit that runs a farmer training program. A quote from the farm: “We’re community agriculture for the whole community.”

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Even the armadillos are welcome at Middle Ground Farm.

This small 30-acre farm is located along the beautiful Colorado River in Bastrop County, Texas. Their Certified Organic produce is a testament to the love they show for the land and the creatures living on it. Not only does this include native pollinators, but it also includes armadillos. (We like imagining these armored mammals as planting buddies for the Middle Ground farmers while they harvest.)

From the beginning, founder Lorig Hawkins set out to strengthen the local farm system by forming a mutually beneficial partnership between Mother Nature and the Central Texas community. As they put it, “We’re community agriculture for the whole community.” Bottom line: These growers work hard to cultivate positivity, inclusivity, and find the “middle ground” in the community and in everything they do.They view their labor holistically, as a means of self-improvement, reflection and reward.

They also adhere to the highest guidelines set by the Food Safety Modernization Act, producing high-quality fruits and vegetables grown as unobtrusively as possible using crop rotations, cover crops, as well as organic pesticides and fungicides. In doing so, they’ve held themselves to a sky-high standard to create a lush wonderland of produce for the region.

Through it all, this young farm (they started their enterprise in 2018),hasn’t lost sight of truisms like this one, mentioned in one of their blog posts:“When summer hits, it’s best to have a plan and popsicles on hand.” We agree—and we wish were eating popsicles (and watching armadillos) on Middle Ground’s farm right now.

We love working with this spiritful crew, love how they love the Texas dirt, and love offering some of the best produce available from their bountiful acreage.