Located in central Missouri, Chert Hollow Farm is a diversified homestead farm that focuses on sustainable, quality food production for our customers and self-sufficiency for ourselves. The farm was founded by Eric and Joanna Reuter in 2007 and is now our full-time business. We raise certified organic vegetables along with smaller amounts of mushrooms, fruits, small grains, dairy/meat goats, poultry/eggs, and more. Farm management involves integrating fields, pastures, timber resources, and natural habitats into an environmentally and economically sustainable whole.
Sustainable living
Our farming methods and personal lives are integrated into the same core principles of sustainable independence: minimizing off-farm consumption, emphasizing self-reliance, respecting the local environment, and maximizing food diversity & quality. We produce much of our year-round food supply on the farm, including virtually all vegetables, mushrooms, meat, eggs, and dairy, and some legumes, grains & fruit. We use little energy and produce minimal trash, while focusing our spending in our local economy. We heat and build with wood harvested from our land, and in many other ways emphasize the sustainable independence we deeply value.
About us
We are often asked, “So, did you grow up on a farm?” The answer is no, though our rural families did have large gardens, and there are several farms in Eric’s extended family. We are part of the new generation of farmers armed with advanced degrees in fields that are marginally relevant to our new chosen profession (landscape geology in our case). We have the desire and ability to learn what we need to know by reading books, attending conferences, using Google, networking with other farmers, and making the most of direct observations, common sense, and critical thinking. In the end, learning to grow and market high quality food is relatively straightforward compared to attempting to understand the morass of regulations and tax laws that we must abide by as direct-market farmers.
We greatly value being able to work together as a couple on a day-to-day basis. The skills we use as farmers are diverse, and we each have strengths and specialties that we bring to the business. Eric tends to be the public face of the business (selling at market, responding to inquiries, and handling media contacts). He also is in charge of most infrastructure and animal management. Joanna does more behind-the-scenes work, taking primary responsibility for the plants (selecting varieties, developing and implementing the planting plan, monitoring and identifying problems, and saving seed). She also takes charge on the recordkeeping (organic & otherwise), scheduling, and accounting fronts. We share the load when it comes to repetitive tasks and grunt work, as well as janitorial and maintenance tasks.
When we’re not working, we share most hobbies including hiking, canoeing, birding, cooking, & skating, and interests in local history and railfanning.