Driving up a dirt road to the small produce stand at Bear Butte Gardens just outside Sturgis, visitors may not expect the range of ways the organic farm is trying to build customers and keep income steady. The farm, on 80 acres, is organically certified and co-owned by Michelle and Rick Grosek, who said they have used multiple activities tied to the “farm-to-table” idea rather than relying on a single product line.
The Groseks sell seasonal vegetables through their stand and also distribute produce and home-cooked foods to grocers and restaurants. They offer farm tours for adults and children and run cooking and gardening classes, including special meals such as a five-course mushroom dinner. They also host community festivals, including a woolen fiber festival with sheep sheared and a Winter Wonderland Festival where Rick Grosek dressed up like Kris Kringle.
Bear Butte Gardens also draws travelers who want to stay and see the farm up close. The property welcomes campers and RVers and has a nightly Airbnb-style rental home that puts guests in the middle of the farm and within easy view of the 1,200-foot-tall Bear Butte geological formation. The Groseks are also training to become organic farm inspectors for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Michelle Grosek said the farm’s season was slower in 2025 than in other years. She pointed to a weak national economy and a reduction in tourists, especially from Canada, as factors affecting sales. She also said the farm has to diversify its offerings—describing its approach as going “strong” while doing “a lot of diverse things” so it does not rely on “all our eggs in one basket.”
Angela Jackson, an organic transition adviser with the South Dakota Specialty Producers Association, said that even with year-to-year fluctuations, demand for locally grown foods continues to rise. She said that “The demand for these products is going up for sure,” and added that the buyers include “a lot of young families especially who are seeking these products.” Jackson works with the specialty producers group and the USDA to help farmers move through the process required to become formally USDA-certified so they can legally label products as organic.
In Jackson’s account, that certification matters to consumers because it provides guarantees about how foods are grown and processed, and it can allow producers to charge more. She also described the legal distinction facing local producers: many may use no or minimal pesticides, but only certified producers can use the “organic” term on product labels. Jackson said South Dakota remains in the bottom third nationally for the number of USDA organically certified farms and livestock operations, and that the number of certified producers has fallen in recent years.
USDA data cited in the reporting shows South Dakota had 124 certified producers in 2022 and 87 as of December. The same data showed that in 2022 the state generated $14 million in sales of organic goods. Jackson said some producers let their certifications lapse because the process became too expensive, and the story also reported that some farmers told News Watch there is “simply too much red tape” for certification to be worth the effort.
Jackson said it is “going from farm to fork” that presents a significant challenge. She said, “Going from farm to fork is very challenging,” and she described a strategy that emphasizes keeping value in South Dakota by growing, processing and packaging foods for direct sale to consumers. She said that approach helps avoid losing revenue to out-of-state processors, and she added that she believes it benefits the environment and supports rural communities.
A researcher at South Dakota State University said geography and population are barriers to faster growth in locally grown food. Blake Pulse said the state’s spread-out population makes it harder for small producers to reach interested consumers, and he noted that South Dakota agriculture is often associated with corn, soybeans and cattle rather than tomatoes and other fresh produce. Pulse said that buying locally grown goods can require more work for consumers because the products have not yet reached “the institutional and grocery store level.”
Pulse pointed to food hubs as one supply-chain response that helps connect producers to markets. He said food hubs cover “the intersection between producer and consumer” and “It allows for grouping of products to reach a larger market.” He said those kinds of channels are part of positive signs for locally grown and organic foods, even if scaling remains difficult.
The story also highlighted Odessa Farms, a small but growing organic chicken operation in Butte County. Owners Meghan and Joe Volk, of Nisland, said they have doubled production in each of the past few years as the market for locally grown meat increased in western South Dakota. The Volks said they expect to raise and process about 5,500 meat chickens this year, selling them to restaurants, individual consumers and a few local organic grocery stores.
According to the reporting, the chickens arrive from North Dakota as chicks in May and July, then free-range on grass and are fed organic grain. Meghan Volk said the birds are allowed to grow “a few weeks longer than traditional commercial poultry” and that they have smaller breasts, more dark meat and a richer flavor. She said prices are “a few dollars more per pound” than chickens grown on larger production farms, and she described a customer base that seeks food grown locally and humanely, adding that the operation does not compete with Walmart on quantity but does compete on quality.
The reporting says the “Small farms growing stronger roots in South Dakota farm-to-table movement” story was originally published by South Dakota News Watch and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.