What’s the connection between farmers, food and Earth Day? Savor the River Valley has the answer in its 4th annual Earth Day Farm and Food Tour on Saturday, April 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
This free, self-guided tour highlights farms, food processors, food retailers and restaurants-some of them normally not open to the public. The tour, which includes 11 stops and an after party, extends from Plain to Ridgeway, passing through small towns and rolling countryside. Along the way, you can get behind the scenes to see how farmers and food processors are using regenerative agriculture and other sustainable practices to improve soil, protect water and promote diversity. You can talk to farmers and food processors about their practices and taste the difference it makes.
Regenerative Agriculture
You can see these practices in action at Meadowlark Farm & Mill in Ridgeway, Seven Seeds Farm, Savanna Institute/Elderflower Retreat and Cates Family Farm in Spring Green and Ducks In A Row Family Farm in Arena. You can also meet with a variety of experts from organizations including Grasslands 2.0, UW-Extension’s Emerging Crops Program, Driftless Area Land Conservancy, Iowa County Land Conservation Department, National Audubon Society and Canopy Farm Management.
Take a hike
The tour also offers opportunities to get out and hike.
You can take a guided tour through Future Fruit Farm’s apple and pear orchards at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 outside Spring Green. Also outside Spring Green, Seven Seeds Farm is offering a farm tour at 11:15 a.m. and a ridge-top pasture walk at 3 p.m. There are wagon rides at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Cates Family Farm in Spring Green. The farm is open for self-guided walks throughout the day. Pasture-based Ducks in a Row Family Farm in Arena offers tours at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Fun for kids
Kids can meet baby farm animals at Ducks in a Row Family Farm and Seven Seeds Organic Farm, enjoy the sensory station and grain-themed coloring pages at Meadowlark Mill, test their coloring skills on crop pages at Savanna Institute and take a tractor-pulled wagon ride through Cates Family Farm.
Grow your own
If you’re inspired to grow your own vegetables, visit with the organic farmers at Steadfast Acres at The Octagon Barn’s barn sale outside Spring Green. They’ll have herb and cool-season vegetable plants for sale along with tips on how to grow your new plants.
If you’d like to try your hand at growing a perennial food crop, Canopy Farm Management will have chestnut trees, pawpaw trees and black currant bushes for sale a The Octagon Barn. You can also learn about Canopy’s plans to grow more of these crops in the area.
Taliesin Preservation Kitchen Gardener Abbie Lehman will talk about the kitchen garden at Hillside School at 10:30, 12:00, and 1:30. Each tour is limited to 25 people. Pre-registration is recommended to guarantee a spot.
Food Processors
Meadowlark Mill in Ridgeway will have guided tours of the mill at 10:15 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. along with a mercantile and participatory activities. Chef Jay Miller of RedBarn Catering in Spring Green will be making small batch truffles and discussing how he cooks with locally sourced ingredients. At the Spring Green General Store, honey producer Judy Robb of Vandehoney will talk about the importance of pollinators. In Plain, Cedar Grove Cheese will demonstrate cheese making and how it uses a greenhouse as a water treatment “plant.”
Eat your way through the Driftless There will be opportunities to sample and purchase food at tour stops as well as along the tour route. Artisan bagels, pastries, fresh-fried donuts, sweet and savory crepes, smash burgers, wood-fired pizza, scratchmade barbeque, authentic chips, tortillas and tamales, pasture-raised meats, eggs and other farm products, cheese and ice cream are among the treats available.
From 4-8 p.m. there will be an After Party at Twin Crix Farm outside Spring Green. The party will include wood-fired pizza, fresh salads, ice cream sandwiches, wine, beer and other beverages. Participants can hike the trails, enjoy live music and learn about Twin Crix’s other offerings.
Details about the tour plus a pdf of the brochure and an interactive map are available at www.savortherivervalley.org/events. Although the tour is free, participants are asked to register on the website to help tour stops prepare.
About Savor
Savor the River Valley is a grassroots initiative to connect farmers, food processors, food retailers and restaurants to support each other and to bring more visibility to the food they produce, sell and serve. In 2025, Wisconsin Rural Partners named Savor the Wisconsin’s Top Rural Development Initiative for demonstrating partnership and collaboration in creating positive community impacts. Savor is a project of River Valley Commons, a nonprofit whose mission is to enhance the wellbeing of the River Valley community. The Earth Day Farm and Food Tour is sponsored in part by Compeer Financial, the Wisconsin Office of Rural Prosperity and the Wisconsin Farmers Union.