Crops from a previous year at Full Plate Farm in Skandia are pictured. Laura Brosius owns and operates the farm under the community-supported agriculture production model, which gives consumers the opportunity to purchase a share of the upcoming harvest. (Photos courtesy of Laura Brosius)

Editor’s note: This story is Part 3 of a four-part series highlighting area farms for Community Supported Agriculture Week.

SKANDIA — Just outside Marquette is a 20-acre farm committed to growing high-quality, flavorful vegetables that are good for the soil and the planet.

The Full Plate Farm is run by Laura Brosius.

She said she fell in love with farming while living in Alaska after finishing graduate school and hasn’t looked back.

Brosius is committed to growing clean and healthy produce using only natural and organic agricultural practices. Brosius uses healthy soil that has a minimum tillage approach to achieve this commitment to consumers.

The coming growing season marks the seventh year of production for Full Plate Farm and offering community supported agriculture.

The production and marketing model offers consumers the opportunity to purchase shares of a farm’s harvest in advance of the growing season.

“CSA is all about the investment of community members in their local farm(s),” Brosius said in an email. “It fosters the most direct relationship possible between these entities.”

Full Plate Farm itself benefits from CSAs through direct relationships the practice builds with customers.

“These relationships give great purpose to the demanding work of farming, and help motivate us to produce the best food we possibly can,” Brosius said.

Additionally, CSAs help keep Full Plate Farm running because of that financial investment members make in the off-season. Brosius said these funds are essential for purchasing seeds, supplies, tools and more for the upcoming season.

“Maintaining a CSA keeps our farm diversified, and encourages us to experiment with new crops and varieties, which helps keep farming fun,” Brosius said.

Brosius said providing locally farmed CSA offerings in the community improves local food security by reducing dependence on external resources.

She also said that the existence of CSAs can help improve the local economy by providing jobs and keeping money in the area.

“They improve community health by providing healthy food options produced, by and large, without synthetic chemical inputs,” Brosius said. “Local farmers play an important role in land stewardship and preservation of natural resources in our area.”

Brosius said participating in a CSA is the epitome of eating locally and seasonally.

“I wish people knew that we try very hard to produce and distribute a diverse and desirable mix of vegetables in our CSA each week, and that our CSA members often receive items that we do not produce for sale through other outlets,” Brosius said.

Although Brosius is the only owner of Full Plate Farm, she said she could not accomplish what she does without her full-time employee, Sabrina.

“The mental, physical and emotional demands of building and operating a farm are enormous. Perhaps the biggest challenge has been maintaining any sort of work-life balance,” Brosius said. “When in full swing, farming demands all of my attention, and consumes almost every ounce of my energy.”

In 2016, Full Plate Farm was just a parcel of vacant land. Now Full Plate Farm runs on 20 acres feeding the community local produce.

“I am very proud that we have built a viable business and valuable community asset from scratch in just a handful of years,” Brosius said.

Anyone interested in purchasing CSAs through Full Plate Farm can visit fullplatefarmmi.com. Further questions can be directed to fullplatefarmmi@gmail.com.

Dreyma Beronja can be reached at 906-228-2500 ext. 248. Their email address is dberonj@miningjournal.net.