Sprouting Farms

Welcome to Sprouting Farms

Sprouting Farms Appalachian Croft and Training Center is a four-season non-profit farm and education and resource center located in Summers County WV. We believe that long-lasting impact is created by training new farmers in quality and sustainable production techniques, and by providing shared resources and educational opportunities to the whole farm community.

Our programs provide farmers with sound business management and production skills, hands-on apprenticeship and mentorship, and the land and resources necessary to launch and refine their farm businesses.

The farm.

Sprouting Farms is an innovative approach to enhancing local food systems within the rural Appalachian context. The project combines education, resource sharing, land access, and food production models to support new & beginning farmers, launch farm businesses, jump start wholesale market channels, help nurture the farming community, and encourage farm and business sustainability.

Apprenticeship

On-the-job apprenticeship on working production farm

Farmland and high tunnel rental

Acreage and high-tunnels available for rent

Production farm

Wholesale production farm, GAP and Organic certified.

Educational programming

Public workshops and educational activities.

All the Tools You Need to Succeed

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About us.

"Our goal here is to help people, to facilitate new agricultural
businesses in the state of West Virginia .”

- Alex Ogrinz, Farm Manager

Established in 2017

Sprouting Farms has been in the works since 2014 with a USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant to fund the feasibility and business model. Since then, Sprouting Farms was awarded an Appalachian Regional Commission POWER grant and also received support from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the One Foundation to launch Spring 2017.

Our Goal

Sprouting Farms seeks to develop new and existing farm businesses and increase local food production in the New and Greenbrier River Valleys by laying the groundwork for sustainable farm businesses.

Our Vision

We envision a future where there are new and beginning farmers thriving in the New and Greenbrier River Valley regions. New and existing farms have access to the key business education and training needed to support their farm endeavors, and individuals all have access to the land and growing space solution that helps them build their assets, capital, and farm businesses. We see a future where local food is served not just at home but also in local schools and institutions, in local grocery stores, and throughout our community. We hope to create fair employment opportunities and encourage farm planning for sustainable production. We envision a vibrant farm community, preserving agricultural heritage and supporting farmer-to-farmer relationships and knowledge transfer for the generations to come.

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Our Team

Alex Ogrinz
Farm Manager
alex(at) sproutingfarms.org
303.709.1649

Alex grew up in Charleston West Virginia and comes to Summers County from Denver Colorado. Alex is passionate about organic produce production. He brings his growing expertise, knowledge, and passion to his work at Sprouting Farms.

Lucas Hilsbos
Production Manager

Lucas’s past work experiences in restaurant kitchens, specialty crop farms, and WVU’s food justice lab have supplied him with a unique perspective of the food system as a whole. After launching his own farm enterprise in MD, Lucas has returned to Appalachia to contribute to local food system development.

Fritz Boettner
Project Director
fritz (at) sproutingfarms.org
304.376.0041

Fritz is a native of Charleston, WV and a graduate of WVU. As a small farmer in the Greenbrier Valley, he has worked in his local community to create and lead the implementation of many local food system projects.

Beth Ryan
Community Outreach AmeriCorps
beth (at) sproutingfarms.org

Beth recently completed her graduate work in Geography at WVU and today serves as an AmeriCorps volunteer to support Sprouting Farms’ mission. A native of Summers County, WV, she works as our Community Outreach Coordinator.

Brad Curtis
Farm Maintenance Crew

John Archer
Farm Crew

Wayne Wikle
Farm Crew

Brad hails from Orlando, FL and has called WV home for the past 20 years. He enjoys spending time in the beautiful WV outdoors, and works hard to keep the farm and facilities looking their best.

John Archer has 26 years of experience in mechanics. He took two years of training is collision repair. At Sprouting Farm John is working on vehicle and tractor maintenance. John finds the atmosphere and outdoors nature of his work to be a pleasure.

Wayne Wikle is a former student from James Monroe high school. He has spent a varied amount of time in different trades and hobbies including agriculture. Wayne is a part of the production crew here at Sprouting Farms. He finds the work he does to be calming and relaxing, and as a result finds more fascination with nature. He finds that agriculture is way more complex than previously known to him.

Ruby Daniels
Incubator Farmer and Education Development

Ruby’s family history and educational background are deeply integrated into all aspects of her work at Sprouting Farms. Her educational background covers a range of topics including a degree in Theatre Design, and a masters degree in Therapeutic Herbalism. She is also a certified massage therapist and Reiki practitioner. At the farm, she focuses on growing Afrolachian heritage plants which her family has been growing and cooking for over a hundred years.

Josh Evans
Farm Crew

After exploring all corners of the US on a cross country road trip, Josh has returned home to the mountains and rivers of WV. He works to his strengthen his community through farming and distributing local food. If he’s not at work, you can probably find him out on the river.