Josh and Noah Engel, Crawford County, Wisconsin

At the crossroads of a pair of two-lane country roads in Wisconsin’s Crawford County stands the building that once housed the Star Valley Creamery. There used to be little dairies like this one everywhere collecting milk from local farmers and bottling it for sale in nearby towns and cities. But the economic pressures that have driven thousands of small family farms out of business since the 1970s have in turn squeezed out the small community dairies. The Star Valley Creamery, like so many others, has been closed for years—a lonesome reminder of better times in rural America.Josh and Noah Engel

Today there’s new life at the little creamery. Josh and Noah Engel, two brothers who grew up raising organic vegetables, recently signed a lease on the building, which they’re using as a wash house and storage unit for their thriving organic vegetable farm.

“There’s been some curiosity about what we’re up to,” says Josh, 25, the older of the brothers. A small market stand out front has brought a few sales. “Everyone seems happy to see something going on here.” The creamery, with a small crew of young employees processing vegetables inside, has become a new symbol of hope for a return to a sustainable model of agriculture that supports local economies.

Josh and Noah started farming when they were 11 and 9 respectively. “My mom bought us a bunch of specialty potatoes to plant in our garden,” says Josh, “and we’ve been dabbling with potatoes ever since.” Noah and Josh Engel

From a quarter-acre plot of specialty potatoes, the Engel brothers’ farm has grown to a 40-acre vegetable and berry operation they call Driftless Organics. They have another 40 acres in transition to organic. It’s a large-sized operation for labor-intensive organic vegetables, and they’ve brought on a partner, Mike Lind, as well as several seasonal employees to help with the work.

The Engels still specialize in potatoes; their blue potatoes are a favorite Organic Valley offering. In addition, the brothers plant cucumbers, kale, onions, squash, broccoli, and other popular vegetables that they sell at farmers markets and to grocers and restaurants in Madison, Wisconsin, and in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. In 2007, they added a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) venture to the business mix.

Like a lot of farmers, Josh and Noah were raised on a farm. “We were out milking before school, and then we’d be milking again when we got home from school,” Josh remembers. Unlike most second-generation farmers, however, Josh and Noah grew up on an organic farm. Their father, Dave, was one of the founding farmers of the Organic Valley co-op, and still runs the family dairy farm on a nearby ridge.

It’s been 30 years since the first handful of farms became certified by an organic organization. Since then, there’s been an explosion in demand for foods that are grown in a healthy, sustainable manner, without chemicals, hormones, or genetically modified seeds. Thousands of farmers across the nation have transitioned to organics to meet this growing demand.

Those early organic farmers were truly pioneers. Some were “conventional” farmers who sought a more ecologically and economically sustainable way to work the land. Others were greenhorns who brought an alternative vision to the rural countryside. And these two groups, for the most part, still make up most of America’s organic farmers.

Josh and Noah represent a new kind of organic farmer. The children of those pioneers who grew up on organic farms are coming of age, and like the Engels, many are starting farms of their own. Josh says it never really occurred to him to run his farm as anything but organic. “The market is good, and I don’t like spraying any more than the next guy,” he says.

When it comes to running farms and interacting with consumers, these second-generation organic farmers have a depth of first-hand knowledge and an “organic savvy” that is good news for the organic movement. Without the learning curve that most mid-life converts face, they may be poised to lead the organic movement to new places.

Josh lives in a rented farmhouse across the road from the creamery. The dining room table is covered with paperwork, including a new draft of the Driftless Organics CSA brochure. Under the table sits a pair of cowboy boots. A computer in the corner is streaming music on broadband. The living room is entirely taken up with a pool table—a giant winter squash resting on its felt.

Josh and TheresaThere’s a sense of flexibility to the Engels’ approach that’s far different from many farmers, whose roots on a family parcel might go back three or four generations. Talking with Josh, you get the sense that he’ll be in and out of the business, working sometimes on the land, sometimes as an advocate, or an artist (he recently took time off the farm for a walk-on part in a local community theater production).

Wearing a three-day beard and a tattered hoodie, Josh looks more like a touring rocker than a farmer, but as he talks about his work, his passion shines through. Josh took some time off the farm to pursue a college education, following his interests through a few years of coursework. “I’ll always be a farmer, or some way involved with the farm,” he says, “but I’d like to get back to school, too.”

Noah leapingIn a way, the image fits. Making deliveries to 20 to 30 accounts in Madison and the Twin Cities, the Engels rub shoulders with those city’s best chefs. Josh says he enjoys the contact with people who are as passionate about their produce as he is. Talking to Josh, with his good looks and wry humor, it’s easy to imagine the dawning of an age of celebrity farmers, in just the same way that chefs have claimed the spotlight in recent years.

Be that as it may, Josh has more immediate concerns. “Potatoes are a heavy root crop,” he sighs. “There’s a constant demand around here for decent used equipment.” Between sorting through sources for reliable iron, updating the Driftless Organics website, and getting the season’s crops in the ground, these second-generation organic farmers already have their hands full.