Farmer, Vilicus Farms
Anna Jones-Crabtree and her husband Doug personal and handle Vilicus Farms, a primary era, natural, 12,500 acre dryland crop farm in Northern Hill County, Montana rising a various array of natural heirloom and specialty grain, pulse, oilseed and broadleaf crops below 5 and seven-year rotations. In fifteen seasons, Vilicus Farms grew from 1,280 acres utilizing USDA’s starting farmer packages, using intensive conservation practices, and fostering distinctive threat sharing relationships with meals corporations, land funding companies and people that care about having an intact planet. Over 26% of their land is in non- crop conservation and 300 acres seeded to native pollinator habitat. Yearly they seed over 3,000 acres of canopy crops, and use built-in grazing. Vilicus Farms turned Bee Higher licensed and Actual Natural Undertaking Licensed in 2019. They are going to be Regenerative Natural certification in 2024 and are transitioning in direction of Demeter Biodynamic certification. They’ve hosted 14 apprentices, many interns and extra farm campers than will be counted. They launched a worth added enterprise to promote id preserved rye direct to distillers in 2021.
Anna additionally serves because the Government Director for Vilicus Institute, a land-based studying laboratory with the mission of supporting social and financial situations conducive to life for natural farmers on the Northern Nice Plains.
Anna holds a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering with a minor in Sustainable Programs from Georgia Institute of Expertise. She presently serves on the Xerces Society Bee Higher Advisory Board, and Chair of the Iroquois Valley Farmland REIT’s Board of Administrators. Anna served on the USDA Secretary’s Advisory Council on Starting Farmers & Ranchers and is a Donella Meadows Management Fellow. Given the realities of agriculture, she nonetheless holds an off-farm place because the Regional Director of Knowledge, Info and Geospatial Useful resource for the Northern Area of the US Forest Service.
