Millsap Farms adds 22 acres, house to expand ag training program

Millsap Farms LLC recently finalized the purchase of 22 acres on the outskirts of Springfield, which will be used to expand an agricultural operation and training program.

The property at 6995 N. Surrey Lane includes a two-story residence that will house beginning farmers and apprentices, who typically spend a year or two on-site to learn the craft.

Two years ago, Curtis and Sarah Millsap started the lengthy process of securing a low-interest loan for the property through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Housing Service. They obtained $545,000 for the purchase plus $20,000 for minor renovations.

“We now have the capacity to house a good number of learners, apprentices, farm hands. We have the space for that,” Curtis Millsap said in a Jan. 26 interview with Springfield Business Journal. “Historically, that has been our bottleneck. In the past, we were able to house two or three interns and apprentices on the farm at any given time. Now we have the capacity to house up to six.”

He said part of the newly acquired house is now occupied, but the rest will need work before more can move in.

The 22-acre parcel, northeast of the main farm at 6593 Emu Lane, brings the total size of Millsap Farms to 47 acres.

Despite not having a family background in farming, the couple acquired land in 2007 and built a year-round agricultural operation forged on organic, sustainable practices.

Millsap Farms frequently offers tours to schools and community groups. It also hosts events, including wood-fired pizza nights with live music from May through October.

“When we came to this work – living on the land, earning a living from it, growing food for our community – we didn’t know what we were doing. We had to drink from the fire hose of experience,” Curtis Millsap said. “Some of those experiences were wonderful, and some of those experiences were really painful.”

Early on, they decided to share what they were learning with others interested in growing their own food or feeding the community.

“We’d much rather learn from someone who has been there so you can shortcut some of the hard lessons,” he said.

Over the years, they’ve hired more than 50 interns. They are paid minimum wage and, if space is available, offered room and board.

“Sometimes people come and be here for three months. Sometimes they’ll be here for a year,” he said. “It just varies based on their ability to make the time and what they need.”

In 2010, after meeting the Millsaps at a farmers market, Wes Hunter worked as an intern on the farm.

“My wife and I were wanting to have our own small place and grow our own food and make a business out of it,” he said. “That was the first step to be able to work on someone else’s place and learn the ropes from someone who was experienced.”

Hunter and wife Ame put what they learned into creating Providence Farm in Seymour.

“There were practical skills involved but also the philosophy of small-scale agriculture, not just how we’re doing something but why,” Hunter said. “Part of it was to assess the situation, learn what needed to be done and to figure out how to solve certain problems.”

As an intern, Hunter said he learned from decisions made by the Millsaps.

“We could go on and make our own mistakes, but we could avoid a lot by learning from someone else’s experiences, positive and negative,” he said.

The Millsaps offer a mix of hands-on and formal training on a range of skills. Lessons include working with customers, marketing produce, managing the soil and what to plan and when.

“It’s been very successful from our perspective because we have thoroughly enjoyed engaging with these people over the years,” Curtis Millsap said. “Many of them go on to start their own farms.”

He said most interns are college-age but some sign up in their 30s, after working other jobs or starting families.

Curtis Millsap said it was a retired U.S. Navy veteran who moved his family from the Seattle area to intern at the farm that helped inspire the search for additional housing.

“For the people who have come to us at 30, this was not a casual decision. This is a costly decision for them because, oftentimes, they have uprooted their family and moved,” he said.

The house is just the first step. In the next 5-10 years, the Millsaps plan to develop the 22 acres.

“I’m excited about this opportunity to invite master gardeners or conservation-minded groups out to look with us as we develop a profitable food and fiber and flower producing space from your typical Ozarks pasture and woods,” Curtis Millsap said. “They are beautiful in their own way, and yet we can even improve on it by doing the land renovations we will be doing.”