To everything there is a season, and so it is with farming.

When I was a child, my grandfather W.O. Washburn had a farm called Juneways in Dellwood, which is now the site of Dellwood Country Club. Whenever I visit the club, I’m proud that so much of this idyllic landscape has been preserved for another generation to enjoy.

In hindsight, it seems inevitable that I would follow my grandfather into farming. In addition to founding several businesses in the Twin Cities, my wife Meg and I started farming in [year]. Long before the term “farm-to-table” became part of the vocabulary, we bought 120 acres in Grant Township and began growing organic fruits, vegetables and flowers and selling them to local restaurants.

Along the way, we fell in love with the land and the community. Our next-door neighbors were the Carlsons, second-generation dairy farmers. As a result of our conversations, Meg and I began envisioning a way to preserve and protect the Carlsons’ land. As luck would have it, Mr. Carlson’s children introduced me to Bob Appert and Dan Larson of Redstone Builders and we quickly recognized each other as kindred spirits. With the blessing of the Carlson family, we’re proud to be creating White Oaks Savanna, an architecturally-driven community with its own farm-to-table enterprises. And thus begins the next chapter in the story of this beautiful land!