News
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Rainwater recapture system in place
It has long been a dream of ours to capture rainwater from some of our metal roofs on the farm, but rainbarrels couldn’t handle it and resources didn’t allow anything more. Then the Organic Fruit Growers Association opened up an opportunity. A cohort of farmers could study climate change and apply climate mitigation projects to…
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Spring WWOOFers get us off to a great start
We’ve had a fantastic month hosting Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms volunteers, aka WWOOFers. Joel and Rachel from Chicago Dhante and Ben from Madison and Ford from, well, wherever the wind blows him! They were interesting, engaging people eager to learn and work. We’re feeling very lucky! We were able to We have one more…
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WWOOFer Season
Rachel and Joel from Chicago were some of our first Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) volunteers this season. They helped clean out valuable chicken manure from the coop and fertilize nearly 150 Asian pear and chestnut trees. They also pitched in with fixing a fallen-over outhouse, mulching paw paws and serviceberries and so much…
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Planning time!
Winter is a wonderful time to hunker down in front of the fire and make big plans for the coming season. Chilly over there prefers to just get a snout full of snow! This year, Draco Hill is tweaking our model. YOU decide when you want to bring your group here and just let us…
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Give the gift of climate-friendly farming
Through Draco Hill’s Substack newsletter Postcards from The Heartland, you can now adopt an orchard tree to support regenerative agriculture and fight climate change. Available only during the holiday season special! Postcards, published every Wednesday, are short anecdotes from the farm laced with progressive lessons nature offers up. Each one includes striking original photos and…
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First Chestnut Fest a Success!
Late October turned out to be perfect for Draco Hill’s first Chestnut Festival. About 30 guests enjoyed the most perfect Fall weather, fresh warm chestnuts and sample of heartnuts and hazelnuts. Guests were greeted with a taste of a fresh, warm chestnut as they arrived. Most were pleasantly surprised by how sweet they are. At…
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Asian Pear Early Bird Special
Asian pears, also know as “apple pears” sell for $4 to $6 each at local grocery stores and travel thousands of miles to get there. These are fresh off the tree and ready to eat! They get ripe near the end of August and into September, depending on the season. We use no pesticides or…
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Potluck on the Prairie 2025
Come one, come all! Saturday, June 21, 2025 6 – 8 pm We’ll be setting up alongside the Cedar River, weather permitting. Parking is nearby on flat ground. We provide the hot dogs and fixin’s, you bring a dish to share and a chair to sit on. Come early to roam 4 miles of trails…
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2025 Events Now Posted
Cedar County Naturalist Sarah Subbert, facing the camera in black shorts, shares her extra prairie seed with visitors who were welcome to take them home and plant them. Monthly events just added to the 2025 calendar! Save the dates today. If you’d like a curated tour just for your group, or to allow others to…
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A forgettable fire
Well, we tried. It was a BIG stack of old wood, but the rain and fog, the ice and snow, just did us in. There was enough to keep the surrounding prairie from burning…and there was enough to keep our bonfire from taking off too. We still had a great time getting that sucker started!…