{"id":20,"date":"2014-01-04T03:34:51","date_gmt":"2014-01-04T03:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/twobearfarm.com\/?page_id=20"},"modified":"2025-09-24T20:51:44","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T20:51:44","slug":"about-the-farm","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/twobearfarm.com\/?page_id=20","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/h1>\n

History<\/h3>\n
\"10712786_10152313141897031_4596435169035288902_n\"

Todd and Rebecca Ulizio have a shared passion for farming and checkered plaid.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Two Bear Farm was created in response to changing circumstances and a shared vision of a better future for our community. The farm is a partnership between Ten Lakes Farm, owned and operated by Todd and Rebecca Ulizio, and Whitefish philanthropist Mike Goguen.<\/p>\n

After 6 years of growing Certified Organic vegetables for the Flathead and Tobacco valleys, Ten Lakes Farm outgrew it\u2019s location in Eureka and needed to find a new home.\u00a0 At the same time, Mike Goguen was looking for a way to keep land that neighbors his ranch in agricultural production, as well as continue his support for projects that enhance our community in Whitefish.\u00a0 By partnering in the farm business and moving to Whitefish, we have strengthened our ability to continue to grow fresh local produce\u00a0for the valley, while at the same time providing a much better platform for stewarding the land and launching new projects.\u00a0 We are very excited about this opportunity!<\/p>\n

\"Humble

Humble Beginnings…the first farmers market stand in 2007<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0Our Practices<\/h2>\n

\"two-bear-farm-tractor\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Two Bear Farm sits on 65 acres bordering the Stillwater River at the base of Spencer Mountain approximately 7 miles west of the town of Whitefish.\u00a0 We are passionate about land stewardship, production of healthy food that improves human health, and educating young farmers to prepare them for their own farms someday.<\/p>\n

We were Certified Organic (or in transition) for our first 16 years of operation, but in 2023 we surrendered our certification in protest of the USDA allowing hydroponic fruits and vegetables to be certified under the same label. \u00a0We felt the USDA had violated the trust of the organic movement, and we were no longer willing to work with an agency that was caving to industry pressure at the expense of small organic growers. \u00a0So while we continue to farm with the same chemical-free methods, we are no longer Certified Organic.<\/p>\n

Nutrient Dense Food<\/h2>\n

I first learned of this concept when reading the book \u201cThe Intelligent Gardener\u201d<\/a> by Steve Solomon.\u00a0 I later learned that the Weston A. Price Foundation has been promoting this idea for decades.\u00a0 The basic premise is that healthy people require healthy food, and healthy food requires healthy soil.\u00a0 Or to look at it the other way, if soil is deficient in important minerals, the food, and hence the people who eat that food, will also be deficient in those minerals.\u00a0 It\u2019s a rather simple concept, but rather mind blowing at the same time.\u00a0 The reason our industrial food system doesn\u2019t talk about this is it costs money to amend soil, and you would have to care about more than shareholder profits to take this approach.\u00a0 To ensure our food is as nutrient dense as possible, we use a rigorous soil testing process and amend our soils whenever necessary to bring them into balance.\u00a0 The extra money we spend on these amendments never gets recovered by the farm in the sales price of our food, but we continue to do it because it is the right thing to do.<\/p>\n

Resiliency<\/h2>\n

We are focused on building a resilient farm that will thrive in an uncertain future.\u00a0 This includes producing our own soil fertility on farm through cover cropping and composting, working with other farmers to produce our own seed, and one day potentially making our own bio-fuel.\u00a0 Rather than focus on energy-intensive operations that allow year round production, we focus on low energy season extension techniques and crop storage.\u00a0 Keeping a root cellar cool in Montana in February to store crops is a lot smarter and easier than trying to heat a greenhouse in February to grow crops.<\/p>\n

Affecting Change<\/h2>\n

We\u2019ve always agreed with the paraphrased Ghandi quote \u201cbe the change you want to see in the world\u201d.\u00a0 In today\u2019s day and age, we believe meaningful change that benefits individuals and communities is going to have to come from the ground up.\u00a0 Given the extent of agency capture and the amount of industry money in politics, we have no faith that anything positive regarding our food system is going to flow from the top down.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to stop waiting for our government to help us.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to affect change on our own.\u00a0 We don\u2019t plan on saving the world, but we do plan on improving our own lives and the lives of our neighbors.\u00a0 And if everyone did that, then we would change the world.<\/p>\n

Want to find out more about us?<\/h3>\n

We are happy to answer any questions you have.<\/p>\nCONTACT US<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

History Two Bear Farm was created in response to changing circumstances and a shared vision of a better future for our community. The farm is a partnership between Ten Lakes Farm, owned and operated by Todd and Rebecca Ulizio, and Whitefish philanthropist Mike Goguen. After 6 years of growing Certified Organic vegetables for the Flathead […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"

\u00a0<\/h1>

History<\/h3>[caption id=\"attachment_2067\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"150\"]\"10712786_10152313141897031_4596435169035288902_n\" Todd and Rebecca Ulizio have a shared passion for farming and checkered plaid.<\/em>[\/caption]

Two Bear Farm was created in response to changing circumstances and a shared vision of a better future for our community. The farm is a partnership between Ten Lakes Farm, owned and operated by Todd and Rebecca Ulizio, and Whitefish philanthropist Mike Goguen.<\/p>

After 6 years of growing Certified Organic vegetables for the Flathead and Tobacco valleys, Ten Lakes Farm outgrew it\u2019s location in Eureka and needed to find a new home.\u00a0 At the same time, Mike Goguen was looking for a way to keep land that neighbors his ranch in agricultural production, as well as continue his support for projects that enhance our community in Whitefish.\u00a0 By partnering in the farm business and moving to Whitefish, we have strengthened our ability to continue to grow fresh local produce\u00a0for the valley, while at the same time providing a much better platform for stewarding the land and launching new projects.\u00a0 We are very excited about this opportunity!<\/p>[caption id=\"attachment_2071\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"150\"]\"Humble Humble Beginnings...the first farmers market stand in 2007<\/em>[\/caption]

\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0Our Practices<\/h2>

\"two-bear-farm-tractor\"<\/a><\/p>

Two Bear Farm sits on 65 acres bordering the Stillwater River at the base of Spencer Mountain approximately 7 miles west of the town of Whitefish.\u00a0 We are passionate about land stewardship, production of healthy food that improves human health, and educating young farmers to prepare them for their own farms someday.<\/p>

We have been Certified Organic for the past 6 years, and are in the process of transitioning our new farm location into the program.\u00a0 This means we continue to use organic practices in compliance with the program rules, but will not be able to advertise as organic until 2015 (when our transition period ends).<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Nutrient Dense Food<\/h2>

I first learned of this concept when reading the book \u201cThe Intelligent Gardener\u201d<\/a> by Steve Solomon.\u00a0 I later learned that the Weston A. Price Foundation has been promoting this idea for decades.\u00a0 The basic premise is that healthy people require healthy food, and healthy food requires healthy soil.\u00a0 Or to look at it the other way, if soil is deficient in important minerals, the food, and hence the people who eat that food, will also be deficient in those minerals.\u00a0 It\u2019s a rather simple concept, but rather mind blowing at the same time.\u00a0 The reason our industrial food system doesn\u2019t talk about this is it costs money to amend soil, and you would have to care about more than shareholder profits to take this approach.\u00a0 To ensure our food is as nutrient dense as possible, we use a rigorous soil testing process and amend our soils whenever necessary to bring them into balance.\u00a0 The extra money we spend on these amendments never gets recovered by the farm in the sales price of our food, but we continue to do it because it is the right thing to do.<\/p>

Resiliency<\/h2>

We are focused on building a resilient farm that will thrive in an uncertain future.\u00a0 This includes producing our own soil fertility on farm through cover cropping and composting, working with other farmers to produce our own seed, and one day potentially making our own bio-fuel.\u00a0 Rather than focus on energy-intensive operations that allow year round production, we focus on low energy season extension techniques and crop storage.\u00a0 Keeping a root cellar cool in Montana in February to store crops is a lot smarter and easier than trying to heat a greenhouse in February to grow crops.<\/p>

Educating New Farmers<\/h2>

\"20140424_170435\"A big part of our farm philosophy is\u00a0having an apprenticeship program that trains young people to become farmers.\u00a0 Aside from growing healthy food for our community, this is the single most important thing we feel we can do to build a better future.\u00a0 For the first time in a long time, the number of farmers, especially young ones, is on the rise in this country.\u00a0 Young people are responding to the social and ecological damage caused by an industrial food system, and they are searching for ways to engage in something meaningful.\u00a0 Unlike the past, most young farmers have not grown up in farming communities, and so they face a very steep and daunting learning curve.\u00a0 By taking them into our apprentice program, we enable them to learn about all the rewards and challenges experienced by farmers, as well as the specific skills and practices needed to succeed.<\/p>

Affecting Change<\/h2>

We\u2019ve always agreed with the paraphrased Ghandi quote \u201cbe the change you want to see in the world\u201d.\u00a0 In today\u2019s day and age, we believe meaningful change that benefits individuals and communities is going to have to come from the ground up.\u00a0 Given the extent of agency capture and the amount of industry money in politics, we have no faith that anything positive regarding our food system is going to flow from the top down.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to stop waiting for our government to help us.\u00a0 It\u2019s time to affect change on our own.\u00a0 We don\u2019t plan on saving the world, but we do plan on improving our own lives and the lives of our neighbors.\u00a0 And if everyone did that, then we would change the world.<\/p>

Want to find out more about us?<\/h3>

We are happy to answer any questions you have.<\/p>

[button link=\"http:\/\/twobearfarm.com\/get-in-touch\/\" color=\"black\" newwindow=\"yes\"] CONTACT US[\/button]<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P4gp22-k","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twobearfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twobearfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twobearfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twobearfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twobearfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/twobearfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twobearfarm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}