Johnson County’s Calyx Creek Lavender Farm diversifies revenue streams with agritourism.

From a former soybean field to a blossoming agritourism destination, Calyx Creek Lavender Farm has rapidly diversified its offerings in Johnson County, creating a unique agricultural experience just outside Iowa City.

Owners Taylor and Stephanie Getting have transformed 20 acres of a former row-crop farm into a vibrant center for lavender cultivation, product development, lodging, event space and community education center, following a course charted by many young farmers in Iowa seeking to expand their businesses.

“Our entire farm model was developed around diversifying our revenue streams,” Stephanie explained, noting how frequently the agriculture sector is hit with wild price swings and volatility.

The couple bought their Johnson County property in 2022, moving their growing family out of town and quickly settling into their new home.

The first season, Stephanie and Taylor planned to plant 800 lavender plants. “But then we thought, hey, you know, if we’re going to do this, let’s really go for it,” Taylor said.

They ended the season with 4,000 of the potent, sweet-smelling perennials filling the limited land they had cultivated that first season.

This year, Calyx Creek has more than 8,000 plants and eight varieties of lavender growing on the farm.

Educational opportunities

The lavender growing season runs from June to late July or early August. This corresponds to their busy season for farm visits and educational events.

“I really love the experiential aspect of agriculture, and I think for us, giving people the opportunity to experience all that agriculture has to offer is really important,” Stephanie said.

They run a busy summer schedule of classes, tours, seminars and activities on the farm. They also offer year-round lodging at cabins and treehouses they’ve built on the land.

“We have preschools come out every week. We also host a free Lavender Littles event for kids,” Stephanie said. “Even in Iowa, there are a lot of kids who haven’t been to a farm, believe it or not.”

These events introduce children to farming concepts, even bringing livestock to the farm for hands-on learning. The farm also provides entrepreneurial and ag­­ricultural internships, partnering with the University of Iowa and Kirkwood Community College to invest in the next generation.

PICTURED ABOVE: Stephanie Getting checks on Calyx Creek Lavender Farm’s essential oil distiller. The farm uses its lavender in dozens of products, including lotions, linen sprays, pet shampoo, laundry detergent, essential oil, beard oil, massage oil, aloe gel and hand sanitizer. PHOTO / CONRAD SCHMIDT

Diverse products

The Gettings pride themselves on running a diversified farming operation. In addition to the 20-acre lavender farm, they rent 200 acres of their land to a local farmer who grows corn and soybeans.

They also have an incredibly diverse selection of direct-to-consumer goods, offered online and through the farm shop. The Gettings said about 90% of products in their store are made on-site from their own Iowa-grown lavender. Taylor noted that in 2024, the farm yielded about 2.5 tons of lavender by the end of the season.

“Some of our most popular items are our lavender syrups,” Taylor said. “We also have a lavender bug spray that is very effective and really, really popular.”

Other products include lotions, linen sprays, pet shampoo, laundry detergent, essential oil, beard oil, massage oil, aloe gel and hand sanitizer. They also partner with local businesses to create lavender-infused treats such as ice cream, chocolates and artisan marshmallows.

Challenges remain

Even with the success the farm has experienced in only three seasons of operation, challenges remain.

Both Taylor and Stephanie maintain off-the-farm jobs — Taylor as a private corporate pilot and Stephanie in insurance sales — which provides additional income and insurance coverage to them and their three girls: Ellia, 7; Everly, 5; and Eastyn, 4.

Iowa’s harsh winters and significant temperature swings have also posed a threat to year-over-year lavender production. In response, they took a lesson from Canadian lavender farmers they met while researching the plant and started growing several varieties in hopes of identifying which ones work best here.

One bright spot is that lavender isn’t susceptible to the insect or animal pressures experienced by many farmers.

“Most insects don’t really like it, other than bees,” Taylor said. “That means we don’t have to use pesticides on our fields.”

They also work with the farmer renting their row-crop acres to keep herbicide drift from damaging their plants. Their farm is bordered on one side by the Johnson County Hawkeye Preserve and by their rented row-crop acres on another side, which helps minimize drift risks.

“We’re very focused on protection of our crop,” Stephanie said. “So having windbreaks to prevent any herbicide or pesticide drift from surrounding farms is important.”

Next steps

Next on the Gettings’ to-do list is construction of additional lodging space. They plan to add two new treehouses by this fall and are putting together plans now for expanding their lavender acres.

They are also working to grow their wholesale market. Right now, the U.S. lavender market is dominated by imported products.

“The U.S. lavender industry is very, very new,” Taylor noted. “We’re really trying to get out there and educate manufacturers and consumers of the benefits of lavender but also the ability for people to grow it in the U.S.”

Additionally, while all Calyx Creek lavender is grown to meet U.S. organic standards, they still need to be certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. They expect that process to wrap up in 2026 with official organic certification for their lavender products.

Award-winning operation

Calyx Creek and the Gettings were awarded two major grants recently, which have helped them expand their operation.

They took home second place in the 2025 Iowa Farm Bureau Federation Grow Your Future contest for young farmer entrepreneurs, collecting $5,000.

They also received a Choose Iowa grant from the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), worth just shy of $20,000.

The funds helped pay for specialized debudding and distillation equipment, which lets them produce culinary-grade lavender and essential oils, as well as a lavender labyrinth, or maze, on the farm.

Applications open for 2026

Applications for the 2026 Grow Your Future award are due to county Farm Bureau offices by Sept. 1. Farmers interested in applying must be a county Farm Bureau member in good standing and be between the ages of 18 and 35 as of Jan. 24, 2026.

More information is available online at www.iowafarmbureau.com/growyourfuture.