Carly and Ethan Zierke grow fresh food and a stronger community in northeast Iowa.

There’s a saying that goes something like this: “Most people overestimate what we can do in a month but underestimate what we can achieve in a year.”

For Carly Zierke and her husband, Ethan, that perfectly sums up their experience of owning Sweet Season Farm in Calmar.

“Some days feel like we’re not making progress, but when we look back at the year, we’re blown away by how much we’ve grown — both as a business and as people,” says Carly Zierke, a Winneshiek County Farm Bureau member. “The farm is becoming a reflection of us: our values, our vision for the food system and the needs of our community.”

Launched in 2022 after years of learning and working on other farms, the Zierkes grow certified organic vegetables on about 4 acres of land. They’re best known for their carrots and high-quality greens — crops they love not only because they’re delicious but also because, with the right infrastructure, they can be available most months of the year in Iowa. 

Everything they grow is aimed at serving people in Decorah and the surrounding area. “We’d been thinking a lot about our local food system and our role in it, and we decided we wanted to participate in the growing local food movement by becoming producers,” Zierke says.

Sweet Season Farm primarily sells its produce at the Decorah Farmers Market and through the Oneota Community Food Co-Op in town. They also supply a few restaurants and wholesale customers via the Iowa Food Hub, which helps transport their greens to other co-ops throughout the region as well.

Through the Decorah Farmers Market, the Zierkes have built strong relationships with their customers and aim to provide them with produce as long as possible. 

“We’re always planting and seeding in successions to make sure we have a variety of fresh produce available all season long, even as the summer winds down,” Zierke explains.


Market share program

What makes Sweet Season Farm extra special is its Market Share program, which allows customers to prepay for market credit. As a thank you for supporting the farm early in the season — even before the first harvest — customers receive an extra 10% in credit.

“It’s been incredible to watch the program grow,” Zierke says. “This year, we’ll have over 50 families signed up. Their commitment to us not only supports the farm months before our first harvest but also builds a stronger, more connected community. We know every single Market Share member’s name and get to chat with them every time they stop by the farmers market.”

For Sweet Season Farm, a 2024 finalist for the Iowa Farm Bureau’s Grow Your Future ag entrepreneur award, the mission is about more than just selling fresh produce. It’s about strengthening the local food system.

“It’s about investing in the resilience of our food systems,” Zierke says. “Locally grown food supports higher quality and fresher options, but most importantly, it strengthens our local food infrastructure. Here in Iowa, we’re still rebuilding many of the systems and networks that make local food work, and it’s exciting to be part of that.”

The couple first realized their role in this effort in 2021 when they traveled to Washington state to participate in a full-season vegetable production program for beginning farmers.

“Some of our fellow participants settled in the area after the program, but we wanted to bring our new skills and knowledge home with us to Iowa, where we could become contributing members of our own local food network,” Zierke says.

Pictured above: Sweet Season Farm is steadily growing in response to increasing demand for local food. PHOTO / CONRAD SCHMIDT

Steadily growing

Since then, Sweet Season Farm has grown steadily, starting with just one-half acre and expanding to 4 acres in response to increasing demand for local food. Their land is owned by the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, which helps beginning farmers affordably access farmland.

In fact, the Zierkes are now reaching a scale where they can no longer weed everything by hand. They’re excited to incorporate new systems, including mechanical cultivation and transplanting equipment, which will save time and increase their output.

“We’re just grateful to be doing what we love in a place that’s so connected to the land and to one another,” Zierke says. “Our farm is growing, and every year brings new opportunities, new challenges and a deeper connection to the community we serve. We’re excited about the future, and we’re committed to doing our part to make our local food system stronger and more sustainable.”


Giardino is a freelance writer from Polk City.