▼ Our Mission, Vision, & Objectives
- Mission: Cultivate a local agriculture network that benefits our community and ecosystem.
- Vision: A thriving, resilient alliance of diverse farmers and farm allies working together to realize the full potential of our people, environment, and economy.
- Objectives:
- Connect community
- Grow local food and farm products
- Preserve farms
- Restore our ecosystem
▼ Our Definition of Regenerative Agriculture
- Regenerative agriculture is farming in nature’s image, rooted in regenerating soil, instead of extracting from it. FoxRAP takes it further. We believe regenerative ag means restoring: soil, habitat, nutrition, farm life and livelihood, human and biodiversity, interdependency, communities, landscapes, ecosystems, and social and land justice.
- There’s no official definition of regenerative agriculture and it’s not one thing. It’s often described as a set of practices, which, at its most basic, include: keeping living roots in the soil, keeping soil covered, minimal soil disturbance, crop rotation and diversity, and integrating livestock.
- Modern regenerative ag draws from decades of scientific and on-the-ground research, including from indigenous communities, communities of color and those from the Global South, who receive little to no credit for refining these practices through the centuries.
Our Board
▼ Jason Kauffeld
Board Chair
Day job: Stay at home dad / adventure trip leader
Favorite thing to grow or eat: Growing and harvesting potatoes with my kids is a blast
Favorite place in WI: Any hiking trail
Why I call this place home: Good schools and affordable housing surrounded by nature
Life motto: Change the system if it doesn’t serve everyone
Why I support growing community, local food and family farms: Local food production using regenerative methods are key to a healthy future and flourishing communities
▼ Lisa Reas
Day job: Sanitary District Administrator
Favorite thing to grow or eat: Chocolate
Favorite place in WI: Minocqua
Something people don’t know about me: I served in the US Army Reserve
Life motto: Life isn’t about what the world holds for you, but what you bring to it.
Why I support growing community, local food and family farms: To me, the way to help protect Green Lake, fight climate change, and to keep our community healthy is to support the local food system and ensure family farming continues in our area.
▼ Lee Sixt
Day job:
Retired from Grande Cheese Company, 4th generation family farm owner
Origins:
Born and raised Wisconsinite. As a farmland owner near Little Green Lake, I have ties to both land conservation and water quality.
Favorite thing to eat:
Shrimp and steak!
Favorite place in WI:
The home farm, as long as there’s no big projects going on
Something people don’t know about me:
I have a large book collection – it helps me look at things from other people’s perspective to better understand their opinions
Life motto:
Stick up for the underdog
Why I support growing community, local food and family farms:
I want to see family farms have a future among the changing trends. I also see a great need for ag education, and cooperation between lakes and farms.
▼ Jordan Paris
Treasurer
Day job: Minion for my cows, pigs and corgi, Evie. I also work to develop better ways to plant cover crops and field crops with less disturbance to the soil.
Favorite thing to grow: Pigs!
Favorite place in WI: Under a car or tractor hood
Something people don’t know about me: I collect 90’s basketball shoes for fun
Why I call this place home: My wife lives here
Life motto: Have fun!
Why I support growing community, local food and family farms: Because its the right thing to do! If we don’t have that, what do we really have?
▼ Ken Bates
Origins: Wisconsin native. I come from long tradition of dairy farmers
Favorite thing to grow or eat: Nothing better than a fresh tomato
Favorite place in WI: Green Lake
Something people don’t know about me: I was a part-time sports anchor
Life motto: Look on the bright side!
Why I support growing community, local food and family farms: We are all part of caring for our land and water. Keeping the land ethic as a priority will help sustain our future.
▼ Hannah Niewoehner Secretary
Day job: Green Lake Watershed Coordinator
Origins: Farmers. Agriculture is deeply rooted in my family history and it continues to be an important aspect of my family today.
Favorite thing to grow or eat: Buttery, salty popcorn is my favorite snack. My husband and I love cooking together and we enjoy trying new foods and recipes.
Favorite place in WI: Devil’s Lake, Gibraltar Rock, Baraboo area. One of the first dates with my husband was hiking at Devil’s Lake SP and we got engaged at Gibraltar Rock years later.
Something people don’t know about me: I am an avid sports fan especially when it comes to my alma mater, the Iowa State Cyclones!
Life motto: Whatever is going to happen will happen, whether we worry or not.
Why I support growing community, local food and family farms: We can comfortably live our everyday lives because of the farms that grow our food and fiber. I believe it’s important to support our local farms that grow and support our communities.
▼ Sam Wisneski
Day job: Artist, Dad, chef
Favorite thing to grow or eat: Tomatoes and garlic
Favorite place in WI: Anywhere off the beaten path
Something people don’t know about me: I’m a lot nicer than people think I am
Life motto: Quality over quantity
Why I support growing community, local food and family farms: I value real things and quality experiences over convenience and commercialism
Our Staff
▼ Shelly Rothman
Executive Director
Origins: My hometown is Ann Arbor, Michigan and I come from a large, complicated Jewish-Hungarian family
Favorite thing to grow: Nut trees and other plants that will be around to feed my kid’s kid’s kids
Favorite place in WI: Lake Superior
Something people don’t know about me: I don’t have a middle name
Life motto: Learn from the past, appreciate the present, have faith in the things to come
Why I support growing community, local food and family farms: I believe they are key to humanity’s long-term health and happiness
Partners
SUpporters
Foxhead Regenerative Agriculture Project 