Meet Your Farmer: The City and Field Co.
Zac and Jina Lauer are first generation market farmers, growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers. Their farm, The City and Field Co. is located in Columbia City. They are using their experience of growing in small spaces and expanding with those methods on their new homestead. This year, they will add egg laying chickens and bees to begin diversifying their mix of food offered to add to their holistic design.
Recently, we had a chance to catch up with Zac and Jina Lauer of The City and Field Co. to learn more about their new homestead.
What makes your farm special?
We started as an urban farm and have been learning how to grow in small spaces for several years. This year, we have moved and are beginning to develop a 2-acre homestead with the same principles that created big yields in small spaces. We believe it is a scalable alternative to meet local demands that combine biointensive agriculture with permaculture philosophies. It allows us to homestead for our family AND share with our community.
Zac Lauer
Jina Lauer
What is your origin story?
This goes way back! We have been together since high school. After we got married, our jobs were not exactly promoting healthy lifestyles. Jina had a health scare at a young age and the doctors did not have answers for what was causing it. She began to research nutrition and eventually became a Personal Trainer and Yoga Teacher for many years. Zac was laid off from his construction job and decided to search out a more meaningful career. He went back to school and started studying philosophy but ended up in environmental policy. As he went through school, sustainable agriculture became his focus.
So, nutrition and philosophy are the basis of where we began. There are many things along the way that kept us desiring a healthier lifestyle and it is what draws to us growing food. Now, we both work office jobs and continue to develop the farm with the goal and vision to blend a profitable farm with a family homestead.
What motivates you to grow food for your community?
We have sought out a career we can believe in. A job that benefits our health, is good for the community and immerses ourselves and our children in education. We love to be outside, wear comfortable clothing and spend time with family and friends.
Why do you love what you do?
What we love about farming is the same as what motivates us to grow food for the community. The slow process and hard work that goes into growing, harvesting, and preserving foods give us a bigger perspective of life. It boosts our well-being and encourages us to continue learning each year. The little things make us love it, too, like the sunrises, sunsets, seed starts, blooms and harvests. We enjoy the process.
Why did you relocate to Columbia City?
We wanted to have more outdoor space for both our farm and for our kids to explore. Our urban farm in the city was on less than 1/16th of an acre.
We looked in several counties but were lucky to find a place in Columbia City that is close enough to our jobs in Fort Wayne and to have friends in the area, as well. The 1890’s fixer upper farmhouse we found seemed like the perfect fit and the surrounding view is amazing.
What stories can you share about your new farm?
The house we just moved to came with wonderful stories and connection to the family that lived here before. When we visited the house, we could immediately tell the owners were once homesteaders themselves with cabinet storage for canned foods, insulated storage for flower bulbs, and a landscape that was built to provide food. We wrote a letter and shared our story with the offer we made on the house. They accepted our offer and asked to meet us before closing to share stories and offer unique items to stay with the house. We have many gems that stayed with the property like several gardening books, vintage kitchen items, and a collection of National Geographics. So far, the oldest National Geographic we have found is from 1937.
The daughter who handled the sale for her mother shared stories of growing up in the house, and we have received letters and cards from the other siblings welcoming us to this home and sharing unique tidbits about the house, as well. They also shared that their father once made the newspaper for the 15,000 gladioli he planted each year!
It was such an awesome experience and a welcome connection to the house and property.
What is your favorite produce to grow and why?
Our favorite produce to grow is peppers! Peppers grow so nicely with thick stalks and beautiful leaves. You can use them in so many ways: fresh, dried, pickled, etc. They add great flavor to any dish with varying levels of heat. The process is simple, and the seeds are easily accessible for saving.
Where can we find you?
You can find us online at the thecityandfield.com. Sign up for our email newsletter to be the most up to date on what is available and where. You can learn more about our farm and family on Instagram and will occasionally see some posts on Facebook, too. Check us out @thecityandfield
Our sincere thanks to Jina and Zac Lauer for sharing their story and photos from The City and Field Co. for our new Meet Your Farmer blog series. Look for more behind-the-scenes stories from other local food farms and businesses each month as we connect you to all the wonderful people and places that bring food from Our Land to Our Tables.