Mission

Our goal is to provide excellent quality produce at a minimal cost to the environment. Less Land, Less Water, More Local is our mantra. Farming locally in Tipton, IA allows us to responsibly provide our produce to communities from Cedar Rapids and Iowa City to The Quad Cities and all the towns in between. Big or small, we want your business, your family, and your community to look to Garuda Farms for all of your sustainably farmed lettuce and herb needs.

Less Land, Less Water, More Local

History

My corporate gig involved negotiating contracts for large produce suppliers moving their products from their mega-farms to food distribution points around the U.S.

Onions from Texas, Arizona, and California were shipped by truckload to New York and all up and down the eastern seaboard. 15 to 20 truckloads per day of carrots went from Washington to California, and were then packaged and shipped all over the country. Last but not least, LETTUCE - mountains of lettuce from Salinas, CA and Mexico were shipped to, well, everywhere.

The waste. The pollution. It all seemed avoidable. So, in 2017 I started immersing myself in how sustainable agriculture could help our communities and our planet.

I took classes on horticulture and hydroponics. Thinking initially I would pursue vertical farming under LED lighting, I was dissuaded after attending a conference and finding a hydroponic system and greenhouse that would allow me to grow year round, using the sun. Even in our harsh Iowa winters.

In 2018 we lost my wife’s mother. Her loss, the realization that our careers had gotten away from us, and that we were going to miss our children growing up made us reevaluate our situation. So we both resigned from our positions and began the process of doing what we wanted to do. Start a farm, help our community, and help our planet. We hope you enjoy our efforts.