Seeds In Her Pocket
Photo Credit: Doubting Thomas Farms
If you meet Noreen Thomas, chances are she will have seeds in her pocket. But not just any seeds, they will be seeds of some of the tastiest nutrient-rich foods around. She also will have hundreds of ideas buzzing through her head about how to create healthy soil and fertilizers for those seeds and how to make the food they produce more accessible to more people. Noreen, her husband, Lee, their daughter-in-law, Melany and son Evan Thomas run Doubting Thomas Farms where they are committed to locally grown and produced food that tastes great and is nutritious. The farm is located along the Buffalo River near Moorhead, Minnesota, and Noreen and Lee are the fifth generation to work the land.
In 1997, Noreen and Lee took a leap of hope and began farming organically. This made a lot of people mad, including family members. Noreen’s father-in-law didn’t speak to her for months. It was Noreen’s idea to go organic, so a lot of people saw her as somewhere between a troublemaker and a crackpot. Noreen grew up eating a lot of what her family could grow. It tasted better and there were very real health benefits to it. Plus, she’d done her research, so once she convinced Lee to go organic, there was no looking back.
Noreen grew up on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. She describes herself as a feral kid, because she spent so much time outside playing and exploring. Noreen’s family didn’t have much money, but they had fruit trees - cherries, apples, apricots and more. If she wanted a snack, she didn’t go inside to get one, she just pulled it off a tree. Noreen admired and was amazed at how in sync her Native American family and neighbors were with the land as they grew and produced their food. While no one had much money, they were healthy, and Noreen remembers that the kids from the Reservation, who had access to the fruit grown near the Mission Mountains, were some of the best athletes. Being a curious person, Noreen knew there had to be a connection between the food they ate and their health. She wanted to explore the intersection of agriculture and nutrient-dense foods, so she completed a bachelor’s degree in food and nutrition at North Dakota State University.
Get Bigger, Find a Niche or Get Out
When Lee and Noreen took over the farm, they farmed like everyone else around them using pesticides and herbicides on their crops. But Noreen was concerned about the chemicals they used. The University of Minnesota had done a study that showed farm families had three times more learning disabilities and higher rates of miscarriages, which raised alarms. Lee and Noreen were at a crossroads. They had to decide how they were going to move forward and as farmers, they basically had three choices: Get bigger, find a niche or get out. Noreen was attending organic farm conferences, and everything she heard made sense and affirmed what she already knew that it produced better tasting and nutrient-rich food. It also was a simpler way to farm in many ways.
Noreen says they were isolated when they went organic. They were surrounded by conventional farms and some weren’t happy with what they had done. People saw Noreen as the problem and talked down to her, going so far as to tell her the chemicals they used on their crops were so safe, they could drink them. Noreen knew the science was on her side, but it was tough, especially when her kids were bullied by other kids because of going organic. But they didn’t back down. They connected with other organic farmers and got help with the transition from extension specialists at the University of Minnesota. Noreen remembers a day when she was putting up a high tunnel as it was one of the first to go up in Minnesota. A neighbor came by and made an inquiry as to what Noreen was doing as if it was just another one of her hair-brained ideas. But instead of getting mad, Noreen used it as a teachable moment explaining the benefits of the high tunnel and that put an end to further snide questions and remarks. Also, a lifetime achievement award from the University of Minnesota helped quiet some of the negative chatter.
Going organic resulted in Doubting Thomas Farms becoming one of a very few growers of rare and Indigenous seeds. Winona LaDuke, an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation, asked Noreen to grow rare and ancient corn seeds for the tribe. They hoped to give it to tribal elders who struggled to get nutritious food because of mobility and/or transportation issues or because they lived in a food desert. Noreen knew she would need a high tunnel to grow the corn in order to extend the growing season. An anonymous donor provided it, and she grew the corn. This was the start of a long and productive relationship between the White Earth Nation and Doubting Thomas Farms that continues today. Noreen once asked why they kept asking her and Lee to grow food for them. Their answer was simple - they trusted them, because they kept showing up, and they were true to their word.
Have a Hand Out and Lend a Hand
As their daughter-in-law takes over farming the land, Noreen is helping her and other beginning farmers. Noreen is an advisor to Midwest GRIT which works to strengthen diverse small and mid-size food-grade grain farmers. She also runs women farming circles where she advises and instructs on everything from planting crops to fixing and maintaining equipment. Noreen does not sugar-coat things, and she makes sure they are connected to USDA and conservation programs. Farming is really hard work, and there isn’t a lot of room for mistakes, especially given climate change. Noreen recommends beginning farmers find a farm mentor. She believes if you are going to have a hand out, you need to be willing to lend a hand, so she encourages them to spend a weekend helping their mentors farm as a way to learn and help at the same time.
Field of Doubting Thomas Farms’ oats
Photo credit: Doubting Thomas Farms
Noreen’s passion and care for farmers runs deep and led her to pursue an idea for improving access to high quality organic fertilizers. During the pandemic, Noreen saw neighboring conventional farmers struggle to get fertilizers they needed due to supply-chain issues. A lot of those fertilizers actually come from outside the U.S. Noreen realized that the problem would eventually trickle down to organic farmers. She was aware of a biodigester that some local businesses built and were using, and she was interested in learning more. That opportunity came when she got a cold-call from an engineer looking for interns, and he had a biodigester. He was taking 40 tons of food waste and turning it into fertilizer. Noreen ended up being a resource for him while learning more about creating and operating a biodigester. Noreen applied for and was granted an Initiators Fellowship to immerse herself in the work. The family also began composting on a large scale. Doubting Thomas Farms so far has converted 175,000 tons of manure and hay into high quality fertilizer. Also, they compost about 35 tons of pumpkins each year on their farm through the Take-Back-Jack Program.
While that may seem like a lot of waste, it shrinks when made into fertilizer. Noreen is constantly testing and watching the compost and very careful about what gets composted, so it isn't contaminated with metals and pesticides like commercial fertilizers. Because she is so careful, people are amazed that there is little to no odor from it. The fertilizer has been tested on home and community gardens, and the feedback has been very positive. Noreen was especially happy to hear it works well on sensitive plants like tomatoes and herbs. She is now working to create enough so local organic farmers can use it.
That Odd Couple
Things have gotten better for Noreen and Lee, but they are still “that odd couple” to many. There just aren’t that many organic farms in the state. In 2021, Doubting Thomas Farms was one of only 650 organic farms in Minnesota. The quality of their products has grown the farm's reputation both at home and abroad. Some of their best customers are in Japan, Taiwan and Germany. Also, Noreen has become friends with chefs and cooks, including Food Network star, Molly Yeh, and James Beard Award-Winning chef, Dan Barber, who are fans of Doubting Thomas Farms. A hospital in Peoria, Illinois, uses Doubting Thomas Farms’ oats exclusively to serve the “best bowl of oats” to their patients.
Noreen Thomas
Photo Credit: Minnesota Initiatives Foundations
Growing up in a family that didn’t have a lot of money and faced adversity taught Noreen how to figure things out and pivot quickly in order to find a way forward. The ability to do that has allowed her to turn her hopes into reality and sustain hope in the face of the challenges that come with farming. She recalled how one year wild oats got mixed in with the regular oats, and Lee thought they were a loss. Noreen remembered that Indigenous people ate wild oats, so instead of composting the oats, they sold them to chefs they know who really liked them.
Noreen is a creative soul who is grateful for what she has and is always looking for joy, even when things get tough. When her kids were little, their farm flooded. Their house had no heat and became an island. Instead of being stressed and fearful waiting for the flood waters to recede, they camped and had fun waiting for the flood waters to recede.
She also has a lot to be hopeful about. The beginning farmers she knows are passionate and vocal. Noreen has a cross-section of friends from Amish, New American and Tribal communities who share her passion for tending the earth and nutritious food. She recently served on an advisory panel for Minnesota U.S. Senator Tina Smith about improvements to SNAP benefits and better access to nutrient-dense foods in the upcoming farm bill. More people are consuming organic food because it tastes better and as a way to stay healthy. She enjoys hosting people on the farm, especially kids from a homeless shelter in Moorhead. For many, seeds are a symbol of hope. Maybe that is why Noreen keeps them in her pockets.
Learn More
Visit Doubting Thomas Farms to learn more about the farm and where you can purchase their products. Also, follow them on Facebook to learn about opportunities to visit the farm and much more.
