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Enabling Farmer Resilience through Economic Transformation

Enabling Farmer Resilience through Economic Transformation

Who We Are and What We Do

We are a Montana-based nonprofit rooted in the lived experience of Vilicus Farms (VF), a first generation 12,000+ acre dryland organic crop farm. We explore the systemic challenges that VF has faced and currently encounters and leverage the findings of our exploration to inform our programming. This discovery drives our strategy for convening, learning from, and supporting, other organic farmers in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) and beyond, in pursuit of a future where farmers are thriving and land is flourishing.

Our Mission

Our mission is to reimagine the relationship between agriculture, economics, and ecology to cultivate transformational change that enables life to thrive on the Northern Great Plains.

Our Vision

We envision a future where land is flourishing and farmers are thriving.

"The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope."

WENDELL BERRY

Previous Work

Ecology

Bringing The Water Back Case Studies

Water is critical to agricultural operations in the Northern Great Plain, which are feeling the impacts of climate change though extreme drought over the past several years.

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Economy

Creating and Sustaining New Agrarians in the West:

We have partnered with Quivira Coalition to explore enterprise stacking on agricultural operations with the goal of improving the success of beginning ranchers and farmers on large-landscape operations in the West. 

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Place

The Sarah H. Baker Memorial Writer’s Cabin at Vilicus Farms

Vilicus Institute is working to establish a land based residency program in the Northern Great Plains for writers, chefs and researchers.

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Economy

Building Resilient and Equitable Supply Circles for Regenerative Rotational Crops

Vilicus Institute is developing a project to address economic challenges faced by regenerative producers in the Northern Great Plains. 

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