Jake Lau

Like many young aspiring vegetable farmers, Jake didn't grow up on a farm. It wasn't until he was well into a bachelor's degree studying Restoration Ecology at the University of Minnesota he realized his interest in vegetable farming. After graduation, Jake spent five years learning the craft as an apprentice in Connecticut at Fort Hill Farm, in Minnesota at Uproot Farm and in nearby Arkansaw, WI at Hog's Back Farm. Late in 2013, Jake settled back home in the Chippewa Valley and started Square Roots Farm with a plan to produce nutritous fruits and vegetables, using farming practices that protect and nurture the soil as well as the community.

Briana Odegard

Briana's farming experience spans from her birth onto a sheep farm in southwestern Wisconsin, to her teen and college years working on her family's beef farm, to her current role as a vegetable farmer. Her passion for vegetable production was fostered in urban environments on the UW Eau Claire campus and in the Eau Claire Community Garden. She is now welding her long-time love for farming with her knowledge of vegetable production.