“Southwest Antelope County is a known food desert. We are trying to fill that gap in the community,” said Rachel Uhrenholdt.
Her business, Midplains Produce, is a farm that provides local food 365 days a year. Located on a farm between Petersburg and Elgin, Nebraska, Midplains Produce is able to grow fruits, vegetables, and herbs year-round in a geothermal greenhouse and a Freight Farm hydroponic system. During the summer, other vegetables are also propagated outdoors using Uhrenholdt’s distinct deep-mulch method.
Midplains Produce is one of three businesses owned by the Uhrenholdt family. Rachel Uhrenholdt’s parents, Richard and Donna Uhrenholdt, own and operate Midplains Ag, a full-service precision agriculture consultation and risk management group. Holdt Farms is the family’s farming operation.
The Uhrenholdt family has farmed in Antelope County for over 115 years. Uhrenholdt’s grandparents lived in the farmhouse where Uhrenholdt and her two daughters now reside. This is the same property where she now operates Midplains Produce.
To keep a fresh supply of clean food year-round, the Uhrenholdts purchased a Greenhouse in the Snow kit. Construction began in October 2020. The exterior of the geothermal greenhouse measures 156 feet long by 17 feet wide, with the grow room being 120 feet long. They opted to add 6-foot overhangs on both ends of the greenhouse so that the windows can be left open constantly during the warm months, Uhrenholdt said.
Read the entire article at Ag Update