Air Force Member Begins Creating an Orchard

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Stacy Sporre put her Rammy brush hog to work clearing the overgrowth on her land. A Fellowship Fund grant from Kubota Tractor Corporation enabled her to buy the brush hog for her ATV.

With retirement from active-duty service in the Air Force coming in the next few months, Stacy Sporre said she sometimes gets sidetracked talking about dirt.

“I had decided many years ago that when I retired, I wanted to work outdoors, so I pursued an environmental science degree,” the Tennessee resident said. “Funny enough, the soil science class I had to take was the start of my true fascination with dirt. Those millions of micro-organisms and how they affect the health of your soil pulled me right in.

“Now, I’ve always had gardens while I’ve moved around, but once I learned about how everything interacts based on soil health, I couldn’t stop. I ordered one of those soil-testing kits from Amazon and got busy making my lawn the healthiest and most lush in the neighborhood.”

Stacy grew up in rural Minnesota, but notes that was amidst the trees and lakes, not the farmland.

“I spent most of my childhood outside, helping my parents with their small hobby farm, picking rocks in the vegetable garden, and camping for weeks on end during the summer,” she said. “I joined the Air Force 10 days after I graduated high school, still 17 and ready to see the world.

“My dad was in the service when he was younger and I remember him saying that if I was going to join the military, I should learn something at least, so I decided being a jet engine mechanic would fit that bill.”

She’s now two months shy of 26 years in the service.

Growing the Farm

“I’ve always said it would be neat to have a homestead after retirement, but once I started down this soil health path, I further realized my dreams of wanting to have an organic garden,” Stacy said. “This turned into an organic orchard, which turned into an organic pick-your-own farm, etc.”

Her family only recently moved to their Tennessee homestead, named Hidden Hollow Farms.

“Everyone has to start somewhere,” she said “Two years ago we had just purchased this land and had nothing but a vision. It hasn’t happened as fast as we thought it would, but if you have the dream and stick to it, someday you will make it happen.”

At the moment only a few apple and peach trees are in the ground, and there is an apiary, which moved with them to Tennessee from Florida.

“This spring will be the real race to get trees planted and further our dreams,” she said. “The plan is to have apples, peaches, pears, plums, cherries, and blueberries available for picking patrons.

“I also have plans for walking paths to explore nature, and highlighting herbs and their medicinal values while they explore the property. Eventually we would like to have goats and chickens, but that’s a way off still.”

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Stacy Sporre cleans up her land thanks to a brush hog purchased with a Fellowship Fund grant.

Fellowship Fund

Stacy was one of the Fellowship Fund recipients in 2024, receiving a grant from Kubota Tractor Corporation.

The Fellowship Fund grant made it possible for us to buy a Rammy brush hog for our ATV,” she said, “which is absolutely amazing at clearing the overgrowth and letting my cover crop seed take root. The wild blackberries are out of control and need to be tamed back. The dogs are much happier running through cover crops versus thorny bushes.”

Creating a farm out of the land is fulfilling, she said.

“The thing that I enjoy most about our operation is that it is raw land and my family and I are working to make it ours,” Stacy said. “I love to see my youngest children interacting with nature and enjoying the simpler things: snow-covered mountains, knobs and hollers, waterfalls, etc.

“These are things they never would have appreciated if we hadn’t made the decision to follow this dream. This is their legacy, and they are playing a direct part in building it. I love it!”