2/10/2009 11:20:01 AM

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By Dawn Schuett

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

ELGIN -- Snow-covered fields and freezing temperatures normally slow the pace of life on Minnesota farms in the winter.

	On the farm Hidden Stream Farm, LLC Owners: Lisa and Eric Klein Location: 27079 County Road 25, Elgin Products: Chicken, beef and pork without antibiotics and hormones Phone: (507) 876-2304

At Hidden Stream Farm near Elgin, things are hectic as usual for owners Eric and Lisa Klein, who often work 80 hours a week, tending to livestock, marketing the beef, chicken and pork they produce and delivering it to customers in southeast Minnesota and beyond. Eric, 40, and Lisa, 41, are also the parents of five children, ages 9 to seven months.

"It can be a little stressful," Lisa Klein said of balancing farm and family.

They're proving that a small operation using sustainable farming methods can prosper in an era of corporate farms. The meat they sell is free of hormones and antibiotics.

The Kleins, who manage the 180-acre farm where Lisa grew up, know that earning a living this way requires more than hard work.

Passionate about what they're doing, the Kleins stubbornly cling to the belief it can be done and have found a good partner in each other to accomplish it.

"That's what it's taking for us," Lisa said.

This year, they'll raise 2,800 chickens, 800 market hogs and 60 head of grass-fed cattle. Some of the meat will be sold to restaurants in the region and in the Twin Cities, and in the summer, to dining establishments in Ely and Grand Marais in northern Minnesota. The Kleins also sell their products at farmers markets in Rochester and Plainview.

With help from Lisa's father and other family members, the Kleins have been able to handle the work up to this point, but Lisa said they're looking to hire "the right person to help us take it to the next level."

For the Kleins, that next level means increasing direct sales to consumers while finding more time to spend with their family.

Ultimately, Lisa said, the goal is "to get this good food in everyday people's hands."

While they want to grow their business, they continue to practice and promote sustainable farming. They remain active in Farm Beginnings, an initiative of the Land Stewardship Project that educates farmers about low-cost, sustainable farming methods. The Kleins attended the program early on and are still involved as mentors for participating farmers.

Hidden Stream Farm is by no means the only small farm trying to fill a niche in the market today, but that doesn't worry Lisa Klein.

"The competition is there because everybody is trying to make a living doing what we're doing," she said. The Kleins want those competitors to thrive, not fail.

"We'd like to see more small farms succeed," Lisa said.

Dawn Schuett is a Farmington freelance writer.

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