FRANCIS THICKE with wife Susan, owns and operates an 80-cow, grass-based, organic dairy near Fairfield, Iowa.  They process milk on the farm and market dairy products through grocery stores and restaurants in Fairfield.  Francis has a Ph.D. in soil fertility and served as National Program Leader for Soil Science for the USDA-Extension Service in Washington, D.C.

They process milk on the farm and market dairy products through grocery stores and restaurants in Fairfield.  Francis has a Ph.D. in soil fertility and served as National Program Leader for Soil Science for the USDA-Extension Service in Washington, D.C. Francis has served in many service and leadership positions, including the Iowa Environmental Protection Commission, Iowa Food Policy Council, USDA State Technical Committee  ISU Extension Advisory Committee.  He has received many awards, including the 2009 Spencer Award for Sustainable Agriculture from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture Achievement Award from Practical Farmers of Iowa, Steward of Land Award from the Iowa Sierra Club, and the Friend of Extension Award from the ISU Extension Service. In 2010, Francis published “A New Vision for Iowa Food and Agriculture, Sustainable Agriculture for the 21^st Century.”

Francis Thicke gives us a glimpse of Radiance Dairy Farm, committed to an organic, sustainable, hyper-local model of farming in Fairfield, Iowa.