History

January 2, 2023

Crag Moor Farm is 162 acre farm located in SW Wisconsin a few miles north of Spring Green and west of Plain. The first land patents for this land were registered in 1855. After a little more than a 100 years of local small farmers owning the farm the property was transferred to the care of Alice and Gerald Mueller of Madison, WI. Between 1964 and 2011 the 37 tillable acres were planted in cover crops and the forests allowed to grow without intervention. After 2011-12 the fields were leased to neighboring farmers who grew corn and soybeans, radishes and turnips.

The farm was named by a Scotsman, Alastair Currie, who was a friend of our family. He was impressed by the beauty of the rolling meadow and rocky outcropping near the homesite and barnyard and exclaimed, “Ah. Crag Moor, what a beautiful sight!”

My mother held the original vision for Crag Moor Farm. She wanted to preserve the beauty and the integrity of the land. She put the fields in alfalfa and trefoil and planted many white pine and maple trees throughout the property. My father constructed miles of trails that make all areas of the farm very accessible. Except for the fields and trail maintenance, most of the farm has evolved naturally to its current condition.

The previous oak savanna areas have been transitioning to red maple, cherry, hickory, and ash. There are other stands of birch and aspen. Even so, much of the forest is still very open with only a few invasive species: garlic mustard and barberry and honeysuckle. Prickly ash has also taken off and seems invasive at this point.

Connie Administrator

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