Young couple sows seeds of success with Dig It Produce in Hitterdal

For years, though, he was intrigued by agriculture and horticulture, and when he lived in town, he always managed to transform the whole backyard into a garden.

By Tammy Swift
InForum
July 12, 2021

Excerpt:

Just a couple of miles outside this small Minnesota community, the owners of Dig It Produce have claimed their own little corner of heaven.

A cute, shake-covered house sits at the center of this picturesque farm, lined with lofty oaks and knolls of jewel-green grass. Well-fed chickens prattle and scratch outside their coop, while a single handsome rooster named Henry belts out a perfect, Foley-perfect crow. On the west edge of the property, Flora Lake shines like glass on a hot, still day.

Even Dig It’s owners are Insta-friendly: Nathan Wagner is tall and lean, with a Gary Cooper-esque profile, while Katie Wagner flashes an all-American smile and exhibits the admirable posture of the dancer-turned-dance-teacher she is.

A city slicker might enter this bucolic spot and decide this is the perfect life. But what visitors don’t see is the hard work, mud-caked nails and years of planning beneath it all. Or the fact that both partners plant these crops and weed these gardens after working eight hours a day at their day jobs in Fargo. Or the fears that anyone who depends on the land faces – that the tomato crop could be wiped out by blight or a hail storm could destroy their months of hard work in a single day.

Yet, here they are, smiling and optimistic and grateful. They proudly show off the thriving 1/2-acre garden where they raise hundreds of different pesticide-free vegetables, which they sell through the Red River Farmers’ Market (which opened this weekend).

Nathan believes last year’s Red River Market season really helped put them on the map. They had a huge selection of vegetables and people were clamoring to buy — not only so they could know where their food came from, but also because the virus made them more aware of the importance of healthy foods that build immunity. “We really brought our A game in terms of vegetables,” he says.

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