“Pizza Farm” Grows All The Ingredients
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Stoney Acres Farm is more than a venue that serves good pizza. Tony Schultz and his crew not only make the pizza, but they also grow most of the ingredients for the pizza on Schultz’s 80-acre Athens, Wis., farm. Tony Schultz credits Robbi Bannen and Ted Fisher of Stockholm, Wis., as the pizza farm pioneers who inspired him to diversify the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) operation he started in 2006.
“Everyone likes pizza, and people want to support local, diversified, family farms,” Schultz says. Add live music, an on-farm small-batch brewery, and a pastoral farm setting, and it turns into a pizza party every Friday and Saturday night between April and early November. The menu offers pizzas using available ingredients from the freezer or fresh from the garden that are baked in less than two minutes in wood-fired 1,000-degree pizza ovens.
After the farm was featured on Wisconsin Foodie on PBS, the pizza parties grew bigger. It’s common to make 500 pizzas a weekend, Schultz says. While that can be hectic for the 14 or so workers prepping and baking pizzas and serving and bartending, the background work happens the rest of the week.
“A pizza farm has to be a farm first,” Schultz says.
He grows 10 to 20 acres of organic winter wheat to grind into flour for the pizza dough and feed the 90 pigs that become sausage and bacon. There’s hay to grow and bale for the 40 beef cows. They also raise 12 acres of vegetables - 200 varieties in 45 crop families, with a third of an acre of basil to make 55 gals. of pesto, 2 acres of tomatoes, and all the other veggies and herbs that go on the pizzas. Add to that tending bees to produce honey, tapping maple trees for syrup, and growing mushrooms.
It takes a lot of produce and meat for the fresh 16-in. pizzas as well as the frozen 12-in. pizzas and weekly CSA shares that Stoney Acres Farms provides.
The only things not grown on the farm are purchased gluten-free pizza crusts, oil (Schultz uses a blend of purchased olive oil and sunflower oil provided by a neighbor), and cheese, which comes from nearby creameries.
“I don’t do dairy because I’m not that crazy,” Schultz says, in recognition of the extra labor it would require. He grew up on the farm which was a dairy farm until 1998 when the 50-cow herd was sold.
“I’m in love with my farm. This is my home,” he says. “I’m on a mission to sustain my family farm and make it thrive and put it into a position to be handed down to another generation,” Schultz says. “And I can’t imagine having more fun doing it.”
Check out the website for videos and information about the unique kinds of pizzas served at Stoney Acres Farm.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Stoney Acres Farm, 245728 Baldwin Creek Rd., Athens, Wis. 54411 (ph 715-432-6285; www.stoneyacres.farm; stoneyacrescsa@gmail.com; Facebook: Stoney Acres Farm).
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“Pizza Farm” Grows All The Ingredients FARM HOME Food Stoney Acres Farm is more than a venue that serves good pizza Tony Schultz and his crew not only make the pizza but they also grow most of the ingredients for the pizza on Schultz’s 80-acre Athens Wis farm Tony Schultz credits Robbi Bannen and Ted Fisher of Stockholm Wis as the pizza farm pioneers who inspired him to diversify the Community Supported Agriculture CSA operation he started in 2006 “Everyone likes pizza and people want to support local diversified family farms ” Schultz says Add live music an on-farm small-batch brewery and a pastoral farm setting and it turns into a pizza party every Friday and Saturday night between April and early November The menu offers pizzas using available ingredients from the freezer or fresh from the garden that are baked in less than two minutes in wood-fired 1 000-degree pizza ovens After the farm was featured on Wisconsin Foodie on PBS the pizza parties grew bigger It’s common to make 500 pizzas a weekend Schultz says While that can be hectic for the 14 or so workers prepping and baking pizzas and serving and bartending the background work happens the rest of the week “A pizza farm has to be a farm first ” Schultz says He grows 10 to 20 acres of organic winter wheat to grind into flour for the pizza dough and feed the 90 pigs that become sausage and bacon There’s hay to grow and bale for the 40 beef cows They also raise 12 acres of vegetables - 200 varieties in 45 crop families with a third of an acre of basil to make 55 gals of pesto 2 acres of tomatoes and all the other veggies and herbs that go on the pizzas Add to that tending bees to produce honey tapping maple trees for syrup and growing mushrooms It takes a lot of produce and meat for the fresh 16-in pizzas as well as the frozen 12-in pizzas and weekly CSA shares that Stoney Acres Farms provides The only things not grown on the farm are purchased gluten-free pizza crusts oil Schultz uses a blend of purchased olive oil and sunflower oil provided by a neighbor and cheese which comes from nearby creameries “I don’t do dairy because I’m not that crazy ” Schultz says in recognition of the extra labor it would require He grew up on the farm which was a dairy farm until 1998 when the 50-cow herd was sold “I’m in love with my farm This is my home ” he says “I’m on a mission to sustain my family farm and make it thrive and put it into a position to be handed down to another generation ” Schultz says “And I can’t imagine having more fun doing it ” Check out the website for videos and information about the unique kinds of pizzas served at Stoney Acres Farm Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Stoney Acres Farm 245728 Baldwin Creek Rd Athens Wis 54411 ph 715-432-6285; www stoneyacres farm; stoneyacrescsa@gmail com; Facebook: Stoney Acres Farm
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