Our Mission

Using only the best of what Mother Nature can offer and a huge dose of love from the farmers, we strive to provide the Fort Collins area with the freshest, tastiest, and healthiest produce that can be grown in the Northern Colorado region.

About Native Hill Farm

Native Hill Farm is a four season, family run, diversified, and intensive vegetable farm located in north Fort Collins, Colorado. We strive to cultivate the freshest and highest quality, naturally grown produce for our neighbors. We farm year round using innovative and sustainable growing practices with a focus on passive season extension techniques, innovation, cover cropping, energy efficiency, and water conservation. We are committed to preserving and encouraging the rich agrarian heritage of this high desert place we call home.

We are honored to be growing healthy and fresh food for our community. Our produce is available through our CSA programs, the Larimer County Farmer’s Market, and at the Beaver’s Market Farm Stand. You can also find our high quality produce on the menu at select Old Town Fort Collins restaurants and cafes and in the produce section at the Fort Collins Food Co-Op.

Nic & Katie Koontz, Owners & Farmers

Since their initial connection at the first official Town Hall Meeting on local food, Nic and Katie have combined their passions for farming, environmental health, and community fortification to bring high quality produce to the good folks of Fort Collins.

“We believe that the health of our community is directly tied to the food that we all eat and the environment that it is grown in. Eating fresh and local produce is not only good for your health, but it improves your quality of life. Farming helps us feel like we are helping shape the community that we want to live and work in.”

- Katie

Our Values

Quality, Freshness & Traditional Organic

Food grown close to home has many benefits over food trucked or flown in from far away. Grocery store produce travels on average 1,500 miles from farm to table, and we are excited to be just 3 miles from Old Town Ft. Collins. Local food is super fresh, offers a huge variety, is the highest quality, and has taste that is unparalleled! We farm using organic standards but are unable to become USDA certified due to our short land leases. As a farm we are ready to become certified organic once we have permanent home for our farm. Come on out to the farm, meet the farmers and see for yourself how we grow the good food that we provide to the community.

Community

Possibly the only thing we love more than growing tasty veggies is the community that we cultivate by doing so. The positive energy, genuine appreciation, accountability, and loving support are the most important piece of the farm’s sustainability plan. We couldn’t exist without it!

Good Farming Meets Innovation

Here at Native Hill, our farming practices are a healthy blend of old world agrarian knowledge and modern innovation. Think heirloom tomato meets modern hoop-house construction. In order to grow food year round in this high desert community for a fast paced world, we must innovate and learn daily about how to conserve energy, water, and soil while also producing the highest quality food as efficiently as possible.

Sustainability

We believe in the three pillars of sustainability: people, planet, and profit. All are equally as important to the long term vision of the farm and we are dedicated to making decisions that will maximize our sustainability within each of these categories.

Native Hill Farm Expansion at Montava

The Project

Native Hill is expanding!  We are excited to be working with Poudre Valley Community Farms and Montava to expand our farm to include 40 acres of land within the City of Fort Collins.  The new farm land will be located within the boundaries of the Montava development, an agri-urban community that will reside in the Northeast corridor of the city. 

We have been looking for a permanent expansion opportunity for many years and we are excited to be a part of a project that not only will preserve 40 acres of prime farm land, but also has sustainability its primary focus.  This expansion will not only allow us to steward more land organically but will also allow us to be better farmers.  We have a grand vision for the new farm including enough land for both cover crops and cash crops, infrastructure for washing and packing produce, and an onsite farm stand.  We are  working with the National Resource Conservation Service to make improvements in water efficiency and erosion control in the new fields and we are excited to partner with the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas on a shared vision for habitat for native pollinators and wildlife. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Will you still be growing food for the general public (i.e. not just for the Montava community)? 

Yes!  Our number on reason for this expansion project is to better serve the community that has supported and helped us grow over the last 12 years.  We are looking forward to returning to the farmer’s market in 2020 and serving our CSA and farm stand clients in a better capacity than we have in the past.

What will you do with the old farm?

We currently have plans to keep farming in our current location and view the Montava project as a farm land addition.  The North Taft Farm will be a strategic location for continuing to serve the LaPorte community as well as for our winter production.