About PEAS farm

Where

3010 Duncan Drive, Missoula | 10 acres | View Map 

Highlights

Since its inception in 1997, the Program in Ecological Agriculture and Society has combined traditional academics with hands-on work at an urban, sustainable farm. Each growing season, the PEAS Farm grows thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables for the Missoula Food Bank to distribute to low income families as well as many local community organizations. Animals on the farm include pigs, chickens, and often a farm cat or two.

CSA Shares: 100 summer shares. MORE.

The PEAS Farm is a hub for Garden City Harvest’s Farm to School program. Over 2,250 students field trip to the PEAS Farm each spring and fall. It also serves as an outdoor classroom for the Environmental Studies program at the University of Montana. The PEAS internship – available for both undergraduate and graduate credit through the University of Montana – is offered spring, summer, and fall. 

CSA Share Program

PICK UPS THIS YEAR: Pick up times are 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm Mondays or Thursdays starting in early June and ending the first week of October.

Read all about our CSA Shares here!

Large share: $575

For 18 weeks you will receive a share of locally grown vegetables. Our CSA is different because we think outside the box: meaning you come to the farm each week and pack your box full of high quality, lovingly grown produce. We love getting to know you, cultivating a community, and getting as many people out on the farm as possible. We think you'll like coming out to the farm each week for a moment of peace and connection to the earth, too. 

History

Josh Slotnick, former PEAS Farm Director and University of Montana lecturer, worked with students and community partners to start the farm on University land at Fort Missoula in 1997. In 2001, the farm moved to the Rattlesnake site and grew the first crops there in summer of 2002.

The site now includes a straw bale barn, greenhouse, two hoop houses, native plants garden, Four Sisters' Garden, chicken coop, pig pen, orchard, parking lot, and play area. Much of the electricity comes from a solar array. The community helped build the farm through generous donations of money, time, labor, and materials.

Community Partnerships

The University of Montana Environmental Studies Program started the PEAS program in 1997, and continues to fund the instructor, recruit students, and make the program an integral part of the Environmental Studies program curriculum. Read more about taking part in the program. 

The Missoula Food Bank distributes tons of the farm’s high quality food to Missoulians in need. Since 2022, the farm also grows food for the University of Montana Food Pantry.

Local government also plays a role. The farm is sub-leased from the City of Missoula, which leases the land from Missoula County Public Schools (MCPS). In 2014, MCPS approved a 40 year lease with the City of Missoula to ensure the farm’s future at this site for generations to come.

Our CSA members are community partners too. By purchasing a share of vegetables, they ensure a much-needed revenue stream so we can buy seeds, fuel for our tractor, and heat for our greenhouse, all required to grow the food that feeds so many in our community.

We also rely on community supporters, our donors, who don’t expect anything in return.

Pigs at the PEAS Farm

Part of the Farm to School effort at the PEAS Farm includes keeping pigs. We purchase pigs early in the year, so that students who are visiting the farm can learn about humane raising of farm animals and discuss where their meat comes from. Our pigs stay with us, taking in one of the best views in Missoula, with plenty of room to roam, lots of good food, and a happy life. When they reach maturity and are fully grown in the fall, they are harvested and sold.

Read more about it in our Animal Policies.