Bear Butte Farms LLC

Bear Butte Gardens is a small-scale garden and greenhouse business owned and operated by Michelle and Rick Grosek. We are located on 120 acres about five miles northeast of Sturgis, South Dakota. Bear Butte Gardens was established in the spring of 2010 and became USDA organic certified on August 6th, 2012.

Bear Butte Gardens is a family-based business with strong connections to our community. Our son, Mike, and our daughter, Veronica, are an integral part of this business. We employ a "Diversified Organic Farm Manager" apprenticeship, certified with the SD Department of Labor. We also utilize the talents of interns from both Sturgis High School and Black Hills State University, as well as paid employees and volunteers.

We are locals, growing up in this general area. Michelle was raised in the Newell and Belle Fourche communities, while Rick was raised in the Lead/Deadwood communities. Mike and Veronica grew up here in Sturgis. Michelle and Rick both graduated with bachelor degrees from National American University in Rapid City, SD. Our family interests and hobbies have included many outdoor activities such as hiking and backpacking, and music. We founded Sturgis Center for the Arts, a 501(c)3 non-profit arts-based organization in 2005, and managed it for about seven years. Rick has been the Senior Database Administrator at Regional Health since 1998.

After living on this land for approximately 15 years and being just somewhat involved in the stewardship of the land, we made the decision for Michelle to change her career from a very computer-driven position as Director of Sturgis Center for the Arts to a more soil-driven position on the farm. Rick is still living in the IT world, but looks forward to stepping away in a few years and spending more time on the farm.

Can't separate this farm from this family! Click on any photo below to start a slideshow.