The University Farm

Sustainable Agriculture Research Station and Community Garden for all

About the Farm

The mission of Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Farm is to promote land stewardship and sustainable practices while providing agricultural and cultural education opportunities for Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University students, local K-12 institutions, and the community. The University Farm is considered a Sustainable Agriculture Research Station (SARS) and is working towards a more sustainable future for agriculture while honoring the cultural practices of the Ojibwe people.

The University Farm is located north of the LCOOU Main Campus at:

13457W Froemel Rd
Hayward, WI 54843
715-634-9666

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University Sustainable Agriculture Research Station (AKA LCOOU Farm) has garden boxes and small, large, and custom size in-ground garden plots for community members of LCO, Hayward, and surrounding areas.


All participants will have access to free seeds, started plants, garden tools, gloves, and on-site assistance with prep and planting! The community garden is accessible 24/7 through our foot-access gate and is accessible by vehicle with on-site parking Monday-Friday 9am-4pm from May-November. The community garden opens for planting mid-may and gardeners are expected to begin prepping and planting their garden plot before June 18th. 

Our community garden is located at:


13457W Froemel Rd
Hayward, WI 54843
715-634-9666

 *The community garden is open to all; you do not have to be a tribal member to participate​*


Community Garden

Farmer’s Market

Join us at the LCO Farmers Market located between LCO Quick Stop and LCO Country Store! 8563 N, Co Hwy K, Hayward, WI 54843.

The LCO Farmers Market takes place from June-October on Fridays from 10:00am-2:00pm. Vendors are welcome to stay into the afternoon if they wish.

LCOOU Farm Programming

  • Sponsor a Chicken

    Sponsoring a chicken allows you to receive eggs or meat for a small fee which helps support our chicken project! The goal of the Sponsor a Chicken program is to help fund our project while also increasing food security for the community through providing eggs and meat, and allow community members to become "Chicken Farmers" with us.

  • Remembrance Garden

    Remembrance Garden will honor loved ones and community members who have passed away. The garden will include flowers, native plants, and flowering shrubs.

    Those wishing to honor a loved one will also have the opportunity to volunteer to help maintain our Remembrance Gardens if they wish.

  • K-12 Educational Offerings

    Classroom presentations and hands-on learning experiences about Ojibwe lifeways, indigenous agriculture, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), and the history of Native Nations in Wisconsin.

Hemp Research Project

This project is grant funded in partnership with UW Madison, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University and the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board. The Hemp Project aims to determine the economic feasibility of hemp and companion planting through variety trials.

Land Grant Institution

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University is a 1994 Land Grant Institution and LCOOU Extension Programming is funded by grants from the USDA Extension Program, NIFA, Tribal Colleges Research Grants Program (TCRGP), and SARE. Additinally, LCOOU Extension with the Wisconsin Nutrition Education Program, UW Extension, and other local entities to bring programming to the local community.