Blue Rock Farmland Commons Stories
Annie & Jay Warmke
Annie and Jay Warmke created Blue Rock Station Farm and built its Earthship home. They wanted the land and the life they made on it to continue beyond their own stewardship.
MEET ANNIE
Annie Warmke is a farmer, author, and co-creator of Blue Rock Station Farm. Together, Annie and Jay built an Earthship home and a place for learning, growing, and living with the land.
About Annie ↗Land trusts & commoning
At a webinar on land trusts and commoning hosted by the Women, Food, and Agriculture Network, Annie encountered a new path for the farm. WFAN later became a founding nonprofit member of the Blue Rock Farmland Commons.
WOMEN, FOOD, AND AGRICULTURE NETWORK
WFAN is a community for food growers and land stewards who have been historically excluded from access to education, infrastructure, and support networks in agriculture. Together, we can share the connections and encouragement needed to be effective practitioners and supporters of sustainable agriculture.
Meet WFAN ↗A farm held open
Annie and Jay agreed to sell the farm to The Farmers Land Trust for $250,000—well below its $400,000 appraised value. Their $150,000 gift of land value makes the next chapter possible.
HOW THE PURCHASE WORKS
- $400,000 appraised value
- $250,000 sale price · a $150,000 gift of land value
- $100,000 paid by The Farmers Land Trust in 2026
- Remaining $150,000 held by Annie and Jay as a private mortgage at 0% interest, with $50,000 payments in 2027, 2028, and 2029
The Farmers Land Trust now holds 38 acres of Blue Rock Station Farm, keeping this living landscape open to long-term stewardship.
Finding the next generation
The search for next-generation stewards involved applications, requests for proposals, interviews, and a selection committee. During the filming of the BBC StoryWorks film, Sarah and Jason Ricks were chosen—an unscripted moment that changed the future of the farm.
The Ricks family
Sarah and Jason Ricks, with their children Corbin and Cora, are the next-generation stewards at Blue Rock Station Farm. A 99-year lease gives their family a long horizon to care for the land.
Since the Ricks began stewarding
Scenes from the land since the Ricks began stewarding it.
From beginning to next beginning
A 60-second animation, made by people, showing how the farm moved from Annie and Jay to its next generation of stewards.
