Story Summary: Ellie Costello moved from the Virginia suburbs of D.C. to Missoula, Montana, in 2009 to attend graduate school at the University of Montana, where she studied sustainable food and farming. Over the past 15 years, she worked many jobs in the community, working with organizations like the PEAS Farm and the Missoula Urban Demonstration Project (MUD), managing Western Cider, serving on the Missoula City Planning Board, and launching her own business, Black Bear Soups, in 2015. Through this venture, Ellie and her partners grew fresh ingredients and crafted delicious soups to serve the community. Today, if you drive to the corner of Tower and 3rd Street, just a few miles west of the Good Food Store, you’ll find an 8-acre farm known as Trust Land Farm. Here, Ellie and her dedicated team of six grow fresh produce, which they sell directly to the community at their small farm stand. As a young, first-generation female farmer, Ellie has faced the growing challenges of entering the industry and affording land. However, in the past year, Ellie took on the challenge when land formerly owned by Clark Fork Organics was purchased by Trust Montana, a statewide community land trust. Ellie was able to lease this land, and since then, she and her small team have been growing Trust Land Farm into local thriving farm. Caption: The sun rises over silage tarps that cover Trust Land Farm’s harvest of lettuce on August 31, 2024. The farm recently got their first frost of the season, requiring more maintenance each night before the farm can sleep.

Ellie Costello bends over to fix her leaking irrigation system in the backyard of her house on August 30th, 2024. After Ellie wraps up her work at Trust Land Farm, her job for the day isn’t done. She comes home to small land plot that accompanies another farm that she takes care of by herself.

Ellie Costello begins her morning resupplying the farm stand located on Trust Land Farm, on August 31st, 2024. Ellie carries boxes of vegetables that were harvested the day prior, to be placed on display for the purchase of local customers.

Knots of garlic are tied into bundles and hung from Ellie Costello’s shed to be cured, on August 31, 2024. Curing garlic helps prevent mold and allows the produce to be sold for longer periods of time, and must be cured for three to four weeks. Ellie tends to make decorative garlic bouquets to be displayed at her farm stand, which are sold at a high demand.

Ellie Costello and Lena Martin wash and package the days harvest of lettuce on August 31, 2024. Lena is a part of Ellie’s team of 6, and has many years of farming experience.

Ellie Costello stands near her fridge on Trust Land Farm on August 31, 2024.

Ellie and Ryan Costello reattach plastic to their hoop house on their property after a long-lasting thunderstorm with 109 mph winds caused damage to many areas of their farm in Missoula MT, on Aug 31, 2024. Ellie Costello is a self-starting farmer, who battled to own farmland for over 9 years. Recently, she was able to lease an 8-acre community land trust and has been working for the past year to get it started with a small team by her side. Affording land has become increasingly harder over the years, especially being a first-generation farmer.

Ellie Costello hangs her head in her hands while reattaching tarp to her and her husband’s hoop house on August 31, 2024. Working long days in high temperatures has become Ellie’s norm while facing the realities of starting a farm as a first-generation farmer.

Ellie Costello drives to the Farm and Feed in Ronan, MT, to source local and organic seeds for her farm. Farm and Feed is a warehouse stocked with seed, minerals, and supplements for farms near the Missoula and Flathead area.

Ellie Costello chats with a friend at Hand Me Down Coffee Shop in Dixie, MT, on August 31, 2024. Hand Me Down uses locally sourced produce from nearby farms to bake fresh pies and pastries.

Ellie Costello dries lettuce to be packaged and delivered to nearby restaurants and stores that sell Trust Land Farm’s produce on August 31, 2024. Ellie uses a drying machine intended for clothing to dry her lettuce in bulk.

Ellie Costello washes freshly harvested arugula in a bathtub to be packaged for the day on August 31, 2024.

Ellie Costello sits at her desk at home to situate her week’s worth of work on August 30, 2024. Paper’s are scattered around her, as she doesn’t have much time to stay very organized in her first year of starting the farm.

Ellie and Ryan Costello use fresh produce from Trust Land Farm to blend into a pasta sauce for Ellie’s first real meal of the day. She has little time to make time for meals and family time given her long day’s of work.

Ellie Costello shuts down the farm stand after the sun sets on August 30, 2024. Once Ellie runs silage tarps over all of her crops and makes sure everything is set for the night, she can collect money from the stand and put away the fresh produce. Trust Land Farm relies on local businesses to partner with the farm, as well as selling goods at the farm stand to stay afloat in their first year of business.