Our Board

Kathy Dice grew up in the Midwest as a city girl. She graduated from Iowa State University with honors with a BS in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology, and has been teaching and implementing conservation practices in Iowa since the early 80’s. Married in 1984, she and Tom Wahl bought 56 acres of steep, rugged timberland in Louisa County in 1986.  In 2001, they added 31 acres of rolling farmland.  Over time they established Red Fern Farm: a farm of fruit and nut producing trees, shrubs and vines.  They grow high value tree crops including chestnuts, pawpaws, heartnuts, persimmons, Asian pears, and others. They also operate a small tree nursery. In 2015, Practical Farmers of Iowa awarded Kathy and her husband the Iowa Sustainable Agriculture Achievement. They have received numerous other awards and honors for their work with trees and sustainable agriculture.