Brooke Bonner

CFO - Chief Farming Officer ;)

I left my career in the nonprofit sector to become a farmer after my step-Dad, Archie, unexpectedly passed away in February 2021, leaving Mom with ~50 Arabian horses, 80 acres, a hay operation, and no staff or viable plan to manage and maintain the ranch. After spending the first year here walking around daily trying to figure out what each newly discovered implement was and how the hell it attached to which tractor, and spending each evening reading about farming and the changing role of agriculture in human and ecological health, I decided to embrace the challenge.

I’m deeply grateful for this opportunity to steward a spectacular piece of land, in a community I’ve lived in and loved for most of my life, and transform it into something that is deeply aligned with my values.

Each day brings a new lesson (and often a new opportunity to make an ass of myself), but learning is one of my favorite things. I love the diversity of duties - from creating the big picture vision, doing the marketing, planting thousands of trees and shrubs, installing kestrel boxes, to figuring out how to repair the plumbing and wiring on frozen horse waterers in the 10 degree winter. This life seems to fill my need for daily change and interest, balancing the physical and mental.

Now that we’ve planted more than 3,000 fruit and nut trees and shrubs in the last few years, I’m extremely antsy to see them start producing. In the meantime, I’ll entertain myself with growing our market garden with veggies, cut flowers, herbs, and who knows what else…

Hanging with Dad on the tractor - perhaps planting the seeds of a future farmer??

Brooke's LinkedIn

Drinkers of the Wind Team

  • Mindy Rider

    MARKET GARDEN MANAGER & NATIVE PLANT LOVER

    Mindy has been working with plants for more than 25 years - landscaping, on trail crews, on farms, and with retail, wholesale, and native plant nurseries all over the United States. Locally, she served as the Food Production Coordinator for The Hunger Coalition for four years. She’s harbored a long-standing dream to start a native plant nursery, so it seemed like synchronicity that brought us together when she was ready to take the first step toward that dream. She helped launch our market garden in 2024 and keeps production humming along. Drinkers of the Wind is also the proud home and partner of High Desert Roots, Mindy’s new business celebrating the native and adapted plants of Idaho’s high desert. Learn more on her website here!

  • Kyle in a giant hat with black and white ranch cat Spats

    Kyle Baysinger

    CAT RANCHER & EQUIPMENT WHISPERER

    Brooke’s husband, tech advisor, troubleshooter, tree grappler, and pinch hitter extraordinaire. Kyle’s a genius with equipment manuals and YouTube video tutorials, and thankfully still answers my cries for help when I’ve broken some piece of machinery or other (which happens embarrassingly often). Recovering non-profit consultant, he may look the part, but still swears he’s “NOT a farmer!”, even though he’s finally joined the team full-time. Pictured chillin’ in the feed truck with Archie’s favorite cat Spats, who was with us for several years, but finally passed away at about a million years old. Kyle is eagerly awaiting his next box of kittens so he can fulfill his cat rancher destiny.

  • Helen on an orange tractor with two horses being nosy

    Helen Bonner

    HORSE LADY & MOM

    Mom is passionate about horses and worked closely with Archie on naming, raising, and working with every one he bred. She thinks I’m nuts for wanting to be a farmer, but is graciously humoring me and allowing me to transform big chunks of the ranch. She’s honoring Archie’s legacy by finding the perfect homes for his extraordinary horses. And there are a handful of retired ones that will live out their lives with us as pampered pets.

  • Ranch guardian Olaf standing on top of the hay stack

    Olaf

    BABY POLAR BEAR

    “Squirt,” LGD (Livestock Guardian Dog), Akbash/Great Pyrenees, ranch supervisor. Spends his days looking for deer and elk bones from recent mountain lion kills. Big bark, lovable snuggle bug. (Now on yard/house arrest as he’s discovered delicious neighborhood chickens. Oops.)

  • Frankie

    Frankie

    PEST PATROLLER

    Frankie is a master huntress, constantly digging for voles in the garden and orchards. Moving to the ranch has helped her cattle dog DNA really express itself and she now enjoys herding her Mom, Mindy, on her bike, chewing on horse hoof trimmings (and other leavings…), and guarding the humans from needy cats.

  • Working in the garden

    Join the Team!

    2026 VOLUNTEER SPOTS AVAILABLE

    Love working outside and have a passion for regenerative agriculture? While we’ve filled our staff team for the season, we have several volunteer positions open. Click here to learn more!