Tippie Professors’ Farm Offers Feast for the Senses

PHOTO COURTESY WALKER HOMESTEAD UI Tippie College of Business professors Kristy and Bob Walker opened Walker Homestead Farm and Winery in rural Iowa City for the community to enjoy.

Drive west of Kinnick Stadium, beyond the traffic lights and neatly tucked subdivisions. Continue through the rolling plots of corn and soybeans; notice the ravines where water gathers, and watch the red-winged blackbirds land on mile markers. Turn left on an unassuming gravel road, roll the windows down, and breathe in the freshly tilled soil. When you reach the white barn, you have arrived at Walker Homestead Farm and Winery, a family-owned agritourism business inspired by the villas, views, and community of Tuscany in Italy.

The Heart

PHOTO COURTESY WALKER HOMESTEAD

Back in 2016, University of Iowa Tippie College of Business professors Bob (91MBA) and Kristy Walker (92MBA, 83BS) had different ideas about how to one day spend their retirement. Bob dreamt of a downtown apartment, a place they could land between bucket list trips and extended periods of travel. But Kristy longed for the days of her childhood growing up in rural Iowa, when they chose dinner from the garden, and neighbors built community around the kitchen table. She wanted a farm—and she got it.

Five acres felt sufficient. They built their dream home on the outskirts of Iowa City and planted a garden. Not long after, Kristy’s green thumb turned an abundance into a surplus, and they started hosting monthly dinners to reduce food waste. When that wasn’t enough, they shared their extra fruits and veggies with local community members who subscribed to a Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) program throughout the growing season.

Then, the 80 acres adjoining the Walkers’ home came on the market. “I took some of my retirement to buy the farm,” says Kristy, who didn’t view it as spending, but “reinvesting … in memories.”

PHOTO COURTESY WALKER HOMESTEAD

The Painting

Before opening in 2020, the homestead required some work. The land had been row cropped and heavily farmed. They built a new barn to host dinners and events, with a bright interior and airy 20-foot ceilings. On the west end, they planted rows of grapevines that stretch into prairie and fields rolling into the horizon. A wedding arch overlooks the vineyard, serving as a picturesque setting for guests, and especially those saying “I do.”

Hosting events and weddings is a family affair. At one event, as the family and guests danced on the patio with the sun setting, the Walker s’ 14-year-old granddaughter turned to Kristy and said, “This is just like Mamma Mia!” Her eyes shined. “I thought—yes, this is magic,” says Kristy.

In addition to renting the farm out for weddings and fundraising events, the Walkers open it to the public on Thursday nights for wood-fired pizza and farm shareables. The community welcomes the chance to watch the sky change from bubblegum pink to mulberry with farm-to-table pizza and a glass of Iowa-made wine in hand.

PHOTO COURTESY WALKER HOMESTEAD

The Community

When there aren’t events, the sounds of the farm fill the spaces between the pillars of the pavilion and the lavender fields north of the barn.

The lavender fields are a favorite.

“I love working here in the evening,” says Kristy, gesturing toward rows of light purple bushes. “Wine, a sandwich, and the scent of lavender at sunset? It’s the best.”

Across the way, goats bleat and chickens cluck as children offer them seeds and feed, purchased for a quarter from an adapted candy dispenser.

Their grandkids are especially fond of the barnyard animals. When a goat went into labor a few years ago, the kids packed up their sleeping bags and slept in the barn. Kristy says, “They wouldn’t miss it.”

Sharing the land, animals, and way of life with their grandchildren brings the Walkers a lasting joy. Even more rewarding is working as a family to share all they have with the greater community.

PHOTO COURTESY WALKER HOMESTEAD

The Land

The magic of Walker Homestead comes from years of labor, hope, and belief. From installing bioswales to mitigate flooding and capture runoff, to creating prairie strips to improve soil health, they hope to steward and protect the land for generations to come.

“Getting your hands in the dirt, feeling productive,” Kristy says, “it’ll help your mental health more than anything.”

The Walkers find purpose in many ways here: in reducing their carbon footprint “by walking the vegetables from the garden to the kitchen,” in sharing the lessons they’ve learned with Tippie students and other agritourism businesses, and adding new ways to delight their guests—like the fire pits scattered across the property with views straight from a Grant Wood painting.

This season they’re introducing grab-and-go picnic baskets with garden-fresh snacks and mocktails (or a bottle of their award-winning wine) for visitors to enjoy in the peaceful quiet of their acreage.

PHOTO COURTESY WALKER HOMESTEAD

The Palette

When the last guest leaves the barn and the crunch of tires on gravel fades in the distance, the wind brings the song of cicadas to the Walkers’ front porch. The scent of evergreen wafts up from the small patch of adolescent Christmas trees their grandchildren plant each year and mixes with lavender and the rich scent of fertile earth. Their land is a vibrant mix of greens, yellows, browns, and blues.

“This is our palette,” says Kristy. “We get to do all five senses up here. It’s become our greatest work of art.”