The Abbey Farm began in 1949 with the purchase of two pieces of property that make up the Abbey, Academy, and farm complex. Both pieces of property at the time were being used as farms, one for dairy cows and the other for crops.

When the farm began in 1949, Fr. Matthias Zinkan, who is currently assigned to our priory in Guatemala, was assigned by Abbot Gerald Benkert to be in charge of the abbey farm. During those early years Fr. Matthias was helped by a layman and the fraters of the monastery. At this time, we did not grow pine trees, but crops such as corn, soy-beans, and alfalfa, as well as raising dairy cows.

The 1950s saw the end of the farm as a source of milk and crops. In the early part of the 1950s new government regulations made raising dairy cows too expensive for the Abbey; and so, all the dairy cows were eventually sold off to larger farms. In 1957 the federal government introduced a new program called the Soil Bank. It was a program instituted to help stabilize the price of farm produce and for soil conservation. The program would pay farmers on a monthly basis not to grow crops and to let the soil either go back to grass or to plant trees that would be provided. The Abbey decided to take up the government's offer.

Some parts of the farm were sectioned off for grasslands while the majority was set aside for the planting of trees. And the first evergreen trees were planted and in 1967 the first Christmas Tree was sold.

In 1970, Fr. Matthias was assigned to missionary work in Guatemala, and so Fr. Bede Stocker volunteered to take charge of the farm. A few years later Fr. Andrew Wahmhoff began helping Fr. Bede with the trees.

The tree farm is approximately 100 acres, with about 150,000 trees growing on the Abbey farm. The trees range in size from seedlings of 6 inches to more mature trees of up to 10 feet. Every year a portion of the farm is cleared and replanted, so that in 7 to 15 years from now there will still be Christmas Trees available. Some trees that are mature enough for sale today were planted while Ronald Reagan was still president.