At 8,000 Feet, a Wyoming Greenhouse Operation Is Defying Altitude to Feed Its Community

High on a rim overlooking Sublette County, where the growing season typically lasts fewer than 90 days, an ambitious farming project is proving that fresh produce can thrive even at 8,000 feet. Silver Stream Farm, a 25,000-square-foot greenhouse operation near Pinedale, has rapidly expanded since its founding in 2023, growing from 63 direct customers to more than 280 in just one year.

The farm was born from a simple observation by owner Dakin Sloss, a Stanford graduate and venture capitalist who purchased the 600-acre property. Locals in rural western Wyoming had limited access to fresh vegetables—most produce travels hundreds of miles to reach them, losing quality along the way. Sloss saw an opportunity to solve a “major pain point.”

But growing at high elevation doesn’t just happen. The farm looked to the Netherlands, a global leader in indoor agriculture, for its systems. The result is a technologically sophisticated operation: five climate-controlled greenhouses with heated floors, computer-regulated irrigation, and ceiling curtains that provide shade or insulation as needed. A dedicated mushroom manager now tends to lion’s mane and blue oyster varieties in a sterile, highly controlled environment.

“We are thinking of 2025 as our ramp-up year,” said Nicci Hammerel, the farm’s chief operating officer. That year brought firsts: the farm’s debut at Jackson and Bondurant farmers markets, the launch of a community supported agriculture (CSA) subscription program, and a name change from the Sanskrit-inspired SatChitAnanda Ranch to Silver Stream Farm—a nod to a Grateful Dead song co-written by late Sublette County resident John Perry Barlow.

The farm now serves two counties, with refrigerated vans making weekly pickup stops in Sublette and Teton counties. It also supplies three food banks, supported by grant funding. Distribution remains a challenge—Wyoming lacks the infrastructure of more populated regions—but creative solutions are emerging. A Star Valley food bank representative now meets the delivery driver at Hoback Junction, a midpoint handoff that expands the farm’s reach without overextending its route.

CSA subscribers recently received their first batch of greenhouse-grown mushrooms. One customer added them to a family beef stew and reported a subtle, welcome addition to the meal. The farm is also exploring partnerships with local meat producers like Killpecker Cattle Co., aiming to build what Hammerel calls “a true regional food system.”

Silver Stream expects to reach its maximum annual production capacity in 2027. Until then, it continues to grow—both in volume and in the number of tables it serves. For a community long accustomed to wilted greens from distant warehouses, that is no small thing.