Russ 'n Tuss was a low-input family farm run by founding AERO members Russ Salisbury and Elsie Tuss, the home of the Abundant MT Directory.
Hear from Russ and Elsie in a 2017 interview in the collection 'AERO's 45 Years of Impact,' on the Montana Memory Project here.
At Russ 'n Tuss Farm, all land and products were 100% certified organic by Montana Organic Certification Program and Demeter (Bio-dynamic). The farm was inhabited by the following homo sapiens: Russ and partner Elsie. Rowdy the border collie, 12 cats, the cows, deer, predators, trees, grass grains, water soil and air that would sometimes congeal into community and love.
Russ and Elsie tried to produce quality products and life with others' discarded stuff with the thought, "The less we use up, the more there can be for other critters. We would like to live in an efficient, self-sufficient interdependent community. Community is only limited by our limited vision of spirit."
Their goal was to do the least damage to the Earth and still have a fulfilling life.
Russ and Elsie lived in a straw bale house constructed by folks in the AERO community and beyond. It was very energy efficient. The Missouri River runs past the homestead, with obvious evidence of ancient volcanos and ice age deposits of glacial till. The road is scenic and passable in dry weather.
