So you want to farm: Local food in the face of uncertainty
The last decade spent farming has come with some heavy lessons.
Each one has brought us closer to the work, and have reinforced why we are doing it. Lately, I’ve had conversations with a handful of folks who are seriously interested in exploring their calling into the food and farming realm. Maybe I’m just too immersed in it, but I have gotten the impression for years that there are many more people who would love to grow food for themselves and their local communities. Most just don’t get a chance to.
Our current social-political landscape has created steep barriers to pulling that off. While many of these barriers affect everyone of lower economic class, some deal with additional barriers because of prejudiced individuals fueling systematic marginalization of anyone who isn’t a wealthy white man. Everyone else’s rights to live a life of dignity and have their needs met gets put out on the chopping block. So many people can’t afford good organic food, let alone the time to grow, harvest, process, and cook it.
We’ve participated in some programs, partially or entirely funded by federal grants, to offset this situation. As members of Fairshare Coalition, we are able to offer a cost-share option for low-income members. Through Fairshare, we can accept EBT payments for CSA. We grow for LFPA, which distributes our food through local food pantries. We offer work-trade options. As we plan for the future of the new land, we are looking forward to more opportunities to partner with new and beginning farmers, eaters, and stakeholders in the local food economy.
So, for anyone who has asked or wondered how to get started with a small farm/food business, I’ve rounded up my most important thoughts here.
Manage your expectations. Gone is the shiny optimism of the 2010’s, when we had more safety nets and climate change was still a looming concept (for most) rather than a harsh reality. We’re a successful farm, in that we serve ~300 families weekly throughout the season without losing money. While we stay in the black, which is more than conventional farms could say without their federal subsidies, we still ride the same poverty line that we have been at all our lives. That said, the direct access to food we grow makes a huge difference in quality of life compared to someone else making the same annual income without a farm. If you are comfortable working and living within slim margins, don’t have student loan or other debt, love working hard, and place a high value on quality food access, farming may be a great fit for you.
Feasibility study. Look around at the farmers markets where you want to live and grow. Figure out which unrepresented cottage-industry food business would be a good fit, where the waste streams are in the current food production landscape, and assess demand. Some ideas I’ve heard specifically called out are stocks and broths, from the left over spines of chickens after they get parted out into pieces. Tallow is having a huge moment for skincare, and is usually cheap and easy to come by from a processing facility or farmers who request to receive it at harvest time. “Fast fashion” is out, and textiles deserve a place in the local economy. Wool and fur from sheep, alpacas, and rabbits can be acquired locally from farmers and processors. Elderberry is rising in popularity, and added-value elder products are farmers market favorites. You can also check the Farm Fresh Atlas to see who and what is growing near you.
Find a mentor. Ideally, in the form of a farm job with the resources to thoroughly train you. You might have to travel to find the right fit, as I did, having moved from central Illinois to Wisconsin a decade ago. I can’t in good conscience recommend what I did from 2012-2015, which is W.W.O.O.F. That’s an international organization that connects farmers with volunteers who work on the farm in exchange for food and lodging. While I’ve had good experiences, I’ve also had bad ones, and overall I think the best scenario is to find someone who is active and established enough to pay you. It won’t be much, but something is better than an informal handshake, especially when you are uprooting and living there. If you really want to try W.W.O.O.F., and/or have never stepped on a farm before, plan it like a vacation. Take 1-3 weeks to spend at a farm that interests you. Make sure the communication is clear and the vibes are right. This can be useful for getting a small taste of different types of farming, and give you a foothold in building your resume.
You don’t need a degree to run a successful farm that grows great food and pays the workers (and you). However, take advantage of training opportunities like workshops, conferences, and online trainings to shore up a variety of skills you will need. Marketing is extremely important, especially in the beginning - they say growing is the easy part, selling is the hard part. There are often free food safety trainings you can tap into. Get a list of recommended reading from farmers you trust, and read those books. See the list of resources at the end of this article.
Running a small farm/food business is all of the things you think of - the beautifully curated photos and videos of a farm’s social feed are not AI-generated. However, it is also a business like any other - regardless of the structure you chose (LLC, Co-op, nonprofit to name just a few). As a business owner-operator, you will need to learn the behind-the-scenes skills of bookkeeping, taxes, applying for grants and loans, and compliance with local and federal labor laws.
I hope this is helpful for anyone who’s considered a career in local food production. While I have to be honest about the challenges, there is also a huge need for more people learning and using these skills. Fear mongering aside, it’s worth noting that if our imported food system were to get interrupted, as it was in 2020 with Covid-19, that the current local food system in most areas is not nearly adequate enough to serve the people who live there.
That’s not the point though. The point is that a local food system is better for people and the land. It’s worth working for, even fighting for.
For those who aren’t dealing with job loss and financial insecurity, who can afford a CSA and continue to invest in local food and farmers, we are perennially grateful. We know that many working-class people trust us with their hard-earned money, and we take great joy in making every delivery we serve up the best and most beautiful selection of produce we can possibly grow. We are powered by the returning members who see value in a strong local food economy. When budgeting your resources, putting your money where it counts for land and people is a major bulwark against the sweeping changes threatening our economic ecosystem.
If you are struggling financially right now, know that you aren’t alone. I encourage you to apply for a cost-share program for CSA called Partnershares through Fairshare Coalition. Check out our workshare opportunities or if you’re really feeling called to this work, apply for a job with us. Reach out to us with questions.
These are interesting times we are living in to say the least, and we’re going to be here growing food and collaborating for better access as long we can.
RESOURCES:
READING LIST:
Farming While Black (book, film) by Leah Penniman
One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka
The New Organic Grower by Elliott Coleman
Fearless Farm Finances by Marbleseed
Storey’s guides: livestock farming
The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer by Melanie and Jeff Carpenter
Food Not Lawns by H. C. Flores
The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower’s Handbook for Small-Scale Organic Farming by Jean Martin-Fortier
WATCH LIST:
GATHER, 2020.
TO WHICH WE BELONG, 2021
THE SEEDS OF VANDANA SHIVA, 2021
This list is far from exhaustive. Feel free to comment with more that are missing!
