APW: Supporting New Farmers

To New Farmers and Those Considering A Life “Back to the Land,”

I apologize that this message is not personalized, though please do not think I intend to give your worthy pursuits any less attention.  I am super excited that you are intending to engage with your land in a way beyond the typical American mindset of aesthetic value/ownership or bragging rights/fossil fuel dependent and move to developing a relationship of stewardship with your land.  While industrial agriculture production is one of the most destructive practices to the planet’s ecology, 'sustainable' or 'regenerative' agriculture is one of the most restorative.  (See links to Perennial Solutions and BioIntensive Farming).     

The goal of a farmer is to produce something from the land while nurturing it concurrently.   Every good farmer will agree that soil is the foundation of your farm and well-being.  If one continually tries to grow annual heavy feeding plants such as vegetables, which are an early successional species, typically followed in nature by the establishment of trees, an understory and more plant diversity, the biology (insects and microbes), physical structure and nutrients in the soil will slowly degrade.  Into a lifeless medium that requires intensive tillage and heavy fertilizer to cultivate your crop (sound familiar?)

I'd like to mention here that it would be irresponsible for humans to never harvest or interact with a forest, given that humans and forest share the same ecosystem.  Though this is a dangerous statement to make, because it is often misinterpreted and leads to devastation.  A forest that is pruned, selectively harvested and intercropped with beneficial species adds layers of diversity and resilience to its ecosystem.  However, a sustainably managed forest is becoming an even trickier job at the moment with our shifting goals in respect to a growing population and climate change.  Our idealized view of restoring the forest to the ‘pre-western contact past' is impossible for two reasons.  One, there is a false conception of what the ecosystem was like before the Europeans came to the Americas, and secondly, there has been and will continue to be a significant shift in the ecosystem, in the previous and upcoming century.  If you’re more interested in this subject, I’d highly recommend this podcast: http://backstoryradio.org/shows/untrammeled-2/ and this book: 1941 by Charles C. Mann.  I digress.

There are so many directions one can take when starting/designing a farm, and what an incredible history and network of people you will be joining!  Whether it be a fruit and nut farm, an ecologically responsible vegetable market garden, an edible forest garden, an integrated livestock farm, an eco-retreat or agri-tourism model, subsistent family farm, a group of friends making a value-added product that offers benefit and perspective to way we currently operate.  Perhaps you already have an idea, or you’re completely in the dark.  A great book that can certainly help with this process is Karl North and Elizabeth Henderson’s Whole-Farm Planning: Ecological Imperatives, Personal Values, and Economics.

As mentioned in my previous call out to those with land and ambitions of building a farm, I am taking a class called Sustainable Farm Management, where the final assignment is to design (and perhaps implement) a Whole Farm Plan. I have chosen to work locally.  There is a 40 acre parcel within 10 miles of where I reside and the college campus.  The project will integrate Agroforestry, eco-tourism, and a wild foods plant walk.  Working locally will help me integrate better with the plant people and farmers in this community and walking the landscape as opposed to working remotely will offer a better sense of the project, direction and be able to address unforeseen obstacles.

I am writing to share that I am very willing to still assist with this process both as a consultant and as a friend.  The combination of being back in academia plus having worked in this field for a little over 5 years now has brought me to a place where I have learned much about systems that are more likely to work based on realistic goals, time management and personal experience.  I have been offered a lot of resources on campus and am astounded (positively) at how strong the current support system is now for new farmers.  There is a lot of government money and training programs available (some, of course, are better than others).  There are grants and microloans available and great books and speakers to cater to nearly every operation.  For example, Jean-Martin Fortier “The Market Gardener” explains a system in great detail of how to grow enough vegetables on an acre and sell them for $100,000/yr.   

If you figure out what direction you specifically want to take your farm, I can likely point you in the direction of available money and case studies of similar pursuits.  And it goes without saying, but talking to local farmers in your area is one of the best ways to get started, either to find out what grows well in the region, or discover your niche that has not yet been filled!

Some more resources:

http://www.perennialsolutions.org/carbon-sequestering-agriculture-global-warming-solution-piece-remove-co2-from-atmosphere-organic-garden.html

Eric Toensmeier co-authored Edible Forest Gardens Vol. 1 and 2.

Perennial agriculture is possibly the best way to work with a changing global climate, and this site also offers excellent links to varied plant databases.

http://smallfarms.cornell.edu/2015/01/12/grant-funds-available-to-support-the-newest-farmers-in-new-york-state/

This site applies more regionally, but it is an example of what is available.

http://www.growbiointensive.org/grow_main.html
If you're unfamiliar with Biointensive gardening, I'd highly recommend this approach to growing annual plants.  Similar to Permaculture, it was founded by an ecologist, and offers low-tech, high yield solutions.  It's also proof that vegan agriculture can work (though some landscapes would severely underproduce without animal integration).

http://tcpermaculture.com/site/ ; http://www.patternliteracy.com
There are TONS of permaculture sites out there!  These are both excellently presented and well researched, which is lacking in some of the others.  So I give a nod here to John Kitsteiner and Toby Hemenway.  Also check out your regional Permies and if you're serious about undertaking a global journey, Permaculture One: A Perennial Agriculture for Human Settlements will only help you.

And if you’re not familiar with them, ATTRA and SARE, are incredible resources, with many free digital publications.

https://attra.ncat.org/fundamental.html

Highly recommend reading Applying the Principles of Sustainable Farming if you are newer to the field of Sustainable Agriculture.

http://www.sare.org/Grants

SARE has different branches throughout states. Find and connect with your regional branch!

Hope this information is helpful, and if you have any further questions, please reach out through e-mail and I’ll do my best to respond promptly, or we can set up a phone conversation.

And if you're not in the business of farming, please support Reregionalizing the Food System through getting to know your local farmers, having a relationship with the person that feeds you three times a day, and growing a better understanding of where your food comes from!

Here is a link to a great live lecture series out of UC-Berkeley that you can stream Monday at 9:30 PM EST that offers an overview of the current global food system.  Next week's speaker is investigative journalist and author of "Fast Food Nation" and "Reefer Madness" Eric Schlosser.

http://edibleschoolyard.org/ee101

And I leave you with a quote from the great Wendell Berry,

"The atmosphere, the earth, the water and the water cycle - those things are good gifts.  We have to regard them as gifts because we couldn't make them.  We have to regard them as good gifts because we couldn't live without them."