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Airlie seminar encourages farmers to plan and keep dreaming
It's easy to romanticize farming, imagining life at a slower pace in a bucolic setting. But the reality is often different.
Understanding just what it takes to operate a successful agricultural business was the aim of a recently concluded four-week seminar offered by Airlie's Local Food Project. Facilitated by Pablo Elliott of the Local Food Project and Don Loock of the Piedmont Environmental Council, “Exploring Your Small-Farm Dream” was intended as a way for farm newbies and those who are currently farming to flesh out their agricultural ideas.
The seminar “interested me because for a long time, I've been kicking around the idea of farming, but unless you grow up in it ? or marry into it ? you really don't have a clue,” said seminar participant Leigh Glenn.
“There are so many farmer-to-eater opportunities for growing food that it's a long-term research project to sort all that out. I was hoping the course would give me the tools to do that. It has ? and it will continue to, as I still have a lot of research to do,” she said.
Glenn, who is exploring the idea of growing mushrooms, was among 26 participants who took part in the seminar, which included input from experienced farmers and required five hours of home study each week. Participants were required to complete an application describing their experience and goals and, in the first session, were encouraged to give voice to their farm dreams and begin to evaluate their goals, Elliott explained.
The course provided guidance and opportunities for conducting research as well as discussions among the group and with several small-farm business owners. At the conclusion of the course, participants returned to their initial farm dreams and were better prepared to assess them in a new light, Elliott said.
“The seminar went exceptionally well,” Elliott said. “We had a diverse range from current farm apprentices and farmers to career changers and folks looking to make a small side income with a farm business. About one-quarter of the class was currently farming.
“There were a wide range of interests represented in the group, from growing veggies for low-income families to direct marketing beef for a high-end market. We were excited by the vibrant range of ideas expressed by the group, an outgrowth of the diversity in experience and backgrounds of course participants.”
Learning from experience ? even if it's the experience of others ? was particularly helpful to participants, Elliott said.
“We made it a point to have a new group of farmers each session as our Explorers evaluated the feasibility of their own enterprises. People also found it very helpful to talk with each other,” Elliott said, adding that participants have set up an online discussion group to bounce ideas off one another and plan to meet informally this spring to catch up on the projects.
“The most important thing that I gathered from all the farmers who came to speak to us is the necessity of narrowing my focus,” Glenn said. “I and a lot of my classmates want diverse operations. Diversity is important, because inevitably something will fail and something else can help you get through. But diversity is something you can build up over time. The key to succeeding when starting out is to really focus on one thing and do that thing very well, become known for it,develop a customer base around it. It's kind of like any other business in that sense.”
Elliott said while participants learned a lot, the goal of the seminar was to encourage them to seek out even more information.
“I would say that the course raised more questions in the minds of participants than answers and that's really the goal of this course ? to ask hard questions and open-up new perspectives on farm business ideas,” he said. “The idea is to open up the thinking process around farming to include a consideration of all the factors which comprise the undertaking of a new enterprise.”
Glenn, who has spent considerable time and energy over the last 10 years taking classes and researching alternative farming, said the seminar was helpful and acknowledged that she came away unsure whether she wants to pursue farming.
“There's so much romanticism that goes along with it, but the realities can be harsh. Will you have enough infrastructure to make a go of it? Will you have the physical and emotional and spiritual stamina? Will you be able to afford health insurance?” Glenn wondered.
“Northern Virginia is fortunate to have a place like Airlie with its Local Food Project to host these kinds of workshops. Energy and food really are the most important issues any country faces, not just the United States,” she said. “We need more farmers, not fewer, more people on the land to manage what we have. I suspect that in the years ahead, more of us will farm. We'll have to.”
Elliott said organizers hope to offer the course again in the spring. For more information, call (540) 347-1300 ext. 3163.
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