Looking ahead

My plan is to start selling my organic veggies next year at the local farmer's market, even just enough to supplement my current income. If it is a successful year I would like to expand the following year and be working as a full-time farmer. But in order to achieve this I need to find more land. It could be another piece of land like LeeAnn's or it could be a long-term rental of a small farm. Ideally it would be my own land but, even though I have some money tucked away, I cannot afford acreage on my own. I'm putting my dreams out there though; maybe somebody would like to invest in some land and likes the idea of supporting and being involved with an organic farm? Maybe a cooperative model would work? Please contact me at dawn.said@gmail.com if you have any suggestions or are interested in a partnership.

I am realistic enough to know I will not get rich from this. Rather, for me it is a lifestyle choice. I love to grow vegetables, and there is nothing more satisfying to me than harvesting food from my labours. On a philosophical level I think small-scale farming is important, it needs to be encouraged, and the time is right. People are ready to support sustainability and locally grown vegetables because they know that they taste better than conventionally grown produce shipped from hundreds of miles away.

I am very interested in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model. It is a model of growing and eating that eliminates the middlemen between the fields and the table. Customers invest in the season’s costs at the beginning of the season, and the farmer provides up to eight months of fresh, diverse, quality produce straight from the fields. I will publish more on this concept later.