A Conversation with Abby
In the last few days of February, Abby and I walked over to the greenhouse through the remaining snow to take a look at the door she is building for our CoolBot shed. Then we hurried back inside to escape the cold and chat about her involvement in farming and what her future in the profession might look like. The following conversation is transcribed from an audio recording of our conversation. A few sections have been edited for clarity.
Molly: When did you first get into farming?
Abby: Honestly, I didn’t grow up farming. I grew up just in the suburbs and no one else in my family is into farming or environmentalism or being outdoors or anything like that.But I've always been really interested in it and I've always liked being outside and connected to nature. I think it started when I was 12 or 13 and we took a family trip to Colorado. That was a formative experience for me and what got me into the outdoors. I was thinking ‘this is so crazy and beautiful and great’. Ever since then I have been really interested in working outside and environmentalism and everything like that. Farming naturally tied into that because it was a job where you could work outside and with nature. Farming, if you do it in a good way, is a great way to give back to the land and also you reap a lot of benefits from it as well. You can grow food for yourself and the community.
Molly: What is your history of working on farms?
Abby: My first experience on a farm was when I did some volunteering on farms through WWOOF and Workaway. It was really cool. I had a few of those experiences when I was 18 and 19. I worked at one farm on the East Coast and another in California. They were both beautiful places. I chose to go do that because I was interested in learning more about farming and I had the opportunity to take a semester off from college because it was during the height of COVID. I didn’t want to just sit at home and do school online so I decided to go volunteer on farms. I learned a lot! I learned how to interact with animals, how to plant seeds, how to weed and a lot of general farm chores. I really enjoyed it all.
Molly: Have all the farms you have worked and volunteered at been mixed production farms? Both veggies and livestock?
Abby: Yeah they were all pretty mixed. Most were smaller homestead style operations with chickens and smaller gardens and one had horses. It was a good first experience because it wasn’t too overwhelming. Since I only grew up having a very small garden it was good to gain a true farm experience.
Molly: And the operation you're moving to in the Hudson Valley is a bigger operation right?
Abby: Yeah next I’ll be working there and I think it is six or seven acres and they have a decent sized person CSA. I’ll be moving there in two weeks which is kind of crazy. It feels like it’s coming up so quickly!
Molly: What's the farm name there?
Abby: It's called Glynwood and it's in Coldspring, New York, and it's a farm apprenticeship that I'm starting. The apprenticeship is run through a non-profit organization that works to strengthen the regional food system and help local farmers.
Molly: How do you find out about them?
Abby: I found out about them through a website called ATTRA. It is a site where you can find agricultural jobs and internships. Glynwood seemed like a really great place to me because of the mission of the non-profit and having the opportunity to get paid to farm and learn about farming. The internship is not just about working on a farm but I’ll also be attending classes where they’ll sit us down and teach us about soil health and composting and things like that. They’ll also teach us how to drive and fix tractors!
Molly: That is really cool because it tells you the reasons why you are doing things a certain way.
Abby: Yeah I am so excited to have that context and to learn a lot more! Because right now I only have one full experience or I guess you could say one full season of farm experience. Last year I was doing an AmeriCorp term and I was working on a farm in Vermont. We ran this big CSA that was actually a produce prescription CSA so all the food went to people who were facing food insecurity or diet related issues. I think it was almost 500 people a week who we helped provide food for. I loved everything I learned there and I just want to keep on learning.
Molly: There does seem to be this gap I’ve noticed between the food that farms produce and how much of it actually gets onto peoples plates. Sometimes it’s because stores won't accept it if it looks a certain way or the food banks cannot take it if it is not pre-packaged. I’m wondering if you have any thoughts on that or any type of solution you can think of?
Abby: That is a tough one because even the farm I was on last year, we were feeding so many people but we were also still composting food and had a lot of extra. Sometimes it is just not up to the quality it needs to be and sometimes it is harvested too late or something happens to the crops. I think gleaning operations are important and hopefully more farms start to utilize them more. They come to farms and are able to take the extra food and get it to people who need it but even then there is more to be done. I think with the right solutions and resources a lot more people could have access to nutrient rich produce. I also think that teaching people how to grow their own food could help solve that gap and even just teaching people where their food comes from. It could help them realize that they could garden too, they don’t have to have a huge farm.
Molly: Does Glynwood, where you are going next, have programs for people in the local community?
Abby: They do! They have a ton in the resource library on their website. The list says that they have the Hudson Valley Apprenticeship, which is what I am doing which helps train future farmers. There is also a climate smart farming resilience plan and they have the Hudson Valley Farm business incubator which I think gives funds to other local farms to implement new farming practices.
Molly: Do you see farming being a big part of your future, 10, 20 years from now?
Abby: That’s a good question. I think I definitely see it as a part of my future. I just don’t know in what capacity. I don’t know if I could see myself running a huge farm operation, maybe something more similar to Tir Na Nog that sustains itself and its community and sells at market. I don’t know if farming will be my main source of income though and I don’t think it has to be, it can just be a really useful skill to have. Short term I think I will continue to work on farms and maybe transition to being a bigger part of a farm non-profit one day. But yeah in terms of having my own farm I am not super sure. It is hard to know if I would ever have the necessary resources to do that or if I could afford land in the future. Especially with climate change there are just so many unknowns and when your livelihood is dependent on the environment and the climate that can be scary.
Molly: What would you say to young people who want to get into farming even just at the volunteer level?
Abby: Oh, what would I say to that? I would say run towards it. I feel like woofing is a good place to start. Definitely a very accessible program because you don't need experience. I would also recommend AmeriCorps because you also don't need a ton of experience there and they also pay you a stipend and sometimes housing is included. But however you start I would definitely say run towards it because farming is amazing. It is so fulfilling to be able to grow food for people and provide in that way. It strengthens the health of communities and also gives back to the land. It is incredible to see how the land and nature can give back to people as well if you take care of it properly. I would say run towards it because it is the best thing ever. I think at least. It’s a great experience even if it is not your long term career path. It is a good thing to have these skills.
