Download - Anthroposophical Society in America

Farmer-Mentor Workshop:Growing a Farming CommunityCultivating a Complete LifeKimberly BarnesIn February, the North American Biodynamic ApprenticeshipProgram was officially inaugurated with the first Farmer-MentorCircle workshop, held at Hawthorne Valley Farm in Harlemville,New York. Thirty-one biodynamic and organic farmers and gardenersgathered for a weekend of presentations and discussionsexploring the art of on-farm mentoring. As the group membersshared their experiences, challenges, successes, and strategiesfor working with apprentices, they began to formulate a commonvision of the gift that they as farmer-mentors might offer tothe next generation of young farmers.This vision was thoughtfully developedby Nathaniel Thompson (left) in the finalpresentation of the weekend. Nathaniel, whomanages Remembrance Farm in Trumansburg,NY, offered a reflection on the waysin which a more collaborative approachto farming has enabled him to develop a balance between hisinner and outer life, a difficult challenge that every farmer faces.It is part of the mentor farmer’s responsibility, he suggested, tomodel a healthy lifestyle and to support young farmers in developingthe same for themselves. Nathaniel encouraged the groupof mentors to consider how the development of cooperativefarming communities might allow beginning farmers to envisionand create high-quality lives.In Nathaniel’s twelve years as a farmer, he has experienceda lot of transitions and encountered many obstacles. Throughtrial and error, he has succeeded in building a business that isboth financially viable and supportive of his personal needs.Remembrance Farm along with two other farms is part of acooperative Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) venture,known as the Full Plate Farm Collective. The collective preservesthe CSA marketing model while allowing each farm tofocus its efforts on specialized crops. Thus, each farm operationis streamlined, but can still maintain a connection to thebroader community through the CSA. Administration and bookkeepingis managed by a third party non-farm-family member,and the association is strengthened by the friendship and trustthat exists among the farmers involved. Nathaniel has foundthat working within the collective has relieved a great deal ofthe pressure he felt when farming on his own. He can produce ahigher quality product and, with less stress and more time, livea more complete life.The collective model has also opened doors to greater communityoutreach. The Full Plate Farm Collective is collaboratingwith several other local farms and the Cornell CooperativeExtension to launch the grant-funded Healthy Food For Allprogram, which offers lower-priced CSA shares to low-incomecommunity members. Because there are several farms involved,there is more grant funding available for the project. Funds forthis program are also raised at all participating farms throughevents such as on-farm dinners.For Nathaniel, the opportunity toengage in this kind of broader communityoutreach is a key part of afulfilling life, an aspect he could nothave developed to such an extentwithout this kind of collaboration.Nathaniel spoke about the painfulexperience of watching manyof his farmer friends struggle and “tread water” as “slaves tothe farm or to their off-farm jobs.” Why, he asked, are so manyyoung farmers resigned to lives of financial destitution? It ispossible, albeit difficult, to make a living as a farmer, especiallygiven the growing demand for local, organic produce. What islacking, Nathaniel suggested, is guidance from farmer-mentorsbeyond the apprentice’s initial training experience on the farm.The farmer-mentor must offer guidance to beginning farmers asthey craft their business plans and envision their futures. How,Nathaniel asked, might we begin to grow a community that canencourage and support the possibility of a successful and balancedlife for the young farmer?The consensus in the group was that the work has alreadybegun in earnest. The Farmer-Mentor Circle workshop is a firststep in the development of a strong farmer-mentor network,which will provide support and opportunities in a numberof ways. First, it is the foundation for a culture of guidance.Through workshops and conferences, mentor farmers will helpeach other to become better teachers. They will develop theability to provide their apprentices with a fuller understandingof what it is to be a farmer.The farmer-mentor network will also serve as a valuable poolof advice and support for the apprentices beyond the two-yearprogram. A mentor might use the network to direct youngfarmers to appropriate partnerships or to resources that mighthelp them gain experience and insight. Because of the network,farmer-mentors may know, for example, who might be hiring anassistant manager, who has an excellent poultry operation, orwho has experience working with land trusts.Of course, each mentor farmer can benefit from the networkin the same way, using the network connections to build collectiveCSA ventures, share equipment, order bulk supplies,or get advice on a production problem. This collaboration andmutual support creates a lower stress, higher quality of life forthe farmer-mentor, and this support system ultimately becomesa living example of collaboration for apprentices to observe andtake advantage of in the future.As Nathaniel explains on his website, “I wish to lead a life inwhich the outer conditions of life support and nurture my innersearch for self-knowledge.” This is an ideal to which we all candedicate ourselves as we progress on our journeys, and thisawareness is perhaps the greatest gift that can be offered to theyoung farmers who find their way to the mentor farms of theNorth American Biodynamic Apprenticeship Program. May wesucceed in providing it to them!Read more about Nathaniel Thompson and the Full Plate FarmCollective at remembrancefarm.org and fullplatefarms.org. For theNorth American Biodynamic Apprenticeship Program, visit bdtraining.org.This article was forwarded from the Agriculture Section inNorth America of the School of Spiritual Science.Spring-Summer 200911