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So, You Think You Might Want to be a Farmer?
We have been making our living growing ecologically grown, pesticide-free vegetables and flowers since we started Waterpenny Farm 10 years ago. We hope to show others that ecologically sustainable farming can be a rewarding and economically sustainable occupation. While demand for local and organic food continues to increase, the movement is limited by the relatively small number of people growing the food. We hope more people decide to go into farming to help meet the growing demand for fresh, local food, and below we draw on our own experience to offer a few tips and suggestions.

Get Educated. Farming is a profession like any other and you need to do more than read a few books and magazine articles to learn how to do it well, or even to learn whether you really like farming. We worked on a large vegetable farm for four years, participating in all aspects of growing and marketing vegetables, before starting our farm. In this way, we were actually paid for the bulk of our farming education. Farming can be incredibly complex, with a large number of changing variables making each growing season unique. We continually refer back to the farm on which we worked, and our experience there is the main reason our farm was successful from the beginning. We have continued our education
by reading, visiting other farms, attending farming conferences, and through our own trial and error.

Get Access to Land Close to a Good Market. The D.C. area has a seemingly insatiable appetite for local food, and finding land close to that market was a main priority for us. We found land too expensive to buy, but we were fortunate to work out a long-term lease for our farm. There are lots of opportunities for creativity in getting access to land, and the proximity to a strong market makes it worth working something out. We would much rather lease land here than own land that’s nowhere near a good market

Go to Farmers’ Markets. While farmers’ markets are not the best long-term option for everyone, they are a great way for almost anyone to get started. You don’t have the obligations of contracts with wholesale buyers or CSA customers — you can show up with whatever you have, put it out there and see how people respond.Markets are great places to learn what people want, what they will pay and what their other options are. They’re also a great place to interact with other growers, see what they do, trade produce and information, and make friends.

Get Together. There are definitely people farming on their own, but the benefits of working with somebody are immense. Farming means many long hours of challenging work, and the moral support and different perspective of someone else who knows your situation intimately can make all the difference.

Get Away. The farming lifestyle can be completely absorbing and there is no end to the work that needs to be done on any farm. The relatively low pay pushes you to work more hours and the fact that you usually live on the farm can make it hard to remove yourself. Visiting other farms during the growing season is a great way to get perspective, swap ideas and socialize with like-minded folks. Go to the beach, the city or the forest for a few days during the growing season to give yourself a break and a fresh perspective. It can be challenging to get away, but it’s always worth it.

Eric Plaksin & Rachel Bynum, Owners, Waterpenny Farm

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