Karen Washington owns and operates Rise and Root Farm with Lorrie Clevenger, Jane Hodge, and Michaela Hayes. Located in Chester, New York, just a little over an hour from New York City, Karen and her partners raise an acre of produce to serve two New York City Farmers Markets.
Karen shares the story of finding land for farming in rural New York state, and how she and her fellow growers have made the transition from backyard urban gardening to commercial production. Karen digs into the nuts and bolts of how they address the social justice issues that are so important them while still tending to the needs of their for-profit farming operation.
We also discuss the challenges of and some strategies for communication and managing farm relationships with love and healing – and how that’s not always the easiest thing to do.
Karen shares the story of finding land for farming in rural New York state, and how she and her fellow growers have made the transition from backyard urban gardening to commercial production. Karen digs into the nuts and bolts of how they address the social justice issues that are so important them while still tending to the needs of their for-profit farming operation.
We also discuss the challenges of and some strategies for communication and managing farm relationships with love and healing – and how that’s not always the easiest thing to do.
Sponsors
Farmers Web: Making it simple for family farms and farm cooperatives to streamline working with their buyers. By lessening the administrative load and increasing efficiency, FarmersWeb helps producers save time, manage their business, and work with more buyers overall.
Vermont Compost Company: Founded by organic crop growing professionals committed to meeting the need for high-quality composts and compost-based, living soil mixes for certified organic plant production.
BCS America: BCS two-wheel tractors are versatile, maneuverable in tight spaces, light-weight for less compaction, and easy to maintain and repair on farm. Gear-driven and built to last for decades of dependable service on your farm or market garden.
Vermont Compost Company: Founded by organic crop growing professionals committed to meeting the need for high-quality composts and compost-based, living soil mixes for certified organic plant production.
BCS America: BCS two-wheel tractors are versatile, maneuverable in tight spaces, light-weight for less compaction, and easy to maintain and repair on farm. Gear-driven and built to last for decades of dependable service on your farm or market garden.
Quotes from the Show
Advice for any new farmer to be is don't keep your hopes and dreams inside. Shout it out because there might be someone out there that is out there to hear it and willing to help you.
I think any farmer that says that they are an expert, I tend to disagree with that because I feel that the only expert is Mother Nature. Mother Nature will tell you right from the start who's the boss.
The work of farming is labor intensive, but also you have to put into your farming attitude the realm of self-care, because if you don't have self-care, you're going to burn out.
The farmer is white male, so when Lorrie and I would go to markets, people would assume that we were the help. That we weren't the farmers.
It takes a lot of education, but people want to be able to pay for something that is healthy, and knowing that that money that they're paying for helps us to stay in business.
Growing food gives you power.
I think any farmer that says that they are an expert, I tend to disagree with that because I feel that the only expert is Mother Nature. Mother Nature will tell you right from the start who's the boss.
The work of farming is labor intensive, but also you have to put into your farming attitude the realm of self-care, because if you don't have self-care, you're going to burn out.
The farmer is white male, so when Lorrie and I would go to markets, people would assume that we were the help. That we weren't the farmers.
It takes a lot of education, but people want to be able to pay for something that is healthy, and knowing that that money that they're paying for helps us to stay in business.
Growing food gives you power.
Show Links
Karen attended the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems’ six-month program at UC Santa Cruz as an early step in preparing to farm.
Karen also attendedGrow NYC’s Farm Beginnings Whole Farm Planning Course as part of getting ready to start her farm.
Rise and Root Farm is located at the Chester Agricultural Center.
Karen also attendedGrow NYC’s Farm Beginnings Whole Farm Planning Course as part of getting ready to start her farm.
Rise and Root Farm is located at the Chester Agricultural Center.
Transcript
The transcript for this episode is brought to you byEarth Tools, offering the most complete selection of walk-behind farming equipment and high-quality garden tools in North America. And by Osborne Quality Seeds, a dedicated partner for growers. Visitosborneseed.com for high quality seed, industry-leading customer service, and fast order fulfillment. Additional funding for transcripts provided byNorth Central SARE, providing grants and education to advance innovations in Sustainable Agriculture.
