One thing about farming, there is not much social time. Of course, interaction with customers is important, but social time for the farmers themselves, not so much.
Twitter is a fabulous place to meet other people that have the same interests. The beauty of social media, is that a farmer can interact with other farmers on their own time; usually a spare minute here or there.
Recently, I had the opportunity to meet another sustainable farmer, James Shoop, @mrtumnas on Twitter. His website: GrowingGroceries.com , has full coverage of small farm info, all sustainable and all really well done (his latest article on raising meat chickens is great).
James was kind enough to answer a few questions for Foodista:
Q1. What is your biggest challenge on the farm right now?
A1. The amount of work that needs to be done. It's becoming difficult to get done all the chores done and still have time to work on projects like building fences and repairing tractors with only two guys working on the farm. Other than that, just normal business growing pains-having too much or too little produce for the market, etc. It keeps life interesting.
Q2. 5 years in, what advice would you hve for someone thinking of raising their own food?
A2.Start small. Really small. Most everyone I know who has started a garden or started raising animals jumps into over their head and then decides that they're "too busy to garden" or "it's not worth the effort, it's cheaper just to buy it from the store". Like any skill, it takes a while to hone, and it's easy to become overwhelmed. A few plants in containers, a square foot garden- that's the idea for beginners. Don't go tilling up your entire back yard.
Q3. You talk about selling some of your food to markets, could you speak about that? How did you make those connections?
A3. Getting into farmer's markets can be difficult, because at least in my area, there's a decent amount of competition. The first year I sold blueberries at a farmer's market I just pestered the lady running it until she let me in (there were already other blueberry vendors). But once you get in, and you're consistently bringing consistent quality, everyone loves you and wants you to stay. I apprenticed with a farmer a few years ago who was obsessive about quality. I watched him call restaurant owners to tell them he couldn't come through on his order because he didn't think the carrots were sweet enough. They tasted fine to me, and I don't go nearly as far as he did, but making sure whatever you are selling to someone is the best it can be is the best way to develop relationships with your customers.
Q4. Who are some of your favorite Sustainable Farming Advocates?
A4. I learned a lot from Joel Salatin of Polyface farm and Eliot Coleman, both of whose books I devoured and still reference a lot. They've both done so much for the local food movement it's unreal. Lately, Paul Stamets has been very influential to me, he's written a lot on mushrooms and their role in sustainable agriculture. There's so much to be explored in the world of edible and medicinal mushrooms, and he does a great job getting his readers excited about the possibilities.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share some of your insights, James!
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