I begin this post with a brief background. In 2014, I completed a Master of Science in Educational Leadership and Policy, with a focus on Leadership for Sustainability Education, and became a member of Kappa Delta Pi, an International Honor Society in Education. To expand my knowledge of agriculture, I completed the Beginning Urban Farmer Apprenticeship in 2014, and Master Gardener program in 2015. Thereafter, I began to participate in OSU Small Farms programs and workshops, which I continue to this day.
With a year of additional volunteer farming experience behind me, as well as classes and workshops, I set a goal for 2017 to secure a paying farm management job, to understand small farms. I also wanted to acquire hands on experience and knowledge, I deemed valuable in running my recently established educational nonprofit, Cultured Farmers. All this would play into my greater objective of continuing to develop relationships with key individuals and organizations in agriculture.
Early in January, I began the year optimistic about a new opportunity a company gave me to apply my education and volunteer experience in farming. From November to December 2016, a company interviewed me three times for a position as Director of Horticulture for their local yard waste and landscaping supply company. They had a small family farm, about a half hour drive from Portland. It was approximately two acres. Initially, it appeared to be an ideal collaboration, since they had a majority of the necessary amendments and equipment onsite. However, as I gradually learned, there are some things I overlooked that factored into my experience ahead.
Although I had planned the annual crops, registered for events and workshops to keep my knowledge current, I could not account for the weather, which had a direct impact on the ability for the business to generate revenue to support me as an employee. Portland experienced five snowstorms early in 2017, which followed an already wet fall in 2016 (which meant many farmers could not plant cover crops, or their farms were submerged in standing water). I could not prepare the field, or plant starts in the greenhouse, because it was too cold and wet. By mid-February, the company decided to lay off several employees, including me. Early in the season, the company left me trying to secure employment with another farm.
Using social media, I connected with a local market garden farmer. I visited with him during a heavy rainstorm, and returned a couple weeks later to start working. After further glancing at his bank records, he quickly realized he could not expand his operation beyond his volunteer labor, apologized and paid me for a day of labor. I returned to my job hunt.
As two months transpired, I was trying not to get nervous or lose hope that I would find my next position. Finally, in May, I landed a job with a potato farmer about a half hour drive from Portland. Like many farmers, she planted her crop late due to the prolonged and unusually wet spring. We negotiated a temporary contract, whereas I worked on a weekly basis, as long as she felt it was financially feasible. I spent most of my hours transplanting and weeding, trying to help her catch up. Nevertheless, she could not forecast sales, or project the inability for the crop to recover from the wet, cool spring, and she reduced my hours significant enough, that I looked elsewhere for farm employment.
In the summer, I began employment as an independently contracted employee at a local research farm, which a land grant university supports. There, I tend a two-acre orchard, which is well established. It has various apple, fig, pear, persimmon trees, as well as goji and black currant bushes, in addition to lesser-known fruits. The obstacles I face are visible, such as fruit damage from birds, diseases, holes from burrowing rodents, invasive weeds, and paper wasps. Perennial crops have their own challenges, as I continue to learn.
Looking back and reflecting, I could have had an easier experience if I worked at one farm. Nevertheless, it gave me a broader view why small farms struggle, and the many obstacles they face throughout the year, some of which they cannot project. Moreover, I now understand why it is difficult for them to hire and retain employees. I discovered, from my vantage point, that no amount of education or volunteer experience could prepare me for what lay ahead of me this year. However, I have learned a lot, and have more respect for farmers around the globe.
During the year, when time permitted, I continued to volunteer for Oregon Food Bank, by participating in their gardening programs: Learning Gardens (I am now entering my sixth year of volunteering) and Seed to Supper (I have taught the class four years). I also represented them at Fix-It Fairs, and continued my role as an OSU Multnomah County Master Gardener Volunteer.
All of my experiences play a key role in developing my nonprofit, Cultured Farmers. My vision is to educate people about ecological agriculture methods, which contribute to soil health, and draw the connection between the microbiological health of the soil and the human microbiome. For this reason, I have collaborated with colleagues who will also teach people how to ferment food to help restore and/or preserve the human microbiome. I will explain its mission, and impetus, in part two.
Follow me on Twitter for periodic updates, @RonWMacKenzie, learn more about me, and connect, on LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/mackenzieron/