Like many new farmers, when I got started, I was a generation removed from farming. I didn’t grow up surrounded by agriculture, but I would visit my grandmother’s farm in Lockport, New York. That farm, McCollum Orchards, had been in the family since 1827. The rich history and wild nature of the property sparked a lifelong curiosity about the farmers in my family, but I never expected I would eventually live there and turn it back into a productive farm again.
I spent much of my early career in the field of market research and rural economic development. By 2010 I was working in southern India for an economic development think tank where I spent time with farmers in remote villages. It was there that I was really exposed to day-to-day farming and some of the hardships that farmers face trying to get their products to and from market and how to get paid a fair price for their efforts.
When news came that my grandmother had passed away and that the fate of that old family farm was in limbo, my wife and I returned to the states and visited Lockport to pay our respects. It had been years since we had been back to the farm, but something about it piqued our interest and we decided to move to Lockport and turn it back into a working farm again – despite not even knowing where to begin.
Our first step was contact CCE for help figuring out where to start. My wife and I took every class we could find, read numerous farming books, reached out to local farmers and organizations, and scoured the internet for resources. We then decided to turn the property into a market farm. Ten years later, we now run a popular 150-member CSA vegetable program and raise produce year-round for markets and restaurants.
When CCE approached me about creating a course for beginning farmers in the area, I jumped at the opportunity. It gave me the chance to create a program that would have helped me when I was just getting started. A chance to teach beginning and aspiring farmers both the business and science sides of farming, as well as gain that needed hands-on experience that is so important when getting started.