Some come to farming via a ‘Green Acres’ path

Rochester Post-Bulletin

Some come to farming via a ‘Green Acres’ path

By Karen Rorie
Post-Bulletin

9/28/07
Many people find that life's path takes them somewhere unexpected. For a growing number of "city people," that unexpected place is a farm.

"I grew up in Minneapolis," said Daniel Miller. "I have a degree in political science, but now I want to be a farmer."

The 2005 graduate of the University of Minnesota works on Margo Warthesen's farm near Plainview. He's gaining valuable experience and insight into farm life.

"It's seduced me away from the city," he said. "It's really satisfying work. There is something really sweet about it."

Satisfaction comes from knowing that his work feeds people and from the more tangible parts of farming.

"When you get through weeding a row of asparagus or something and you really feel like you've done something."

Then there's lunch.

Warthesen tries to continue the old farm tradition of a home-cooked lunch. "I get one of the best lunches in the whole area," he said. "It's one of the only jobs where you get to sit down with a family and have a meal."

Miller hopes to have a small farm of his own some day with vegetables and a few animals. Vegetable farming is a good option for small-scale farming, he said. "You don't need the kind of acreage you need for a traditional farm, so it's less capital. When you're dealing with land prices that are completely ridiculous, you have to start getting creative about how you're going to farm."

Money is Miller's biggest obstacle. The cost of land is high and becoming more and more expensive as cities grow and expand.

"At this point, I'm not even close to having enough money," he said.

Realizing the dream

Brad Hodgson grew up in the city, but spent summers on his grandparents' farm.

"I always knew that's what I wanted to do," he recalled.

In 1998, he and his wife, Leslea, purchased 100 acres north of Fountain and set out to build their beef farm.

"We lucked out," he said. "When we found our place, it was right when things took off. It's got to be harder to start up now," he said.

Now that they're on their farm, money is still the biggest challenge.

The Hodgsons had the added challenge of building an infrastructure for their farm before they could start producing their organic beef. They purchased six cows and calves, built fences and barns and seeded pastures with grass for their cows, which eat primarily grass rather than grain. "It was two years before we had something to sell," Brad Hodgson said.

Showing the way

The Land Stewardship Project's Farm Beginnings program helps prospective farmers make the move to the farm. The 10-month course covers goal setting, financial planning, business plan creation, alternative marketing and low-cost sustainable farming techniques. Participants also tour a variety of farms, and they are paired with experienced farmers who offer guidance.

"It gives you the starting point, and it's up to you what you do with it," said Hodgson, a graduate of the program. "It's quite helpful in exposing you to lots of things."

"I think the general public's perception is that no one is interested in farming, and even if they are, there's no way to get started," said Karen Stettler, director of Farm Beginnings. "It's so exciting that we are able through Farm Beginnings to prove that yes, there are people interested in farming and yes, there are viable ways for them to get established and be profitable."

During the past decade, more than 300 people have graduated from the Farm Beginnings program in Minnesota, and 60 percent of them are actively farming.

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