Entering Farmer 20192
Couple w/ 2 kids ~10 years organic produce experience. Hoping to find a creative land share or several families to team up to caretake and/or develop a homestead type situation. Open to discussing many different possilble arrangements.
Entering Farmer 20190
My name is Elise Hanksand I am the owner and sole operator of Terra Luna Herbals, an apothecary and wellness goods brand, based in Philadelphia. In addition to the retail end of Terra Luna, there is a major focus on herb gardening and land stewardship. The gardening portion of the operation has been based, over the past 3 years, in an urban community garden plot. As happens with many city garden plots however, this lot will soon be unavailable to Terra Luna, leaving me no choice but to relocate to another, ideally more permanent, growing situation. We are looking to expand the Terra Luna herb and flower growing operation over the next few years on a piece of land that gives us enough space to grow a significant amount more crop than we have in the past. We will be growing herbs for our in-house herbal product line as well as flowers for a cut-flower program (to sell to florists as well as the public.)
Entering Farmer 20187
My wife and I feel led by God to begin a life in farming. I have about 5 years of experience in produce farming and another 4 years in the greenhouse. My wife is a nurse and plans to begin a faith-based non-profit on the farm for young, impoverished mothers. I am currently a sales manager, but I am supposed to be a berry farmer. What we are looking for is about 20-30 acres suitable to grow strawberries, raspberries, pumpkins, etc for a pick-your-own style business. A historic home and a small wood lot would be ideal…we are history nuts! Just to be clear, we are not interested in leasing, we are interested in a farm of our own with an old home. We do not have a large budget. My wife and I are open to Berks, Lancaster, Chester, Lebanon, York, and Adams counties. We know the Lord has this for us, so if you feel led to help a younger married couple achieve their purpose, we hope to hear from you:)
Entering Farmer 20178
My name is Jacqueline and I’m a first generation farmer interested in livestock production as a means to improve land and mitigate climate change. I dived headfirst into farming in 2020 when I took an internship in the Adirondacks of New York on a goat dairy and diversified livestock farm. At the peak of the pandemic, I moved to live and work as an intern at Asgaard Farm & Dairy in upstate NY. My responsibilities there varied widely and I improved my skills in many areas: animal husbandry rotational grazing and pasture management, making and packaging hundreds of pounds of cheese daily, operating farmers’ markets and managing online sales and marketing, record keeping from animal chores to inventory upkeep, and more. It was during this season that I discovered my love of farming and committed to a lifelong career of producing and promoting food made well.
The next season, I was accepted into the Rodale Institute’s Farmer Training Program and relocated to the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania to work on this highly respected and well-known organic research farm. With a team, we grew a variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers and served a 100 member CSA and a couple of markets in underserved communities in surrounding cities. This work was supplemented with educational experiences: classes on topics from soil health to financial management and drawing up a business plan, as well as visits to surrounding farms, retailers, and food system operations. My first year here was an absolutely incredible experience but I especially gravitated towards the livestock component of the program. I helped raise pastured pigs, broilers and laying hens, Thanksgiving turkeys, and a small herd of steers under the guidance of my mentors.
For this upcoming season, I am planning on following through on the second year track of the RIFT program. The second year will hone in on team management and tractor skills and further develop my business plan and strategy for my own operation. With all the connections I have made at the Rodale Institute, I intend to find the right opportunity to develop a profitable and sustainable business. While the specific details of the future remain open-ended, I have a very clear idea of my values and goals and trust that my previous experiences will guide me along to the right situation.
Entering Farmer 20174
I am looking for a combination of flat cropland rolling pastures and wooded lots to run up our diversified pastured livestock operation. My mission is to heal land grow nourishing foods and inspire with amazing flavors.. Is my wife 3 children and I have been farming sustainably for 15 years and have developed a healthy direct and wholesale market in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region.
Entering Farmer 20173
Hello! My husband and I have a passion for farming and we want to take it to the next level. We both have degrees in biology. I spent a year in California working on the Philo Apple Farm where I was involved in the organic and biodynamic cultivating, planting and harvesting a vegetable garden and herb garden for use in the on site cooking classes, a flower garden to provide fresh flowers to the Boonville Hotel, caring for and harvesting the orchard, as well as raising and processing livestock and poultry for consumption. I have experience managing an on site farm stand, as well as selling products at the San Francisco farmers market. I have another year of experience growing organic vegetable farm in Montana that provided around 100 shares of produce to the Flathead Valley through our CSA program. My husband and I currently have 1.6 acres. We have planted a small orchard, and converted about 1/4 acre into garden beds in which we successfully have been rotating crops such as organic corn, beans, green beans, potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, garlic, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, carrots, beets, parsnips, Swiss chard, lettuces, brussel sprouts, cucumbers, and more. We have a small raspberry patch and strawberry patch, herbs, and a wildflower patch for our two bee hives. We also have 10 chickens. We are looking for any opportunity to expand this production. Ideally a lease to own situation, but we are open to just about anything. I currently work as a scientist at a pharmaceutical company, and my husband is doing contracting work with a family roofing business.
Entering Farmer 20168
Hello,
My name is Arielle. In doing research about the various programs I found this organization. I am very much interested in working with FarmLink and the USDA to apply for a loan to buy a farm operation and make a difference in Pennsylvania. I am new to this process and wondering who I need to be in contact with and how to apply to various programs to buy property. We would like to be at most 2.5-3 hours away from Philadelphia where our families are located.
About me, I am a recent graduate from Pennsylvania State University. I am a person of color. My partner Edwin and I have an immense interest in farming and entrepreneurial spirit towards natural solutions to existing problems. Our family is in the midst of learning how to care for alpacas and goats to produce yarn, wool, Goat Milk and Cheese. We are also learning to produce herbs and local honey by planting gardens, building and maintaining an apiary. We have a small business collective where we vend our artisanal natural products at local farmers markets in Philadelphia. This is the specific type of production we are looking for assistance. We have the skill set to sustain our growing family by farming.
Please reach out with more information on applying for assistance to begin building a black owned farm in Pennsylvania. All assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated.
Attitude of gratitude,
Arielle Reid