Beginnings

I'm a beginning farmer. I recently graduated from the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, which is connected to Tufts University, and I'm now farming a 1/4 acre of land. A first post is a new beginning, much like a graduation; a push out of the nest into uncharted territory. My first weeks on the farm have felt like that; exciting, and exhilarating, sometimes terrifying but always interesting. I think back to graduation, and what I wrote reminds me that adventure comes in many forms. Sometimes it is writing a speech, sometimes it is presenting in public, sometimes it is starting a business. Here's to new beginnings, large and small.

Graduation Speech 2013 
New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, Lowell, MA

"Hi. My name is Kate. I was a participant in the Fall classroom section of New Entry’s training program. I’m very excited to be starting my first year growing this season.

I recently wrote to a friend of mine and described what constituted a perfect day… “I want to be able to go into a field and watch green things grow and see a hawk fly overhead. And know that I've done something to be able to nurture that land and protect it.” If you talk to any of the farmers here they all have a version of the perfect day. But how do you turn the idea of that perfect day into a reality; that is where New Entry stepped in. New Entry took my “pie in the sky” idea of running a farm and moved it into a more realistic and viable enterprise. I’ve learned running a farm is much more multi-dimensional than the consumer shopping at the local farmers market realizes. One of the pieces the program helped me to clarify was that there are a the number of skill sets needed to run a farm properly, and that maybe, my labryinth like career path with all its twists and turns finally made sense.

The New Entry program has the unique capacity of giving students the ability to envision their farm from the ground up, bad pun intended. To closely consider and delve into: What is your market/marketing plan, your budget and financials, your planting schedules. This gave me a reality check, which is helpful when statistics show that many new businesses do not make it past the first three years.

New Entry also offers the chance to have a support network, so especially important for beginning farmers in need of working knowledge. Where once basic practical skills were passed from generation to generation, we now have an information gap. A very essential piece of the puzzle is filled by New Entry’s mentorship. New Entry’s staff have a breath and depth of knowledge that are a wonderful resource for all of us in the program. I’m also very grateful for my fellow students. I’ve learned a lot from speaking with you all, and I’m so looking forward to spending time learning in the fields with you this season.

What makes this program such a great opportunity is the chance to be out in the fields for the next three years with my fellow classmates and with the staff. Theories are fine, but the realities of doing the work are key to being successful; being with seasoned farmers who have a working knowledge of what growing is about will give all of us better clarity and advantage in the market place.

My path to get here today has been very interesting. This moment feels like the weaving of various threads of my life together, a real culmination of time and space. What inspires me about farming is that it is the place where art, science and magic meet, three things that nourish my soul. What I’d like my business to inspire is changing the way we as individuals relate to our food sources and ultimately, the planet. To that end, Witch Grass Farm weds medicinally good food with beauty and purpose. By encouraging people to look at their food as pleasing and healing, we nurture both body and soul. Witch Grass will be selling edible herbs and flowers with an artistic and healthy twist. Bouquets that can be made into teas, edible salts for cooking and traditional medicinally good for you plants are all part of the palette. Witch Grass plans to educate consumers in their eating choices, and shift their perceptions in what is “ediblely correct”. Witch Grass also works with children, especially urban children, to encourage their connection with the earth and green spaces, as well as their love of healthy food. That in a nutshell is my farm’s philosophical approach, and I would not have been able to write that without New Entry.

So, in the end, what have I come away with from this program. Where else can a girl who’s worked in the record industry, run conferences, been a massage therapist, made art, done fecal samples for a vet, studied aromatherapy and become a mom find happiness, on a farm, of course.

Thank you all for coming tonight. See you in the fields."