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Lydia Sisson graduated from the 2008 Farm Business Training Class.

Farmer Profile — Lydia Sisson

Lydia Sisson is very busy these days. She graduated from the New Entry Business Training class in March 2008, and currently works in two capacities at Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, MA. As the farm's Education Coordinator, Lydia teaches classes for children and adults. In her second position as a seasonal agricultural intern, Lydia assists with vegetable production and animal husbandry for their 370-share Community Supported Agriculture ("CSA") program. She enjoys her work, but looks forward to beginning her own farm business.

Lydia first became interested in agriculture while she was a student at Vasser College. She volunteered at a local farm, and was eventually hired for a position in their CSA program. After graduation, she worked for the United Teen Equality Center ("UTEC"), based in Lowell. She mentored young people in their "Fresh Roots" program, where students learn about growing, cooking and selling healthy food. Lydia transitioned from UTEC to her current position at Green Meadows.

Lydia says that the most difficult part of her job at Green Meadows is dealing with people from more privileged communities. At UTEC, Lydia worked with people from socially and economically diverse backgrounds. At Green Meadows, Lydia finds that she needs to shift her approach to teaching, and it can be a challenge to establish methods which work. Through her prior jobs and education experience, Lydia has learned what she wants to accomplish on her own farm. She feels that the New Entry Farm Business Training Course prepared her well. The class prepares students for their first year of farm production and marketing by helping students to develop crop plans, cash flow projections, and market commitments. The course also requires students to create a business plan prior to graduation to summarize their plans and encourages students to meet with a professional business volunteer through SCORE to get a third opinion on the strength of their plans. Students also attended hands-on field workshops during the growing season to learn practical skills. All this training has prompted Lydia to establish her main enterprise focus: she is determined to make an important contribution to local community food production.

The first step has been taken. In October, Lydia broke ground on her newly leased land, named Luna Farm, located in North Reading, MA. The land was secured through New Entry's Farmland Matching Service Program. She will farm 2.5 acres of her 5-acre plot. She has incorporated lime and has already tilled, cover cropped the plot, and planted garlic. She is currently establishing her business structure, including obtaining a tax-payer ID and insurance. Lydia's land tenure arrangement allows for use of tractor and implements. This event marks the beginning of what will hopefully be a long and successful journey into the growth of a field of new crops, a new business plan, and a new life for Lydia.

Luna Farm is a CSA and Lydia is now taking orders now for the 2009 season for delivery to North Reading and Davis Square in Somerville, MA. For more information, contact Lydia at: lunafarmcsa@gmail.com or call 843-810-9841.

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M25085?ul

Farmer Profile — Francey Hart

Francey Hart graduated from the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project (New Entry) Farm Business Planning Course in April 2009, at which point she created a comprehensive business plan for her first farming enterprise.

Francey was born in New York City and lived there until the age of 11. Despite her big city upbringing, she feels that she was always a country kid at heart. She found special refuge amongst the grounds of her urban her elementary school, which included flocks of chickens and gardens.

Francey's parents were vegetarians until the time Francey was born, at which time her mom began to crave hamburgers. Francey claims she had a "bad influence on them." Francey says she grew up eating "fish sticks, frozen veggies, and tater tops" as the household diet became increasingly dictated by convenience and budget.

Francey didn't have much agriculture exposure until her junior year in college when she lived in Italy and rediscovered where food comes from. When she returned to the U.S., she became involved in the Agatston Urban Nutrition Initiative based at the University of Pennsylvania. The program engages K-16+ learners in an active, real-world problem-solving curriculum that strives to improve community nutrition and wellness.

After Francey graduated from college, she took on an internship in India (outside of Bangalore), in order to learn about agriculture. She lived in a rural area with limited electricity and water. Francey taught English and worked on a rainwater harvesting system. Water was scarce during the dry season and the villagers resorted to digging wells deeper and deeper. Community action groups responded by reworking some old techniques of storing rain water for later use. Francey connected with a local non-profit made up of engineers to develop sustainable water solutions for the village. The group dug small reservoirs and water channels to recharge the ground water around the existing wells. Francey spent a lot of time getting communities to buy into it the new water systems. Though Francey spearheaded the project, it took time for her to tune into the local communications protocol. There was a fair amount of distrust and she was not taken seriously at first. In the end, her group had planted over 40 trees and successfully installed a number of irrigation systems.

After her return from India, Francey got her masters in Education. After teaching for a year, she felt that she was not interested in pursuing a career as a classroom educator. Instead, she traveled to Mexico where she worked on a teaching farm and learned to speak Spanish as part of a Farm–to-School internship.

Since her return from Mexico, Francey has lived in Boston and become involved in urban agriculture. She currently works for City Sprouts, a schoolyard gardening program for urban students. Her position involves instructing teachers to integrate gardens into their classroom curriculum. Francey feels that her City Sprout position provided the inspiration for her to determine her future direction.

Francey's long term goal is own and operate a farming business. She enjoys working outdoors with seeds, soil and sun. She enjoys working in the intersection of education and social justice areas. When Francey heard about the New Entry Farm Business Planning class from Lydia Sisson, a 2008 New Entry graduate, she knew that the timing was right for her to register for the Business Planning classes. "We are at this moment in time when the food movement has come into mainstream thought and this is a combination of many factors converging – food safety, value of food, and an economic recession which turns peoples minds to practical solutions. Also, as an element of problem solving, people want to do more to help the environment. The food movement is the most basic way to participate." Francey envisions that her farm will operate in conjunction with a proposed cooperative in which she and a group of like-minded people plan to live together and grow their own food.

In the meantime, Francey started an edible landscaping business called "Garden of Eating" In 2008. She had nine clients, ranging from individuals looking for one time design work to full installation. She received most of her business through word of mouth. Francey claims that her training at New Entry has turned her into a convert to market –based planning. Francey finds that the greatest challenge to business ownership is to get into the mindset where the bottom line is the ultimate sign of success or failure. The year 2008 was a test season which allowed her to determine her capacities as a small business owner.

Francey will continue to operate her Garden of Eating business along side her farming business. "The two businesses will compliment each other." Though Francey's road to farming has been somewhat circuitous, she feels that she has finally arrived. Or, perhaps her heart has led her back to that special schoolyard refuge of her childhood -an simple oasis with flocks of chickens and a garden.

Anyone wishing to get in touch with Francey regarding her "Garden of Eating", can e-mail her at eatthegarden@gmail.com.