This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the annual gathering of the agriculturally minded in Amherst, MA where I attended some wonderful workshops and chatting with some amazing farmers and farmers to be.
I love going to conferences because it helps me put my everyday experiences into perspective. Immersing myself in that kind of environment reminds me that there are such incredible diversity in organic agriculture. Although I've observed this just from comparing my first internship in the hill-towns of Western Mass with this summer in Poultney, it's remarkable to go to a gathering like NOFA and see 200 different workshops, all with a slightly different approach to farming organically in the Northeast. I love that there are so few universals in farming. It makes things so much more exciting.
One workshop that I attended was "Starting a Farm" with Elizabeth Henderson, author of Sharing the Harvest (a great book and an awesome speaker). She encouraged us beginning farmers to "get as big a bag of tricks as you possibly assemble" before starting out, and I feel that my experiences on the farm this summer have certainly added a number of awesome new tools and tricks that I will be using for the rest of my career. Not only have I developed my human-powered and draft-powered vegetable growing skills, but I've worked on managing a CSA, maintaining a farm property, caring for a flock of animals, and working with an unusual crew of laborers. Several of my workshops this weekend encouraged farmers to think about diversifying their skills and their businesses in order to ensure economic viability and personal fullfillment, and I think that this farm has been well a good place for me to begin that process. This summer I have been pushed to multi-task and explore new opportunities, rely on my community and find creative solutions to the many problems one is bound to encounter as an organic, small-scale grower.
After this weekend I'm totally exhausted, but I feel ready to go back to the farm tomorrow with fresh energy lent to me by the vibrant community I had the privilege of being a part of this weekend.
