Before we had our own farm , my husband Nick and I were tenant Fannie Merritt Farmer — and before that we were farmhands . In the years leading up to purchasing our own terra firma , we harvest and developed skills of creature husbandry and vegetable farming from our farm hirer and wise man . We constitute many persuasion about howwewould lam a farm when it was our twist . Our lack of humility and naiveté top us to assume we were quick to start raise on our own . But with little money and no thoughtfulbusiness plan , we were thankfully many steps forth from buying our own plot of ground , as we had much to hear .
In the winter of 2012 , we were living in a clouded cellar apartment 20 miles out of doors of Boston . We had jobs raising set biddy for a prominent veggie farm . There , we spent much of our clip sail the intricacies of livestock farming in the suburbs . We found the vicinity cover the romance of chicken but outlawed roosters quote noise . likewise cattle were welcome , but bulls were too dangerous . naked milk was unlawful in our county , and hay be $ 10 per bale . We became ineffective to reconcile our husbandry goals with the reality of the suburban setting , so we began our hunt for a place to rent in the nation . Kate MacLen
I spent that winter with both eyes unwaveringly glued to rural classifieds . There were a couple such classified — beyond Craigslist — that proved specially helpful : New England LandlinkandNOFA Vermont . There were more opportunity than I had foreknow : There is an integral rainbow of landowners and older farmers look for new bodies to take over the direction of their land .
We correspond with many such landowners , and the advertizement that eventually demonstrate fruitful was divertingly succinct . The photo was of the outhouse and the listing record “ 2 room barn apartment at the end of a dirt road , no indoor sewer . ” No amplification was ask .
I reached out , convinced that the dead - end road was perfect for our flock of animals that habitually ignored their fencing . Upon further conversation with the landlord and a mid - winter visit to rural Vermont , we found the possessor atop a Benny Hill with virtually 200 landed estate of fallow kingdom , an empty dairy b , and a view that was unsavoury in its serenity and quiet . Nick Zigelbaum
We quit our bear farm jobs and moved as shortly as the snow had melted and the roads were clear . Our starter package , such as it was , lie of adopt animals from former employers . We had one Rotokawa Devon heifer , two Ossabaw Island hogs , a beehive of bee , a flock of 20 muddled hens and one duck . From this we were sure ( though the details were superbly hazy ) we could produce a farm .
Kate MacLen
We spent 15 splendid months on that brow forming our farm on borrowed land . Rentingallowed us to investigate the part of farmer without the incredible fiscal task that is own farming . It allowed for experimentation and for many misunderstanding , succeeder and bankruptcy at our own direction , with our own hands . It provided an first appearance to the biotic community where we would finally settle . It gave us equal opportunity to either quit and retreat or move forward and grow .
That class , we made customers to whom we still sell our wares . We bought our first milk moo-cow : a Jersey who was too penny-pinching but we were too immature to know . We scaled up raw Milk River and then switched our focus to gripe after assess our efficiencies and our hurt muscles from handwriting - milking . We gave up on sell eggs since the local market was saturate . We learned the delicacies of the brusque Vermont growing time of year . That summer we bought a trio of Icelandic Ewe — give lambs at the time that are now grandma of our flock . We acquired bookshelves worth of how - tos . We build everything out of trash wood and metal . We foraged for our saltation food . Wecannedfor the winter . We battle sticker for baskets of berries in the summer . Kate MacLean
for certain , renting has its drawback . You must look for permission for much of what you do . base development ( abarn , a greenhouse ) is determine when you do n’t own the ground you ’re ramp up on . There ’s always the fear that a change in possession could end your lease . You may not see eye to center with your landlord regarding the safe role of the land . It is for these reason that many people eventually seek to own , rather than pull land .
Nick Zigelbaum
Even though we were eager to own land , a year of rental was immeasurably worthful . We would not be where we are as Fannie Merritt Farmer today if it had n’t been for that experience . Renting farm estate was our first loop of farming - on - our - own . I recommend it for anyone with intentions of one day farm their own acres . It ’s always gracious to learn lessons on someone else ’s land .
Kate MacLean
