The following is a summary of her experience:
I’ve heard throughout my life that the best job in the world is one you love, and at Hope Grows farm that’s what makes everything work. You have to love waking up to feed the baby turkeys, get bird droppings all over you and have flies attack your face. You have to have love to lift a fifty pound bag of feed and push a broiler pen, or five, to fresh grass and you have to have love to plant every single seed and take care of every little leaf until it can stand on its own. Arianne and Eliot love what they do and working with them I’ve learned why.
I think like many people I assumed that the key ingredients to a successful farm were blood sweat and tears but Eliot and Arianne have opened my eyes to what a hot young farmer’s life is really like. Instead of sweating all day in the hot buggy sun only to spend the evening doing puzzles or worrying about how many eggs the hens will lay, these farmers break up the day with amazing meals, good conversation and most importantly, with a lot of laughter. I understand now that the profit of a farm doesn’t increase with stress and exhaustion, only with enjoyment and compassion. A day didn’t go by that I didn’t need a nap after the morning work but I also didn’t have a single day slip pass me that wasn’t full of jokes and cracking up at the dinner table. Every morning I was up with the sun to sweat and dress myself in mud but every evening I had to relax, use the internet (yes, even farms can enjoy modern technology) or go on a little adventure with the farmers.
Over the past couple weeks I’ve become even more conscience of where my food comes from and much more grateful for the farmers who bring it to the table. More importantly though, I’ve realized that this is a lifestyle that can be very enjoyable and rewarding with a little blood, sweat, tears… and love.
Thank you hot young farmers.
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