Foraging Ahead: FARMpreneurs

“YOU’RE STARTING A FARM???!!!”

That was the response from our friends when my wife and I left our professional lives in the Chicago suburbs to grow vegetables and raise livestock on family land twenty-four years ago. I’m sure many of you are familiar with that community reaction. To ease this transition, my wife Beth went back to her original career as a Special Education teacher and I became a full-time stay at home dad and farmer. Beth’s teaching gig kept a steady income coming in and provided health insurance benefits - we might have been crazy, but we weren’t reckless. It also meant that she was available to help on the farm during our busiest summer season. 

Over the next three years, the farm went from zero income to netting enough profit that we needed to pay income taxes on it. YEAH!

Taking a direct to market farm from zero to $100,000+ in gross sales is a huge achievement. If you’ve reached this level of success, take a bow! You deserve it.

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But…

A net income of $20,000 - $30,000 is not enough for you (or your partner) to quit a day job, provide for a family, or give benefits (health insurance, paid vacation, retirement plan) to you or your employees.

This is where Beth and I found ourselves going into the fourth year of farming and teaching. We were expecting our third child and our current approach to farming had reached its limit.

Many farmers and ranchers that reach this plateau either continue with farming as a source of supplemental income and really delicious food, or they decide that it was a good experiment and go back to their pre-farming careers. A few DECIDE that farming IS their career. 

Is that you?

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Do…

You have a BHAG (BIG HAIRY AUDACIOUS GOAL) to make your farm a business that offers all that and more AND the germ of an idea to get your farm there? I hope some of you do, because there are some amazing resources available to help.

(Our BHAG was the notion that the farm could fully support us and, to make it happen, we would direct market meat and eggs through farmers market sales and Community Supported Agriculture memberships. With the help of a USDA SARE grant * and successive Frontera Farmer Foundation grants and a lot of blood, sweat and tears we got there. Having non-dilutive funding really helped, but it would have been less scary and a whole lot easier if we had expert advisors to help us stress test our plans and ideas and a community of farmers with similar goals supporting us.) 

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If…

You’ve been farming 3+ years, are a manager/owner, and you would like a week of intensive coaching, realistic and viable goal setting, and help in drafting an executable nuts and bolts business plan along with a community of sustainable farmers with equally big plans

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Then…

Consider applying to the FARMpreneurs: Winter Strategic Sprint program. Applications are open and rolling! 

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Where…

Three farms will be hosting the program: The Glynwood Center (FACE Ag Network Members!), Gwenyn Hill Farm, and Art Farm

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When…

Jan 10-16, 2027 | Healdsburg, California

February 21-27, 2027 | Coldspring, New York

March 14-20, 2027 | Waukesha, Wisconsin

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How much…

FREE! Donors, funders, and sponsors pay all costs for the program. Farmers are only responsible for travel costs to and from the Strategic Sprint location. 

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* Please note that although August is normally when USDA SARE grant applications open, this program is currently paused and not accepting applications. This is definitely an issue that the FACE Ag Network will bring up when we speak with lawmakers about the farm bill. 

** Several of the supporters/funders of FARMpreneurs are organizations that provide private funding for regenerative farmers to scale operations and secure land through long-term lease to own arrangements.

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