UC Davis student organic farm: Davis, CA

Our last stop was the student organic farm at the University of California Davis. This is the largest farm we visited with many different programs, though we only saw the 5 acre Market Garden and the Children's Educational Garden. We met up with Raul Adamchak (coauthor of the book Tomorrow's Table) and Damian Parr (a UC Davis PhD candidate who's dissertation is about student farms). We got a chance to talk to students and harvest produce for the CSA the farm runs. The overall system of the UC Davis farm is based on paid faculty who act as project managers while students are guided in practical hands-on skills.


Jeana and Brooke helping to prepare produce baskets for the CSA members.





















Jeana picking cherries in the Children's garden.


Raul speaking to Gabe and student members of the farm about why the corn is so small.

A group photo with Damian.


Damian has spent a lot of time looking at the organization of many different student farms all over the country. His dissertation has to do with the rise of student farms and what they can do for the students involved in them. We had a nice talk with him about our farm and other farms on the same path. Since we are rather new and not sure exactly how we want to run our farm, or even what organizational options are available, his knowledge was very helpful and greatly appreciated. One of the main points we focused on was that it is important for the students themselves to be the ones to make big decisions regarding the farm, and if faculty are present (paid or otherwise), to not let too much power be given to them. The farms that follow this type model have achieved great things and the students involved felt they had a very worthwhile experience being part of the farm.

Lane Community College: Eugene, OR

While visiting Horton Road Organics and Food for Lane County, we were strongly urged to stop by the Lane Community College Student Farm. On our way out of town, we decided to follow their advice after encountering a bout of afternoon traffic. We were rewarded with an unexpected presence of friendly students as well as a fresh bounty of veggies. We were quick to observe the close-knit community that surrounded the garden and how the support of the students and staff made a world of difference. One of the most impressive features of the Lane Community College Student Garden is that they are a major provider of ingredients used by the on campus student restaurant even though they are currently cultivating on a small plot of land. Even more impressively, although the farm is fairly new they were still able to set up a federal work-study program, work out an extra credit connection with other classes, hire an Americorps employee to work for the farm, collect the Bill Clinton Initiative Call to Action grant, as well as enact an extra dollar a semester student activity fee for farm project funding.

Most of the funding for the farm was dispersed through small mini-projects such as building fences or a foyer, expanding their agroforrestry system, or just purchasing new soil. Through the strong support of the groundskeeping crew as well as the faculty, this student run farm was able to convince the school to allow them more growing space as well as hopes for a new green house.

Similar to the OSU campus, LCC Farm hosts weekly work parties, sharing food and knowledge. Strong faculty support played an important factor in the quick growth, maintenance, and overall success of the garden.

We were so happy to meet with Toby Kubler, an active student member.  He shared much of his wisdom with us and left us with much to think about.  

• Apply for grants that pay for specific projects but do not cover the whole cost of the farm project
• Central on campus location creates the most sense of community and availability for student and faculty participation
• Utilize work-study and Americorps opportunities to bring in a manager and other workers.  Also find teachers who are willing to give students extra credit for participating in the garden.  Many of these students will then become active members.
• Staying small at the beginning brings success!  
• Use the materials that are available to you on campus or for free and use those as much as you can. 
• Network - get everyone at the university on board with what you are doing. 

Horton Road Organics: Blachly, OR

After visiting two of the three Food For Lane County farms, we stopped by Bill Booth's Horton Road Oraganics. Bill and his wife Debra own and operate a six acre organic farm where most of the workforce is made up of interns and apprentices. For a long time the farm organized a very popular CSA, though now due to other time consuming commitments, the farm has dropped its CSA program and now focuses all of its produce sales at three local weekly farmers markets. The bottom line is for the farm to make enough money to support its owners, however, the owners like to focus heavily on the training of it's interns and apprentices to become farmers in the future.
























Crew manager Lisa, an apprentice on the farm, talked to us about how to manage a crew of peer-workers who may not have any farming experience, much like what we have to organize on our farm.

Although Horton Road Organics farm is not a student farm at all, Bill had lots of good advice for us in regards to running a successful farm. He was also an apprentice at a student farm when he was in school so had some in depth personal knowledge on what it takes to successfully run a student farm such as our own.

Since many of Bill's workers are inexperienced, clever inovations dot the farm to make the work easier and to keep things running smoothly. For example, the photo above shows a sign which tells the workers what job needs to be done with what tool in a specific bed. Some of these inovations that have been developed to deal with interns could be directly applied to work with students on our farm.

Education at Horton Road Organics was a key element -  Throughout the season there are weekly classes and at the end of the season each apprentice presented their dream farm.  This sounded like a great idea for a course on small farms.  Topics such as irrigation, farm equipment, crop rotation, crop selection, marketing, and small farm business planning could be taught and then at the end of the term each student could present their dream farm fto the class for discussion and critique.  

Key points from Bill 

• create a place where students can get out of the classroom where they can get their hands in the dirt and do something that feels real!
• create consistency-  a farm manager or coordinator is essential to create consistency from week to week and semester to semester.  If students don't get the job done, the farm manager can make sure tasks are completed. 
• People respond well to plants and gardens, especially if they can see care and attention being given to it. This is a good argument for staying small, at least at the beginning, and for a central campus location.

Food For Lane County - Youth Farm and Grassroots Garden

Food For Lane County - Youth Farm and Grassroots Garden

Springfield and Eugene, OR

We learned a lot by visiting both of these locations. They are are both farms/gardens that produce tons of food for the Lane County food bank, work with diverse groups of people, are integral to creating a healthy and connected community, and they are both managed beautifully and successfully!

The Food For Lane County Youth Farm lays in the middle of a low income neighborhood and is on school land that had been left open from the surrounding development. Ted, the farm manager has been with the project for 5 years and has grown the production area to 6 acres and there is still plenty of room for expansion. He was clearly a skilled farmer and leader to get so much done each year while managing and organizing the teenage interns and other various groups that come out to volunteer.

He mentioned that one advantage that they had at the youth farm, was that everyone knew the organization "Food For Lane County" and their mission to end hunger in Lane County. Because they are so well know, it is easy to get volunteer groups, and other businesses donate potting material, manure and equipment, he even had a local farmer stopping by to help with tilling some land!

Here is the SOFT crew with Ted from Food For Lane County Youth farm!

We learned much from Ted in our visit to his farm. He recommended to us that we look into americorps positions and even getting fraternities/sororities or businesses to come out as groups to volunteer their time. He also some practical farming advice to get both sir-up and circle hoes because they are easy for anyone to use, meaning newbies to the farm will kill the weeds but not the crops!!! We asked Ted about vandalization, since his farm is right in a high traffic area. He said that there is some, but he doesn't plant tempting crops near the edges of his field, such as squash and fruit trees. And as the presence of his farm becomes more known in the community more and more people are showing up to help out, and vandalism has decreased.

GrassRoots Garden - Eugene, OR

Ted from the youth farm sent us on our way but told us we needed to see the Grassroots Garden which is also part of Food For Lane County. We showed up at noon and asked if we could take a look around. Mary, the garden coordinator, instantly invited us to lunch so we moseyed around the 2 acre garden as the smells of our lunch cooking in the garden kitchen floated through the fields.
Sitting down to lunch with Mary and her crew of volunteers was a great way to learn about their operation. She left us with several key points that were truly applicable to SOFT and how we can develop to be a successful farm and community.

• Make the farm successful - even if it is small, volunteers want to know that their work is contributing to something that is going to flourish. The farm will grow as more and more people get involved, but it is better to have something small and successful than to take on a project that is too large and bound for failure. It also honors the volunteers efforts by no letting their work go to waste.
  
• Essential to have a coordinator- Mary is at the garden at least 5 days a week. Volunteers know they can show up any time and that there will be work for them to do. Also, she keeps the garden running smoothly as different people and different ideas come and go. This is a tough position to fill. The coordinator need the ability to organize diverse groups of people, and has to be thinking ahead.
• Feed people! - They have a wonderful outdoor kitchen at the Grassroots Garden and all volunteers sit down for a nice lunch cooked mostly with garden produce. This creates a wonderful sense of community and connectedness, but it is also a way to show people how to cook with all the wonderful produce they are growing. Both of these components are essential to meeting the mission of their garden and also the mission of SOFT.

Outdoor kitchen - this is where the magic happens!
Ready for a group of willing volunteers.
Having many tools is key to being ready for big groups.
Showing up at this garden was a magical experience. Tucked away behind a church on a busy street, this was a little pice of wonderland. The garden was meticulously cared for. Lettuce, cabbage, kale, beets, carrots, and all the vegetables thrived in the deep rich (and almost weed free) soil.
Creative use of a bathtub for a cleaning station!

Food For Lane County - Youth Farm and Grassroots Garden

We learned to much by visiting both of these locations.  They are are both farms/gardens that produce tons of food for the Lane County food bank, work with diverse groups of people, are integral to creating a healthy and connected community, and they are both managed beautifully and successfully!  

The youth farms lays in the middle of a low income neighborhood and is on school land that had been left open from the surrounding development.  Ted, the farm manager has been with the project for 5 years and has grown the production area to 6 acres and there is still plenty of room for expansion.  He was clearly a skilled farmer and leader to get so much done each year while managing and organizing the teenage interns and other various groups that come out to volunteer.  

He mentioned that one advantage that they had at the youth farm, was that everyone knew the organization "Food For Lane County" and their mission to end hunger in Lane County.  Because they are so well know, it is easy to get volunteer groups, and other businesses donate potting material, manure and equipment, he even had a local farmer stopping by to help with tilling some land!

Here is the SOFT crew with Ted of Food For Lane County Youth Farm in  Springfield, OR.

Food For Lane County, Youth Farm: Springfield. OR

Food For Lane County, Youth Farm: Springfield. OR

Oregon State University: Corvallis, OR

We were able to catch breakfast on Thursday May 21st with Julie, one of the core members of The Organic Growers Club at Oregon State University. She was kind enough to share the intimate details of the Organic Growers Club style of operations. We were able to exchange many great ideas to help improve our student farms. Some good ideas we picked up were: the meeting of a once monthly farm council, hiring interns for the summer to keep the farm going, bi-weekly work-party potlucks and sectioning off the farm to focus.














Chicken tractors! Built by engineering students from OSU.



















Meeting with James Cassidy, the Organic Growers super rad leader!

Oregon State University: Corvallis, OR

We were able to catch breakfast on Thursday May 21st with Jessie, one of the core members of The Organic Growers Club at Oregon State University. She was kind enough to share the intimate details of the Organic Growers Club style of operations. We were able to exchange many great ideas to help improve our student farms. Some good ideas we picked up were:

Evergreen State College: Olympia, WA

On Wednesday the 20th, as a last minute addition to the trip, we decided to stop by Evergreen State College, a small liberal arts college nestled away in the crevices of Olympia, Washington. Although their curriculum differed greatly from our own, there was still much for us to learn from their unique practices.














A few of the key features we saw that we would like to integrate into our own program include: a work study program, paid staff for summer maintenance and a CSA program. Volunteers from the community regularly come on to the farm to teach workshops and lend their knowledge and guidance to help support to student farm. Workshops covered many important components of farm upkeep such as: fruit tree pruning, animal husbandry, composting or carpentry. One key lesson we learned from this farm that we can immediately put into action is that it may be better to go after funding for individual projects on the farm rather than ask for money without a specific use.















Using funds raised through on-campus produce sales and food sales to the campus cafeteria, the farm is able generate enough money to staff a full time farm managers and paid student interns.
Some of the unique and interesting student initiated projects at the farm included: biofuel processing station to run the farm tractors, a composting toilet, a large composting facility, beehives, ducks and a flock of 90 egg laying hens.

An nice view over the Outback farm, with a small greenhouse in the background.

Signs are a must for 

the student farm!  Here 

is the composting zone!

Herb garden wheel at the

  entrance of the Outback!

Gabe is chatting with the guys about the forest garden and the bags of mycelium are in the back which are used for mushroom cultivation.

This is just a small structure at the farm used for posting notes and updates about what is going on -Good idea!

FOREST GARDEN at the OUTBACK

WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

The forest garden has been a part of the outback since it began, but as students come and go interest in it has been the same. There were four students working on it this year. They had developed a joint independent study course to re-establish this area of the farm. They were doing a lot of sheet mulching with cardboard and plastic to get down the weeds. they has also planted several new trees, pruned old ones, started mushroom cultivation and planted some small areas of vegetables in sunnier areas. It looked like they were off to a great start but still had much to do. This also showed the problem of a wholly student run program where there is no one person linking the farm from out-going and in-coming students.

Outback Student Farm - Our first visit was to The Outback student farm at Western Washington University in Bellingham Washington. Here we met with Matia, Western Student and Outback coordinator.

Some of the highlights of this farm that we would like to see incorporated in our own include; the ability to hire work study students, making donations to food banks, having a prime location on campus, and regular seed swaps. They have community members come into the farm to teach workshops. Recently they had a workshop on mushroom cultivation for their students.

The location of the farm in between two dormitories leads to a great deal of foot traffic, which is good for farm recognition but also results in the loss of some tools and produce. Due to lack of summer students the farm has seen some gaps in care. Some faculty integrate the farm into their courses and some offer extra credit to their students to volunteer. We met several students who were exposed to farming for the first time through these extra credit opportunities. Some were clearly unenthusiastic about their having to be there, but others were surprised at how much they enjoyed learning about the farm and thought they would continue to grow vegetables, beans, and possibly fruit in the future. There however is no actual class based around the farm, but some years students join together to do a group independent study that incorporates the farm. A formal class would help to resolve some of the lack of continuity in student involvement in the farm.

Four SOFT student farmers joined together in Seattle on May 18th to begin a 10 day trip to visit student farms along the West Coast. We have just completed our first year of farming and by visiting these long standing student farms we hope to acquire knowledge on how these farms were started and how they continue to thrive at their home universities. We will translate this knowledge into methods to bring the SOFT student farm to its upmost potential.