to forestry production. Participants aren’t typically compensated beyond college credit, though that isn’t always the case. The North Coast Growers’ Association (NCGA) offers interns at farms across California’s Humboldt County $20 an hour for up to 100 hours of work — an initiative funded by a BFRDP grant that turns what is often volunteer work into a paying gig. “It’s for someone who is already working in an unpaid capacity and is at their working limit for how much time they have to spare,” says Gwilym Walker, a conservation planning specialist at NCGA. “They don’t have to leave where they’re currently working in order to get paid for work.”
offers reduced-price produce to people in food-insecure zip codes in eastern Austin. Bowanko and David are charged only 10% of their earnings. Lately, they’ve been figuring out how to keep their product as fresh as possible. “When you pick the chard during the day matters,” Bowanko says. “If it’s too warm out, the chard will wilt and it will never spring back.” They try to get out as early as they can to harvest. “Then it’s ‘How quickly can we get it into the cooler? How quickly can we get off the dirt?’” he says. As we talk, Bowanko bends year-round, down and begins snipping French green beans ahead of a cold front. The beans, he explains, were a bit of an experiment. He planted them too late, and they didn’t do well, though there’s at least enough for him and David to each enjoy some for dinner. While they lack the caloric punch of a pizza, they’re “really yummy,” Bowanko says. Bowanko will graduate from the Cultivator program in the spring. He’s not yet sure if he’ll stay in Austin long enough to participate in the incubator program. But one day, wherever he winds up, he hopes to have a farm with veggies and livestock — offering his community the sort of rich, nutrient- dense food that not only helps meet peoples’ caloric needs, but also enhances their health. LEFT: BOWANKO OPTED FOR THE 20-WEEK COURSE THAT GAVE HIM ACCESS TO TWO 100-FOOT-LONG ROWS FOR HIS MAIN PASSION — A SALSA GARDEN. OPPOSITE: FARMSHARE’S USDA-SPONSORED PATHWAY TO FARMING PROGRAMS START AT JUST A FEW MONTHS AND SCALE TO A FEW YEARS FOR ANYONE WANTING TO GO DEEPER IN THEIR PURSUITS.
100-foot-long rows. He packed them with poblano and jalapeño peppers, tomatillos, and heirloom corn for making masa for tortillas. “I wanted to have a salsa garden,” he says. The training is similar to an internship, but the program costs $3,500 (scholarships are available) and includes classroom training and tours of neighboring farms. “There’s not only the focus on growing techniques, but there is also a focus on how we got here with the food system and why,” Abel says. “We talk a lot about climate change. There is a significant amount of time spent on business skills. Our students are learning how to read a balance sheet. They’re learning about what different types of insurance needs you might
have. They’re looking at farming from a lot of different angles.” Bowanko graduated last spring, and this fall he moved on to Farmshare’s Cultivator program. It gives him a bit more land to work with — six rows, each 150 feet long. When I visit, Bowanko walks me toward the back of the farm to see the plot, which he’s chosen to share with another student, Katy David, a former public health professional. When we arrive, she’s walking through a row of chard, picking off leaves that have bug holes to make the veggies more attractive to customers. “People don’t want to eat that,” she says. Cultivators can market and sell their produce on their own, though they also have a guaranteed market outlet through Fresh for Less, which
NCUBATOR PROGRAMS REQUIRE a little more skin in the game. The Central Texas Farm Incubator Collaborative is a three-year program that connects advanced-beginning farmers with area farms, including Farmshare. They get access to tools and infrastructure but pay a graduated rent for up to a half-acre of land — one- third of the land’s market value the first year, two-thirds the second year, then its full value the third year. “It lets them launch a business and have access to land without having to make that purchase themselves,” says Andrea Abel, Farmshare’s executive director. Bowanko isn’t there yet. He started with Farmshare’s Farmer Starter, a 20-week cohort-based program that gave him access to two
Beginning farmers can also sign up for apprenticeships, Robertson says. Those tend to last one to three years and are typically compensated. Mountain Roots, a farming and agricultural education nonprofit in Gunnison Valley, Colorado, offers a 22-month apprenticeship that spans two growing seasons and 3,200 hours. Participants earn $17 an hour to learn farming skills as varied as tractor driving and budget management.
Visit FARMSHAREAUSTIN.ORG to learn more.
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ISSUE 02
FIELD GOALS
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