Published in Spring 2022
By: Teagan Moran, Oregon State University, Small Farms Program
It is with great joy that I introduce a new Small Farms Program Podcast: For the Love of Farming: https://anchor.fm/teagan-moran. This series is all about connecting listeners to small-scale farmers and ranchers. We come together to talk about their why, how they came to be where they are, challenges, joys, and how they keep going.
As a beginner farmer myself, the most helpful information I have received has been shared by other farmers and is not always technical. Farming is deeply personal, and so much of how we farm and how we make decisions on the farm, is informed by who we are as individuals. That being said, I also see a shared collective farming experience. What it means to work outside, to tend to your body as a part of the farm, to respond to the land, to participate in our current food system, and to be humbled daily by how hard and unpredictable the work can be. I am fascinated by the nuances within farming and aim to distinguish experiences that are shared and those that may be unique to individuals, unique to specific pieces of land, or where we are in the farming journey.
The name, For the Love of Farming, is a nod to all the sacrifices people make, all the challenges they work through, all the messy and complicated paths people take to make small-scale farming and ranching a reality today. Why do they do it? What keeps them going? I believe it is the most powerful human experience, LOVE. I have gone through several stages of love with farming. After graduating college I traveled around working on farms abroad, I would say I was enamored. I officially started my farming path as a Rogue Farm Corps intern in the Southern Willamette Valley. That first year working full time on a farm I had an infatuation, an attraction that had my heart pumping and Dopamine levels surging. It was an exciting time and I quickly fell in love with farming. It was all rose colored glasses, delighted senses, and bouquets of greens. In the second year of my internship, the romance started to mature and the coupling truly began. Despite the flaws, I had developed an emotional connection and I wanted the relationship (with farming) to keep going. That coupling then evolved as I moved on to manage a farm. The 3rd stage of love; disillusionment and disappointment hit. During this phase, the masks are off and one starts to see the worst. Farming revealed stress, failure, one challenge after the next. I had to take responsibility for my own feelings, and there was so much opportunity for personal growth. I started to learn how to set realistic expectations for farming and how to take care of myself in the relationship. My love of farming then grew to become a committed, comfortable, and lasting love. I wanted to be with farming for the rest of my life. I just needed to figure out how best to do that (and I am still figuring it out).
My hope is that this podcast will highlight the nuances, that the stories shared will offer helpful tips AND perspective. More episodes are on the way. I am so grateful to the individuals who are generous with their time, willing to get a little personal, share their wisdom, lessons learned, and yes - their love of farming with us all. If you want to recommend someone or be interviewed yourself, let me know: [email protected]. A relationship like no other – for the love of farming!