Small Farmer Commentary - Summer 2021
Greetings from northeast Kansas and Moon on the Meadow farm. We are a certified organic farm on the east edge of Lawrence where we produce vegetables, herbs, small fruits, and cut flowers. We are celebrating our 20th season at the Lawrence Farmers Market; participate in a multi-farm CSA with around 175 shares; sell to our coop grocery store, our school district, our local restaurants, and the KC Food Hub.
We are excited that the country is working its way out of the COVID pandemic, and we are enjoying being able to interact directly with our customers again. We missed them so much. Everyday life on the farm last year wasn’t much different really. We still did most everything that we have done for 20+ years, except that we all wore masks. We opted not to go to the Farmers Market to keep ourselves and staff safe, but created an online store with weekly delivery and increased our sales to the KC Food Hub and our CSA. Luckily, our customers - who also chose to not attend market on a weekly basis - signed up for our CSA instead. We conducted a contactless, drive-thru CSA that worked well for everyone.
It wasn’t until the end of the season and a little down time that I realized the toll the pandemic had taken on myself and my staff. When the lock down started, we just focused on solutions for the changes in our markets, and adapting as needed. We created (and updated often) our own COVID safety procedures so that everyone felt safe both at the farm and away from the farm. But, every day I worried about what would happen if we had to close the farm due to exposure? How would we get the food to the people who so needed it? How would I keep paying my staff who were depending on this job to support themselves and their families? Well, we made it and all my staff have returned for another season. We closed the farm for all of January to do as much resting as possible and we are excited with what this season has already brought us and what we have coming.
As you can tell from some of the numbers I have mentioned above, I have been doing this farming thing for a while. One of the best parts of transitioning to what is considered an older and wiser farmer is being able to share your knowledge and experiences with the next generation of young farmers and learning how to support them as they learn, grow, and work.
Here at Moon on the Meadow farm we participate in the Growing Growers apprentice program. We host at least one apprentice each year who works on the farm along side myself and my staff to experience as much of what it means to run a farm as possible. The apprentices also take classes on different aspects of farming and ranching, and this year we hosted one of these classes and a virtual tour of our farm. Here is a link if you are interested - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWUU3g3qje4.
Jill Elmers is a member of the KRC Board.