It's Working...because of YOU!

OFS Grad and current Field Supervisor, Mindy Woodward, brings in a tote of bok choi from the field.

One of our OFS grads contacted me last week, looking for a few tips as he starts a new job coordinating a training program/incubator in Michigan. Another grad posted about a podcast about farming she just did in Iowa City, Iowa. I’m regularly seeing social media posts from two grads (now husband and wife) riding the waves of weather in Decorah, Iowa. We offered a letter of support for a couple of local grads looking to scale up their seed business infrastructure.

I could keep going, but think you get the gist…Organic Farm School graduates keep going and growing after they leave us. And our support and encouragement for them is never ending! They are doing important work. Certainly we are not the only reason for their success, and yet they will all tell you that the OFS played a significant role in their professional development.

So when we hear that the average age of the American Farmer is 57…that only 9% of American Farmers are under 35…we sit up a little straighter and suggest that there are ways to change such numbers. What’s more, we want you to know the Organic Farm School is actively working on it.

We graduate a handful of new farmers each year. Can that really make a difference? Well, of course it can.

We have a graduate in Georgia who has inspired two other Georgians to become farmers, starting with training at the OFS. That farmer in Iowa City? They sent us the couple now farming in Decorah. Each grad that goes on to a farming career participates in filling thousands of plates a year. When a grad buys 5-10 acres of farmland, they are preserving ecosystems in a powerful and resilient way. When they are placed on a local incubator site, or connected with a farmer looking to transition their land to a new farm steward, they are also preserving ecosystems, while feeding the people in their communities. Currently, we have graduates growing food in Kentucky, New York, California, Oregon, Oklahoma, Nevada, Washington, and Iowa and Georgia.

We’re approaching the annual GiveBIG fundraising campaign, and we hope to inspire you to participate. Yes, our program exists because of donors like you, and we have our fingers crossed that you’ll pitch in toward our $15,000 GiveBIG goal. But while you’re on the WaGives site, also check out the American Farmland Trust, Coupeville Farm to School, Washington Tilth, Organic Seed Alliance, and more!

As our Iowa City graduate referenced in her podcast, you may need a lawyer, a carpenter, a mechanic once or a handful of times in your life — but you need farmers every day. What we are doing is working. Our training program is resulting in new farmers who understand farm business.

Isn’t that something you want to support? Stay tuned for more details on the GiveBIG campaign!