How to Quit Your Job and Start Farming

How to's are for dummies ;P. I suppose the best that a how-to can offer is inspiration, but they are certainly not to be understood as framework. In fact, as an impressionable greenhorn, how-to's sort of became their own barrier to entry into farming for a living. Early on I had been hoping they'd offer me a formula for how to start our farm, when I was desperate to bring this vision to life.
Peppered throughout our weeks are chance encounters with people who feel determined to hunker down on a piece of land themselves. This sentiment isn't all that different from when I graduated from culinary school and retraced my steps down the path I took toward professional cooking, back to the open road. I began reading incessantly about farming, began volunteering and soon apprenticing on a farm, and ventured down a new path toward life on the land. In desperation, I sought out stories of folks who had begun their own farm, especially if they weren't handed one from their father. I felt I could glean some insight into how to 'get there'.
Looking back, I can see how overwhelmed I was that my path didn't fit into the mold of any of these stories. Folks either happened to meet an old farmer who handed over his property because he just wanted someone to farm it...or then there was a couple who hopped onto the tractor, relinquishing very lucrative corporate postions ($) which gave them a wonderful nest egg to start out with. With nothing really to our name, and the prohibitive price tag on a piece of land + enough equipment to start with, BUT all the energy and ideas of two determined twenty-somethings, it seemed we had only supplied half of the factors needed to bring a farm to life, one which could sustain us. Then we added more to the equation when we welcomed May to the world. Now this dream business REALLY had to support us.
While looking for land we could reasonably afford to pay off, we were open to a whole realm of possibilities....1)Live in a camper on an empty piece of land and build a small house when we could. Though a more affordable route, we decided to forego that option. 2)Purchase a dirt cheap property with an old farmhouse that needed to be gutted and rebuilt...luckily we decided against that too. And then up popped this little farmhouse, further from town than we hoped, but livable and sitting 500 feet off of a quiet road surrounded by 30 acres of 'prime farm land'. You compromise somewhere, and we decided the distance from town (and one-bathroom house) was acceptable so long as we had a sturdy roof over our heads and enough space to put our ideas to the test and to allow little ones to explore and grow.
Signing our mortgage agreement was one of the scarier moments in life, done while nursing a baby who would depend on us to make it work. I was so nervous, I hardly relished the joy and the triumph that I have felt since that we climbed that barrier to entry...the fact that there was no clear or easy path to this moment, signing on to care for 30 acres and a house, determined to make a living doing so. After all, we had broken a number of rules that a lot of these 'path to successful farming' stories touted...having kids while embarking to name one. However, amidst any tough time, especially any time that feels financially burdensome, it's the confidence that I have investing in ourselves that settles my nerves. The solid ground in our 'how to quit and start a farm' story is knowing that we are capable of doing great things together.
And so when a story suggests that you study agriculture in school, go to x number of farm conferences, apprentice with a farmer for a decade before taking over their operation, or any other number of formulas for how to run a successful farm, I would say rewrite it your own way. Learning ideas and methods from other growers was pivotal in our fledgling years, but if there is any career path which requires you to jump in and just start learning from experience, it's farming. Shoot, every year we have different strategies depending on weather, insect pressure, market demand, etc. If you care enough about the adventure of farming or working the land, you'll find your way AND throw a good number of other ideas out the window!
Just like any animal living in a situation which doesn't allow it to thrive or inhibits its growth, you will do what it takes to find the light. It is so nice to see the sun after leaving a job which was crushing my spirit and in which I felt I was not contributing much to the world. If you ever need a pep talk yourself, don't read this as a how-to, but more as reassurance that there are unlimited ways to get to where you want to go.