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Getting along...in Minnesota!

Tomato tasting of over 60 varieties at Cornercopia (farm on St. Paul campus)


Tomorrow starts week three of classes. Week five of living in Minnesota. I dare say that despite the hiccups along the way, I'm quite happy in my new surroundings. No, I haven't hit it off with anyone in class and made a thousand new friends as a result, my job is far from as intellectually engaging than I anticipated, and find myself spending more time in the kitchen than the library...Despite my less-than-cinematic adventure, I find myself smiling at the way my co-workers pronounce 'bag', the way people around here cancel volleyball tournaments when it's 85 degrees due to excessive heat, and the fact that being a student means I will still be quite limited in the time I have to explore in the next two years.

I am also starting to realize some important things about what I want for myself and my employees in a future business that I run, which is not something I could have said just two weeks ago. Transparency is key. I want to feel like when I tell the story of my farm to others, I can do so without having anything to hide, or feeling like I am misleading customers. I want my employees to feel like their work is meaningful and that they come into the business knowing that they can learn and advance themselves up the ladder of knowledge and responsibility. These are some of the main reasons why I have left previous places of employment. I either felt like the business was not honest with customers, I maxed out on what I could learn in the position I was in, or my ideas for improvement were either ignored or just not implemented, due to lack of funds or the willingness to change.

I started thinking about these things because of a wonderful conversation with a Mary Kay saleswoman. She was so enthusiastic about continuing to stay in touch with me that I just couldn't resist sharing my business card. A few weeks later, she called me up and asked me what I wanted to do with my life, with genuine curiosity. What kind of a farm do you want, she asked. The words that fell out of my mouth came from the heart, and I could tell that being a storyteller is be one of the most important things I can do as a farmer (as planner, too, I am learning).

What kind of a farm do I want? I'm not sure, I told her. It's really less about what I'm doing than how people feel when they're at my farm, I said. I want people to feel like they can be themselves. That they are perfectly comfortable in their own skin, and that they can be rich or poor, speak English or not, and get along perfectly well with the strangers next to them. I want them to feel like our farm is a place to come to become revitalized internally, to become inspired, and to feel like they can come back often instead of for just a special occasion. I want it to feel artistic, organic, building off of the creativity of those that are drawn to the space.

What exactly I will grow, raise, or process, and who I will do it with is still to be determined. These values, however, are things that I can bring with me as I work towards narrowing in on what that is.

To all of my readers: What makes your favorite places unique? Why do you keep coming back, and how do you feel when you leave?

Honeycrisp? Or Cortland? Come pick 'em to find out! 

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