By Cam Terry, originally published at GardenVarietyHarvests.com
It’s with immense gratitude that I proclaim the following words: the Southwest Virginia Agrarian Commons fundraiser to acquire Lick Run Farm is officially over!
It’s been nearly 800 days since we began passing the hat around in hopes that our circle would empathize with our dream for community ownership of this small plot of urban land. We planted our first vegetables here in the spring of 2022, and the transformation on the ground is remarkable if we stop and take a moment to really observe it. Nearly an acre of weedy sod has been converted into productive annual garden beds with the power of broadforks and elbow grease. Four greenhouses have been constructed, and from out of those gardens and greenhouses the produce is really flowing! By the end of 2024, Garden Variety Harvests will have sold produce at close to 60 farmers markets about town.
Embarking on this journey with a non-profit land trust to hold the property allowed us to think bigger than land-seeking farmers are usually able to. Our fundraising goal was $426,250, and to be frank I still have trouble wrapping my mind around that number. Certainly it’s more than we could have fathomed siphoning off of the GVH business with the wages and expenses that small scale vegetable farming incurs. But doing it in this way, asking everyone we know and don’t know for help, we were able to build up this small-but-mighty farm in the city in a way that prepares it for the producers who will grow here long after I’ve left this earth. There are line items in the fundraiser that ensure the long-term viability of work on this land, which will remain in agriculture in perpetuity. This project has been and continues to be legacy building in the truest sense.
Perhaps the most important segment of the fundraiser goes to ensuring the farmer who we’ve taken the reins from here is paid a fair sum for the work he did on this land for a decade with very little compensation. So often the sticking point in land access situations is the fact that a retiring farmer has no measurable laurels to rest on, and therefore feels the financial need to maximize the value of their land as they step off of it. The result nine out of ten times is that a property developer or a well-heeled corporate farm gobbles up the land because they can afford to be the highest bidder, and the retired farmer looks back with sadness as the ground is converted to chemical commodity crops or condominiums.
With the money you contributed we did a lot of farmy stuff like build an impenetrable (so long as we remember to shut the gate) deer fence over most of the operation. We’ve amassed enough irrigation gear to keep the whole farm quenched even in periods of scorching drought like we’ve seen recently. We built a pole barn, purchased the essential tools and infrastructure from the retiring farmer who sold us the place, and we guided a $100k+ renovation of a century-old farmhouse that now serves as the farm office, laundry, packroom, breakroom, and community meeting space. It was a stretch of my skillset to serve as the general contractor of such a construction process. And it was really a huge gift from my community to be trusted to learn along the way as that process unfolded.
The personal dynamics at play in this farm acquisition were difficult, confusing and painful at times. But I’m quite proud of all the people involved for keeping our eyes on the prize and being willing to compromise instead of cut bait. I farm for a living, so of course I believe that the setting aside land for permanent use in food production is a noble and worthy goal. And I’m so fortunate that so many people, growers and eaters alike, agreed with that assessment. Like planting a tree, investing in a local food system is a long-term play that requires trust and forethought, striving toward an image of what the future may hold. Thank you for trusting, investing and striving along with us.
Since burying our first seeds at Lick Run, we’ve learned so much about the place. It turns out to be a pretty good place to grow vegetables, some varieties better than others. From the perspective of the human land steward, the place certainly has some flaws. Some of our garden areas are more rocky than we’d hoped. Being partially in the floodplain, the texture and makeup of the soil changes wildly from the eastern half of the farm to the western. We’ve got as diverse a group of weed species as any patch of land you’ll find, which certainly brings up challenges throughout the growing season. But we plan, adapt, and work hard daily and most things turn out alright.
Some learnings have nothing to to with the growing of vegetables, however. The truth is that this is a pretty awesome place for gathering, too. We’re centrally located, relatively accessible as farms go, and we’ve played host to all sorts of events in the short time we’ve been here. Egg hunts, yoga classes, field trips, farmers markets, dance performances and so much more. And that’s truly important work as a community farm. The people, via SWVA Agrarian Commons and Agrarian Trust, own this place. And it’s a joy to share the work, the vegetables, the fresh air and the fun with all of you.
