Severine von Tscharner Fleming: Ninja-ing a Path for Young Farmers

posted by brooklynfoodconference, on May 29, 2009

PASSING THE HOE WORKSHOP

Severine von Tscharner Fleming is the director of the Greenhorns Project.

Severine von Tscharner Fleming. Photo courtesy of Taylor Gentry

My name is Severine, and I represent Greenhorns, a small nonprofit based in the Hudson Valley two hours north of here. Our mission is to recruit, promote and support young farmers in America. Also, I’m the owner/operator of Smithereen Farm LLC. I just started planting two days ago. We’re doing 2.6 acres of specialty herbs, flowers, weird vegetables and some animals also. I’m doing layers [egg layers, i.e., chickens], but they’re different from Kaycee’s Buff Orpingtons .

America’s Matrix of Obstacles
One thing about being a young farmer in America is you have to be quite bold, hard-working and assertively ninja-y in your approach. Because the structural paradigms under which we function in this matrix of America today put up many obstacles:

• Educationally, it’s difficult to get the training—all the land grant universities are teaching mega ag.
• Culturally, people don’t understand what the hell you’re talking about when you say you want to be a farmer.
• Economically, you are at a huge disadvantage if you have any school debt, if you want to get access to land, if you want to own it, even if you just want startup capital. Getting started in farming takes money, no matter how you slice it.
• Structurally, our subsidy system of farm policy supports the production of cheap commodities and cheap processed foods. It does not support the development of small and medium-sized farm businesses.
• Territorially, land use in America favors real estate, residential and commercial development. Not local food security. Getting access to land is a challenge.

The people doing this work today ought to be applauded because they are ninja-ing something very important. They inhabit a beautiful space—the interface of the earth, sticking their fingers into the planet, gesturing at the sun occasionally and then bringing out sugar to share with their community. They’re doing that in service. Young farmers are rock stars.

But it is a major challenge to get there. So I think it’s important to preface these stories of heroism, glory and the chirpings of the birds at dawn with how hard it is to farm in contemporary America. My work, mission and challenge are to make it a little easier to get started farming in America.

Greenhorns Helps Ninja the Obstacles
The Greenhorns works in various ways. We’re making a film about young farmers, called The Greenhorns [see trailer], which we’re showing tonight at the Brooklyn Museum. We also host events to give young farmers educational and celebrational venues for networking, solidarity and cultural enlivenment. We just held one at Stanford University and are getting ready for one in Vermont on June 18th. On June 20th, we’re having one in Brooklyn [details at the bottom of this blog]. One of the challenges when you’re farming—doing what you so passionately believe in—is finding time to hang out. We help oxygenate the young farmer community. And, when you’re rural, maybe there’s no one to make out with. It’s really important to have a team—a team rurally, a team in an urban place. Teamwork is a core need for the agricultural revolution to succeed.

Besides the film, our other Greenhorn programs are:

• The irresistible fleet of bicycles is our blog. The fleet is a metaphor to describe how irresistible the revival is. Get some wheels and join us.
• Our wiki-based guidebook for beginning farmers
• Our radio show
• Merchandise
• Serve Your Country Food is our mapping project. Put yourself or your favorite farm on our map to make visible the swelling new force in America. This map is a way for us to feel our own numbers and connect with nearby farmers as well as nearby markets/media.
• Outreach to schools

We need teamwork, because no matter what avenue has brought you into ag-activism and non-profiteering, farming requires a lot of support. We couldn’t do what we do without moms being supportive, friends being supportive and helping out, lots of non-monetized bartering going on. Those are teams and we can keep expanding them. Even if you are sitting in this audience thinking you’re not going to be a farm operator or farm laborer, there are many ways for you to partner—process, market, Web design, network, facilitate land transitions—to be in solidarity with the young farmer movement doing this important work. All that support work is equally important though slightly less iconic than the farmer with the pitchfork, shovel ready, but so critical for the success of these brave people.

My Own Story
I went to school in Los Angeles and started my organic farming career there. I started a farm on the campus and got radicalized by everything we did there. It was a great place to grow guavas. We had amazing compost from the dining halls and formed great ties with the landscapers and the kitchen workers. I instantly became a food activist. Then I went on to Berkeley, where I got a degree in agroecology and was involved in sustainable ag activism. I traveled around to internships and worked on five different biodynamic dairies in Switzerland. I dabbled around in ag for a little longer than my parents would have liked and then did a couple of really serious apprenticeships in biodynamic farm and seed farm in Northern California. Then my boyfriend started a farm in Pescadero called Blue House Farm . I learned much from both the experienced farmers as well as the start-up process.

Now I’m starting my own farm and running this nonprofit. For the last two years I’ve been running around the country filming and interviewing other young farmers about their work, their struggle, their vision and particularly their political vision for how to change these structural obstacles to make it easier for other people to do this work. It’s going to be a challenge but none the less…

I don’t want to go too long so I will stop, but I have lots more to say! I will gladly answer questions about our work.

Workshop Description: Passing the Hoe. Our new farmers share stories and experiences. People all over the country are increasingly interested in agriculture, in particular young people. This workshop offers new and aspiring farmers the opportunity to learn, discuss and network with experience and established farmers.

Other Workshop Speakers: Michael Grady Robertson (Queens County Farm Museum), Sara Franklin (World Hunger Year | speech), KayCee Wimbish (Awesome Farm). Moderator: John Agostinho (Queens College)

June 20 Event: Goat-Spit Summertime Throwdown
When: Saturday, June 20, 2009
Time: 2:00-9:00 p.m.
Where: Corner of Sackett & Henry Street, South Brooklyn, NY
Live Acts: Reverend Billy (of the Church of Stop Shopping) and many musical acts and surprise appearances
Other Fun Stuff: Bike-powered rotisserie and sound system, rooftop gardening workshops, film screenings, beer, sunshine, things to buy, presentations
Food: Baby billy goats grilled up and served on toast with mayonnaise from Awesome Farm. Grilled cheese by Anne Saxelby. Bitter greens from Smithereen Farm. Espresso drinks from Krankies Coffee.
Volunteer: Just show up or contact farmer [at] the greenhorns.net

Related Links

• the irresistible fleet of bicycles
  Greenhorns blog
• Greenhorns Director’s Statement
  Severine tells how she became a ag-tivist filmmaker
• Food Fighter: Severine von Tscharner Fleming
  New York Times Magazine, Oct. 7, 2008

spacer

Other BFC Speeches
Keynotes: Redmond | Patel | Prof. Louie | Lappé |
Workshops: Patel |  D. Jackson | da Silva | Rooftop Farmers | Franklin |