Looking to Continue Farming?

For those of you interested in farming, I just met a family looking to hire workers! Kristin and Mark Kimball run a community farm in Essex, New York. Essex Farm, a 500 acre draft horse-powered CSA, produces a full diet for over 200 people in the surrounding community (http://www.kristinkimball.com/essex-farm).

Yes, a full diet includes meat! This might just be because I have not been exposed to the world of CSA’s and farmer’s markets for very long, but meat typically does not come to mind when I think of local and organic food. They have organic feed for their free-range cows, pigs, and chickens. They slaughter the livestock themselves, instead of packing the (mostly live) animals into a truck and sending them far off to a factory where machines inhumanely take care of business. They also have horses till their land, rather than large industrial tractors (...no, they are not Amish).

So why should you work for the Kimball’s? They are a fun, passionate, and ambitious dynamic duo. I mean, who rides a unicycle while juggling fire to emphasize the importance of sustainable living the first time you meet them? He sure as hell caught my attention. Kristin, on the other hand, seems to keep Mark grounded. She actually met the Pennsylvania farmer while interviewing him for a piece she was writing on farming. It was love at first sight, and they ended up running away to the North Country to start their own farm. If you’re interested in learning more about their story (I know I plan to), check out Kristin’s book The Dirty Life. It details their arduous journey to create Essex Farm. But their story doesn’t end here. They have little ones running around their farm now. They also recently installed solar panels, cutting their greenhouse gas emissions. Up next, they are embarking on a big project to establish a school on their farm. I believe they hope to teach a small class of college-level students that integrates the technicalities of farming with an overarching sustainability lesson plan. (Sound familiar?)

You may be asking yourself, why do you know so much about the Kimball’s, Jenna? Well I recently heard the Kimball’s speak at the 2012 Adirondack Youth Climate Summit. I was instantly intrigued by their story, and couldn’t help myself from learning more! Check out their website, http://www.kristinkimball.com/, if you are also interested!