[Reposting a very cool blog chapter by @nannnsss   before it gets lost in the depths of the internet]

"Imposter farmer?"
February 11th, 2025

It feels cliche to say, but ever since I can remember, I've wanted to grow food for people. I've spent the last 20 years growing it for myself and my family, but regardless of how fulfilling my personal gardening endeavors went, there was always an itch to do more. But... call myself a farmer? Oof.

This year is the first year that I have access to a large swath of land to grow food on. In July, I moved onto 80 acres with my friends to mold and shape the land into a community resource: event space, ecological learning, conservation, and yep, growing food.

To say I'm excited about the opportunity would be an understatement, yet whenever the chance arises to call myself a farmer, I pause. And feel a pit in my stomach. And it's not because I think ill of farmers - farmers are rad. I couldn't figure out exactly why, until I took a closer look at some internalized capitalism that was stuck inside me: there isn't much social capital in barely making ends meet growing food. Sometimes there are no days off. Plants can be finnicky and pests, detrimental. Industrialized food is less expensive. Climate change is a real threat to food production. It's hard work and very little external validation. So, why the heck would I want to farm?

To say farming is stigmatized seems a bit hyperbolic, but it's not lauded like high-paying, college-educated careers - the careers I was told I should be working toward. That's to say, if I told people I was going back to school to become an engineer or nurse, I can't imagine I'd be met with the same skepticism and doubt that I have in sharing I want to grow food.

For me, growing food is a radical act. Farms are weavers of community, connection, reciprocity, and liberation - they connect us to the land and to each other with the abundance they provide while directly countering oppressive, exclusionary systems. Farms are magic. I know this because I feel it every time I harvest a vegetable. Every time I see the diversity of life alongside me as I tend to the land - the birds, the bugs, the soil, the water. The work is hard and uncertain, sure. But for me, so is an office job with a toxic culture.

It's becoming easier, saying that I am a farmer. And although I'm only in my first year of "farming", I've been a farmer in my soul for much longer. Navigating the shame around choosing farming has made it clear how important finding like-minded, young, radical farmers is for me. Similarly, so is connecting with seasoned farmers that are eager to teach the newbies all the things we didn't know that we don't know. I feel motivated to make this work - or at least give it my all to say I tried. So, yes. I am a farmer. And I'm absolutely ecstatic to finally say that.

Curious to see my farm plans? Visit Dirtfolk Farm (@nannnsss)

https://nannnsss.omg.lol/2025/imposter-farmer/

#Farming #Agriculture #FarmerIdentity #Agroecology #SmallholderFarmers #Horticulture #Gardening #FoodSystems

RT @ClimateAdvisers: This @mongabay article does a great job at showing how impactful the new EU law could be on, and how it could benefit #smallholderfarmers provided they earn the value they provide the market. https://chainreactionresearch.com/report/eu-deforestation-regulation-implications-for-the-palm-oil-industry-and-its-financers/

🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/catherinemep/status/1611284882356854785