Stephen Corrigan, Troy, NY

BEFORE COMING TO THE FARM SCHOOL, I was in an entirely different field of work. I graduated from college with a degree in economics and spent several years working for a financial research company. While I enjoyed the work, I wanted to do something that contributed to the world in a more positive way. Initially, I began volunteering around the city and fell in love working with a community gardening group that supplied fresh produce to a food pantry for HIV positive individuals. I began looking for ways that I could continue growing food as a profession. Many apprenticeships seemed too focused on hands-on work while many schools seemed too focused on classroom time. What ultimately made me decide on The Farm School was the good mix of classroom instruction and hands-on learning.

I AM CURRENTLY running an after-school program in upstate New York that is growing food commercially with "at-risk" students from the local high school. We are working to convert formerly vacant urban land into a productive farm that sells produce both to urban dwellers - including the students, who each receive a veggie share as part of their pay - and to local chefs, including the governor's personal chef, who has featured our produce at several state dinners. I cannot even begin to count the ways that The Farm School has influenced how I live my life today; there is absolutely no way that I would be able to do this work without the education I received. I use the formal education in areas such as crop planning and marketing almost daily. I use the hands-on skills just as frequently, both in the fields, while I am directing a harvest or teaching how to cultivate, and in the shop, when I'm building a shed or cold frame. I also know which resources to explore if I need more information on a subject, and how to speak intelligently to other farmers in the area if I need to garner some of their expertise. My year at Maggie's Farm gave me a solid and broad base of knowledge from which I draw constantly and from which I continue to grow as a farmer.

Dan Greene, Conway, MA

WHEN I FIRST ENTERED COLLEGE (at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst), I began to flirt with a major called "Social Thought and Political Economy." Although I took some eye-opening classes in that track, there was a certain practicality missing. I wanted to change the world, but I felt I was only focusing on its problems and getting upset about them. I wanted to do something.   At the end of my freshmen year, I felt that I had nowhere to turn. One day after a discussion with a good friend, an answer came to me, seemingly out of the blue. All of my interests - politics, economics, ecology, practical skills, hard work, sustainability, history, culture, nature, and food - intersected in agriculture. I went with my epiphany and changed my major to Plant, Soil, and Insect Science, choosing the Sustainable Agriculture track. It was definitely the most abrupt and drastic decision I have ever made.

I visited several local farms in one of my early Sustainable Agriculture courses. One place we went was The Farm School. I was struck by the program at Maggie's Farm, and all the skills it encompassed. I knew that if I was going to study agriculture academically and get anything out of it, I ought to actually work on a farm (I wasn't even sure I liked farming). I entered the program in fall of 2006. I was still enrolled as a full-time UMass student and received a year's worth of credit for my education at The Farm School.

AFTER MY TIME AT THE FARM, I got a job at Open View Farm, a non-profit organization. I started a small market-garden for the 2009 growing season. I successfully cultivated three-quarter acres of diversified vegetables and marketed them at two local farmers markets. My Farm School education made it possible to build cold frames, devise a crop plan, cultivate and till land, operate a tractor, plant cover crops, successfully market vegetables and perform many other tasks which are essential to operating a small farm. I now have the skills and confidence to pursue my own farming enterprise.

Adrienne Shelton, Madison, WI

BEFORE COMING TO THE FARM SCHOOL I had worked on a few farms for three or four months at a time. I was looking to work on a farm for a full year, and interested in learning more about animal husbandry (I had mainly worked with vegetables, fruits, and herbs). Immediately before coming to Maggie's Farm I was working in the seafood department at Whole Foods until the right farm opportunity came along.

AFTER THE FARM SCHOOL, I was the farm manager at Red Gate Educational Farm in Buckland, MA. I worked and lived at the farm for four years, and did everything from teaching programs to taking care of the animals to running the garden. One of my favorite projects was organizing the Red Gate Farm Seed Bank, where we began growing and distributing locally adapted vegetable and flower seeds. I am now a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison working in plant breeding and plant genetics. I am working on developing a new variety of sweet corn for organic growers in the area. My interest in organic seeds began during my time at The Farm School, when I attended a seed conference in Vermont and began my first attempts at seed saving on the field behind the farmhouse.

Kelly Williams, Brooklyn, NY

BEFORE I DISCOVERED THE FARM SCHOOL, I had spent about nine months looking for a job, but not really knowing what I wanted to do. I started to read books like "Fast Food Nation" and articles in the New York Times by Michael Pollan and realized that I could merge my two passions (social justice and food) by working in the local food/sustainable agriculture field. I had a MS in Communications and a fair amount of work experience and thought that my knowledge could benefit the field, but at the same time I also realized that I didn't really know much when it came to farming and direct marketing. I come from a long line of farmers and must still have had some of the farming bug in my blood and thought that the best thing I could do would be to farm for a bit and take that experience with me into the field of local food.

AFTER WORKING WITH GREENMARKET (NYC's farmers market network) for three market seasons, I began working for Project for Public Spaces (PPS) in their public markets department. I'm still working with them as a Senior Associate where I work with numerous farmers and indoor markets across the country. In my first role at PPS, I supported and provided technical assistance to over 20 farmers markets across the country through our grant program. After that project finished, I started working on consulting projects including a feasibility study for a public market district in Boston, MA, a new market district in Louisville, KY, and a study of the Kaiser Permanente farmers market network. I am currently writing a handbook for market managers interested in accepting SNAP (food stamps) at their farmers market.

Matt Linehan, Unity, ME

I DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO FARM before coming to The Farm School. I wanted to homestead. I wanted to buy cheap wooded land, cut it, build a home, and grow Three Sisters amongst stumps. The thing that appealed to me about Maggie's Farm (because I could have learned to farm anywhere and earned a wage in the process) was that it seemed to offer the array of skills I thought I'd need: growing, forestry, equipment repair, livestock rearing, haying, & timberframin'. Anyhow, I signed up.   I didn't expect what actually ended up happening. I started at The Farm School in March and by the time we were putting up garlic (mid-July) I had fallen in love with commercial vegetable farming. I loved the quick pace, I loved feeding people, and I loved how even though plenty of jobs on the farm suck (harvesting in a cold rain, getting a tractor stuck as hell) there was always something different to do the next day. There were many hats to wear - laborer, mechanic, grower, carpenter, operator, salesman - and the hats were always changing. And that proved to be the great strength of the program. As an employee of a commercial vegetable farm, you're subject to the rules of efficiency: you're a laborer, or a grower; you're a marketer, a mechanic, or a manager. But as a Farm Owner you must be all of those things and The Farm School let me experience that.    

AFTER THE FARM SCHOOL YEAR, my friend and I took a job co-managing 5 acres of certified organic vegetables at a farm in Eastern Massachusetts. We survived that pretty well, but the farm changed owners at the end of the season. So I moved to Maine, set up a greenhouse on a friend's land, and started tenant farmin'. I started with 1 greenhouse, a Farmall Cub, a name - Sparrow Arc Farm - and me. In 2006 I cultivated 1 1/2 acres, in 2007 6 acres, in 2008 12 acres, and in 2009 20 acres. And in 2008 I finally purchased my own piece of ground in Unity. These days we've got 20 acres for vegetables, and 8 for fruit. We sell our produce to restaurants in Boston and Portland, at a farmers market in southern Maine, in a drop-off CSA in Massachusetts, 3 Whole Foods stores, and have several wholesale accounts. I love what I do, and it all started 'cause of an epiphany at The Farm School: I like growin' food.

Stella Rabinowitz, North Orange, MA

BEFORE I CAME TO THE FARM SCHOOL, I was teaching Special Education at the Elementary Level. I had been doing this for 3 years, but was not satisfied with the work. When I began to think about leaving teaching, I started to fondly remember my experience working as a garden intern on a farm in Lake Placid, NY. Recalling this made me realize it was time to explore farming again and in more depth. I found The Farm School while searching online, and the program seemed to be exactly what I wanted.

After visiting, my mother phoned to inquire about how it went. My response was, "It was amazing, I am done teaching, and will soon be entering into the next phase of my life." It was the 2-hour tour that I took along the ridgetop visiting animals and fields, smiling students who had so many positive things to say about their experience - then my afternoon spent watching the students and a vet perform surgery on a ram - that solidified my feeling that this place was right for me.

AFTER MY STUDENT YEAR AT THE FARM SCHOOL ENDED, I stepped into the position of Farmhouse Coordinator and Assistant Grower (still at Maggie's Farm). I live in the farmhouse to support the students and take care of community issues. Come the next growing season, I will also be working in the fields as the Assistant Grower.  This position fits extremely well into my plans - as I am beginning to think and dream about my own farm for the future!

Jamie Barrett, Ipswich, MA

I FOUND THE FARM SCHOOL FARM when I was 26 or 27. I had been out of college for 5 years and hadn't quite figured out what to do with myself. I was an English major in school and then worked in education after graduation but I had always wanted to do something more concrete, use my hands, work outside, build something; I had never done anything like that before. I felt I lacked a basic understanding of how we live. I had also just met my wife and we were planning on starting a family. I wanted a work life that would compliment that. There were so many lessons that I needed to learn and I realized then that farming might be a good place to start. The Farm School was a perfect way for me to do this, because I had absolutely no connection to the farming community. Through a season at the farm I came to love the hard work that farming demands. I haven't looked back since.

I'M STARTING UP MY FIFTH SEASON as the manager of Appleton Farms CSA, working for the non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations. I apprenticed at this farm for 3 years before taking over. We grow over 200,000 lbs of food for 550 shareholders. We grow over 40 types of vegetables on 24 acres of land and we do it all under the organic growing standards. Within the next 5 years, I hope to have started my own farm enterprise. I remember the moment 8 years ago when I decided I wanted to try farming out; I remember being frustrated because I had such a strong desire but I no idea how to start. The Farm School opened the world of farming up to me in just the right way. The experiential learning in a supportive and real-production environment gave a complete picture of farming. Farming is hard work, and if you don't like that type of work you won't like farming, The Farm School was honest about this, and it's the most important thing that I learned there. It is directly because of my experience at Maggie's Farm, with the wonderful people there, that I am very happily farming today.

Pat Farmer, Boston, MA

BEFORE COMING TO THE FARM SCHOOL, I was living in Washington, DC and working for a national college honor society. It was an exciting job, because I got to travel to colleges and universities around the country and meet with faculty members who work with some of the most promising undergraduate students. Staying in fancy hotels and eating at restaurants all the time was fun, but after a while I began to desire a simpler lifestyle. I wanted to be in one place and really live there, to sustain myself on the land itself. I wanted to work with my hands, and be good for something other than coordinating meetings and sharing best practices. I wanted to live in a community of people from all walks of life and discover my heritage as a New Englander. The Farm School seemed like the perfect place on all accounts! 

After visiting, I knew it would be a place to learn the skills I desired and explore the lifestyle I imagined. It would not have been possible for me to come to Maggie's Farm without financial assistance, so I am especially grateful to the friends of the Farm School for supporting my opportunity.

SINCE LEAVING THE FARM, I've entered divinity school in Boston. I found working on the farm to be a profoundly spiritual experience, and now I'm eager to find ways to provide similar opportunities for others. It's challenging to find contentment spending my days indoors again, but it's exciting to bring my experience on the farm into dialogue with other students in the classroom. Very few of my classmates have lived in rural America or worked on a farm, so my experience brings a new perspective to our discussion.

Working at The Farm School also changed how I think about food and eating. Now when I prepare a meal at home, I use seasonal ingredients prepared simply and nutritionally. Cooking has become a welcome break from studying and a chance to put my beliefs into practice. I'm looking forward to finishing my divinity program and getting back to the farm, where I can bring both parts of my life together.

Grace Cherubino, Bar Harbor, ME

I WAS A CAMPER AT THE FARM SCHOOL for many summers (after spending time at the Farm for overnight school trips). I loved it, and previously had no farming exposure (aside from farmers markets and farm stands). The decision to apply to the program, therefore, seemed more like fate than plan. I was finishing up high school work (I was home-schooled, so this required a lot of final papers and completing college courses and wrapping it all up with a nice little bow). I felt like I wasn't ready to jump into college. In recalling my history with The Farm School, I felt the program at Maggie's Farm would be a good option. I learned more in that year than I can express, not only about draft horses and cheese making and timber framing and crop rotation, but about myself and how to communicate and live with 8 other people in a rich and sometimes trying situation.

NOW, THREE-AND-A-HALF YEARS LATER, I am completing my undergrad degree in "Human Ecology" at the College of the Atlantic (I had originally attended Sterling College right after The Farm School for "Sustainable Agriculture," but it felt like it was a review). I realized that in college I didn't need things to be so experiential and 'real'. All I needed was fascinating lectures and amazing books and professors. I can find open fields and expedition hikes for the rest of my life. I work on the farm at my college, and I live with housemates happily and functionally. I have many plans for after college (including working at The Farm School) - as well as owning my own small farm with organic vegetables and a CSA, sheep and fiber arts. Who knows where the world will take me? All I can be sure of is that I love the way it brought me there. Here.

Laura Jackson, Morrisville, PA

IN 2004 FOLLOWING MY MOTHER'S DEATH and the completion of 20 years of work as an independent documentary producer in the Philadelphia area, I felt the need and longing to step away from the life I had been living and return - if only for one year - to a life in the country and, more specifically, to life on a working farm. I wanted to simplify and gain some perspective. I longed to enjoy daily physical exercise, the intimacy with the earth and with animals, the opportunity to share in the day to day experiences of farm life with a small group of other adults. I wanted to be up close again to the lovely wet nose of a cow, put up hay, and begin and end each day where I could see only open fields, mountains and sky. I wanted to be a student. At that time, I was 57 years old.

THREE MONTHS AFTER LEAVING THE FARM SCHOOL, I was hired by Snipes Farm in Morrisville, PA. Our goals were to create a non-profit farm and education entity, begin a CSA program, start the transition to an organic method of growing, explore partnerships with local schools, and design an outdoor "classroom" on their 120 acres. The Snipes Family has lived and farmed on their land for 8 generations: theirs is one of only two farms remaining in Falls Township.

I was able to transfer many of the practical skills I learned at Maggies Farm to Snipes: I had the confidence (over-confidence?) to order and install simple electric fencing, and map out the first two acre growing field. I worked with staff to plan the field preparation, create the greenhouse and direct seeding schedule, and set up a primitive washing station. The Snipes family already possessed years of growing and horticulture skills and farm management. I think I brought the larger picture of what was possible to Snipes, and the ability to hold onto the vision while the specific pieces were put in place. I think this was directly tied to the breadth of my learning at The Farm School - the many different skills I was introduced to, the ways they were taught and modeled, and how clear it became to me that we all needed to work together to be successful and to create a healthy community.