{"id":6247,"date":"2023-11-02T17:09:14","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T21:09:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/?p=6247"},"modified":"2023-11-03T09:57:09","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T13:57:09","slug":"the-hood-farmer-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/the-hood-farmer-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hood Farmer Journey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Kimball Cartwright and Kae Vargas<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n<\/p>\n\n\n

During a recent meeting with Robert Peck, who calls himself the “Hood Farmer,” we had the opportunity to learn about his remarkable journey into farming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine you have just arrived in Memphis, TN from\nBridgeport, CT, and you are told that the next year of your life will be\ndedicated to leading a team of enthusiastic young individuals in constructing\nraised garden beds at a senior center. After that, you’ll be taking your\ncarpentry and gardening expertise to Tallahassee, FL to maintain an urban farm.\nThe project brings a genuine smile to your face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can envision such a scenario, then you have a glimpse into Robert Peck’s life in 2015. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert’s success story with CT FarmLink traces back to his\nrole as an AmeriCorps volunteer supervisor in Memphis. Since then, he has held\npositions at Green Village Initiative in Bridgeport and Gotham Greens in New\nYork City, among others, consistently honing his farming skills and refining\nhis vision for a career as a farmer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, Robert is fully immersed in his mission, dedicating a substantial portion of his time to educating communities in Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport about agriculture. He skillfully balances these educational activities with the responsibility of farming an acre of land he recently leased in Wilton, CT. Skip to the end of this article for the details on his next public appearance on Nov. 11th. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Kae Vargas, CFT’s Farmland Access Coordinator, it is common for new farmers to lead busy lives with multiple jobs, and CT FarmLink, along with its network of partners, is designed to provide new farmers with the necessary support to navigate the complexities of securing farmland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Robert was able to use most of the services CT FarmLink offers\nto launch his farming venture in Wilton. At a networking event organized by\nCFT, UConn Extension, Land for Good, and other FarmLink partners in 2022,\nRobert connected with a farmland owner who sought an organic farmer. It was a\nperfect match. However, the journey was far from over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert elaborated: “Kip Kolesinskas, CT FarmLink\u2019s\nconsulting soil scientist, conducted a land assessment to determine what I\ncould grow in those soils. Then, I collaborated with Will O\u2019Meara from Land for\nGood to draft a lease. Finally, I sought legal services from the Legal Food\nHub, a project of the Conservation Law Foundation, to address lease-related\nmatters, and I was able to sign the lease in May.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert’s vision is to establish a track record of production\nand sales on his Wilton acre, enabling him to access both public and private\nfinancing for future farming expansion. He intends to grow crops that resonate\nwith the local community, including onions, cabbage, collards, callaloo,\ngarlic, squashes, beans, and cut flowers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Robert, farming isn’t just about achieving\nself-sustainability. He envisions locally produced food to address the issue of\n“food apartheid” \u2013 the profound racial and economic disparities in\naccess to quality food and nutrition. Reflecting on his experiences in Memphis\nand Tallahassee, where he noticed similarities to his hometown of Bridgeport,\nRobert’s sense of purpose has grown: “I want to build bridges between the\nlocal community and farms.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kae
Kae Vargas, Farmland Access Coordinator<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Kae reports that there are currently hundreds of young and aspiring farmers like Robert in Connecticut who are actively searching for farmland through the CT FarmLink program. The program is funded with lead financial support from the State of Connecticut and generous contributions from CFT donors. Coordinating the work of many supportive organizations, CT FarmLink helps ensure these beginning farmers will shape the future of agriculture in Connecticut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kae Vargas also emphasizes the importance of supporting new\nfarmers like Robert, stating, “There is a new generation of farmers who\nwant to be tomorrow\u2019s stewards of farmland, but they need land to work. I go to\nwork every day inspired by people like Robert, knowing that my efforts today in\nmaking farm matches contribute to a brighter future for farmers, farming, and\nour communities throughout Connecticut that benefit from access to farm\nproduce.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robert’s journey from Memphis to Bridgeport and beyond is a\ntestament to the resilience and determination of young farmers. His dedication\nto sustainable agriculture and bridging communities exemplifies the future of\nfarming in the state and how Connecticut FarmLink plays a vital role in\nassisting these farmers in their journey to find land and resources to start\ntheir farm operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to learn more about Robert\u2019s work, you can follow him on his personal Instagram @hoodfarmerrob and business Instagram @hempmilkhoney. Or attend his Mushroom educational workshop at Common Ground\u2019s Farm and Garden Conference in New Haven on November 11<\/a><\/strong>th<\/a><\/strong><\/sup>. Hurry and register, space is limited.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kimball Cartwright and Kae Vargas During a recent meeting with Robert Peck, who calls himself the “Hood Farmer,” we had the opportunity to learn about his remarkable journey into farming. Imagine you have just arrived in Memphis, TN from Bridgeport, CT, and you are told that the next year of your life will be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6247"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6281,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6247\/revisions\/6281"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctfarmland.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}