Thursday, 27 January 2011 14:01

Fondy is delighted to introduce Steven Petro, newly hired Fondy Farm manager. He recently sat down for a short interview with Market Manager Jenni Reinke to discuss what brought him to this position and his vision for the Fondy Farm Project. In addition to another farming season, Steven looks forward to meeting folks from the Fondy community after the snow melts, the ground thaws and the market reopens. In the meantime, you may take a look at some of Steven's previous season extension work on JenEhr Family Farm through this YouTube video, and read the interview below.

Jenni: What is your favorite vegetable?

Steven: I love a good kohlrabi, preferably an Eastern European-type; large, but not woody. Great crunch, nice, texture, and something you can munch on all day long.

J: Why did you choose farming?

S: Good question! I sometimes wonder if it wasn’t the other way around. Farming found me in the back yard of the International Cooperative House in Madison, WI. But what really drew me in about farming was that it allowed me to do my two favorite things in life: be outside and make other people happy.

J: How did you get your start in farming?

S: I grew up hearing stories about my great uncle being a great gardener. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. It wasn’t until I was attending college at the University of Wisconsin in Madison that farming came back into my consciousness. Through my studies and talking with friends, I became curious about the origins of food. I ate daily, but knew neither where my sustenance came from nor how it was grown. The summer before I graduated, I helped a couple housemates garden and compost in the backyard of the International Cooperative House. I was hooked. The rest, as they say, is history.

J: What challenges have you experienced as a small-scale farmer?

S: No two ways around it: farming is a challenging profession. There is flooding, diseases, pests, death. It is physically demanding: you work long hours in all weather conditions. I’ve bunched arugula bare-handed in a 31 degree snow storm and picked tomatoes in a 100 degree hoophouse. The job pushes you mentally, too. Especially on a diverse farm, your crops or animals have many different needs which must be met at fairly specific times. If that bed of spinach doesn’t get weeded before the rain comes, you might lose the whole crop. But the tomatoes need to be harvested at the same time. And if you don’t seed the salad mix right then and there, you won’t have a fall crop to bring to market. And I haven’t even started on the bills that must be paid, the meetings with wholesalers that must go right, the chisel plow shank that needs welding, the farm newsletter that hasn’t been written yet, the radish seed needing to be reordered, or the chickens which must be fed, watered, and moved at least once a day. There is so much to do in a small amount of time! And like a composer, the farmer must orchestrate it all, or lose time and money in the process.

J: How has farming been rewarding for you?

S: As I mentioned earlier, the opportunity to be outside and to make other people happy drew me into farming. The ability to see the natural world and to see the smile on people’s faces when they buy vegetables and fruit I helped make, these are gifts I would not trade for the world. Within this framework, I wake up every morning excited for what the day will bring.

J: What brought you to Fondy?

S: Four forwarded emails saying this job would be perfect for me! Also, I moved to Milwaukee to live with my girlfriend, who is currently teaching third grade.

J: Briefly describe the Fondy Farm Project.

S: The purpose of the Fondy Farm Project is to build a secure, economically viable farm cooperative for small-scale, local immigrant and limited resource farmers that will provide fresh food for the people residing on Milwaukee’s North Side. The Project will have four goals: economic viability, social justice, environmental quality, cultural continuity. Ultimately, the project will become a model for other similar efforts across the Upper Midwest.

J: What is your role as project manager?

S: My role will be to make sure this happens! I will be designing and installing an irrigation system, a packing shed, a refrigeration system, and two hoophouses. Educating farmers on new production techniques, business management, and marketing strategies will also be a focus of mine. Finally, I will be preparing several farmers to create a farm cooperative, whereby they will use group decision-making to guide their business decisions and increase the amount of fresh, nutrient-dense food available for the North Side of Milwaukee.

J: What is your vision for the Fondy Farm Project?

S: I hope this project will create healthy soil, delicious food, happy farmers, and satisfied customers. My vision is that the Fondy Farm Project will show our nation the importance of small-scale, local food. I hope that farmers involved directly, and those viewing from a distance, will feel empowered, more people will consider farming as a career, and the environment’s resilience when given a chance will be highlighted.

J: How do issues of sustainability – social, environmental and economic – fit into this vision?

S: Very simple: we all need to eat. Without the environment, we cannot grow food to eat. In order for farmers to grow food for others to eat, they must be able to make a living at their chosen profession.

J: A little over one month into your job, what has been your most memorable experience working on the project thus far?

S: The thing that has struck me most thus far is how helpful everybody is – how helpful the staff at Fondy has been, and how exciting and engaging the farmers I’ve met have been. I think sharing laughter with the farmers has been wonderful.

J: What are you looking forward to come spring?

S: Getting my hands dirty! Also, sharing knowledge with the farmers, learning from the climate and soil and flora and fauna of Port Washington, and planting seeds with the hope that one day their message will reach the customers at the Fondy Farmers Market.