The Barn Babes 

What got you interested in pursuing a career in agriculture?

We became interested in pursuing a career in agriculture for a few reasons. We were both passionate about the environment and health (for us as individuals, for humans generally, and for other species besides humans). We both love eating good food and cooking and it's great to be able to grow and eat whatever we want....not just whatever the grocery store has. We both also became interested in our own health when we were teenagers. We liked exercising and eating healthy food and wanted to take care of ourselves as much as possible so we would be in good shape and feel balanced and healthy. These reasons also inspired us to specifically learn to farm organically.

How long have you been working in this field?

We each started working on farms in our early 20s. Neither of us grew up on a farm. We tried it out by volunteering on farms first (or what's often called apprenticing - working in exchange for learning how). We actually met when we were working on farms that were close to each other. We started our own farm in 2011.

What are the perks of working in your field? What are the cons?

Perks: It's pretty sweet being our own boss. It's great to be able to be outside, get regular exercise and sunshine, fresh air. We like working together (even though we're not often working side by side) and not having to commute. We can dress however we want for work. We can just go outside and pick whatever we want to eat. We can grow the things that we like. It's so awesome to go outside at different times of year and pick either blueberries or raspberries or blackberries or apples or melons for breakfast. And we love growing different colours of vegetables - like purple peppers or pink tomatoes or yellow carrots. There's also so much to learn in farming (especially organic farming since it's about always learning to work better with nature) that I don't think we'll ever be bored in our lifetimes. Selling at the farmers' market is so great - it's like a party where we see our friends once a week and are always meeting new people who have similar interests as us. And people are so thankful for what we do - it feels really good!

Cons: Some of the Perks are sometimes Cons. Even though it's great to work outside, it's not great if the weather is really horrible. A lot of things are out of our control and we need to learn to accept that. While we love working together, it can be hard to be around your partner all day every day.

What is the biggest change you have seen in agriculture over the years?

Biggest Change in Agriculture: I think the understanding of what's happening in the soil is moving pretty quickly. Though humans still understand so little about it. There's an amazing world under there with an incredible amount of species that are being identified all the time.

What would you say to a young person who wants to pursue a career in agriculture?

To a young person who wants to pursue it: I think finding a farm to volunteer or apprentice at is the best way to start. Especially a farm that seems similar to what you'd like to do in the future (though your idea will likely change over time as you learn more). We're lucky in Atlantic Canada to have a really cool organic farming organization called ACORN (Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network) that puts on fun events where people can learn about farming, especially their yearly conference. So many young people attend these events and it just feels really fun and exciting!