What Makes a Farm a Farm?

Sara Olivia is from the North East where she grew up with rolling hills, apple farms, and cow pastures. There were large red barns that stood out in the lush green fields which signaled a farm. As for me, I have always grown up in tropical weather climates. Green forests, rain, warm weather, green houses, and acres of fruit trees identify a farm for me. I wonder what comes to your mind when you think of a farm? Maybe where you grew up shaped that idea for you or if there was a certain crop(s) or animal(s) it stood out as a farm for you.

It’s an interesting question, isn’t it? What makes a farm a farm? The longer I’ve been in agriculture and now that we are running The Garden Cottage Farm, it’s a question I’ve pondered over and over. Our farm currently doesn’t have any barn structures on the land, just an honest chicken coop, some garden beds and a shed or two. Does that mean The Garden Cottage Farm is not a farm? a question I’ve pondered and I invite you to consider as well.

A forest could have many different crops growing in it. Nuts, berries, wild vegetables, etc. Why isn’t that a farm?

My love for reading... well listening to audiobooks always leads me to learn more and more about agriculture, farming techniques, and ways to work the land both with crops and animals. Most recently I listened to a book by Joel Salatin and he had the answer to my long awaited question. What makes a farm a farm? In summary, Joel expresses that a farm is a farm because there’s a farmer. In other words, it does not matter the acreage or the amount of equipment you have on the property, ifthere is no one to steward and manage the land and animals then it either stays or becomes a wilderness. Don’t get me wrong, I do love the fact there is untouched land and there are ecosystems that manage that land but our nature and our God-given desire to grow and manage is encoded in our DNA. That is why I believe we all are drawn to a well-managed and healthy-looking land, no matter if it’s managed by a human being or nature, we desire and yearn to be immersed in it. Therefore a farm is a farm because there is a farmer not the other way around.

We are working to rewrite the narrative of farming. For so long so many people have identified farming with acres and acres of land as the necessity to start, and we’re here to show by example and encourage you to feel confident that starting small is still starting. Whether that’s researching where your food comes from, starting a small garden, or supporting a small local farm, we all start somewhere and grow from there whether in knowledge, action or both.

- JC.