Today we’d like to introduce you to Holly Evans.
Hi Holly, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
My husband and I met while working on a farm on Orcas Island, off the coast of Washington state. I was taking some time off of school, and he had just ridden his bicycle across the country from Massachusetts. Almost immediately we hit it off and started talking about someday having a farm of our own. Two years later after I graduated from college, we spent a year traveling around the US working on 18 different organic farms through the WWOOF program (Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms).
We chose farms that were raising food in ways we wanted to learn about and got to help with beekeeping, slaughtering quail, rabbit, and chickens, wild foraging, emu care, milking goats and cows, trimming sheep hooves, and so much more. The following year one of those farms asked us back to be paid farm managers for a whole season, which was the perfect next step. After doing 18 farms in 12 months, now we wanted to settle into one place and go deeper on one farm.
We learned the ins and outs of having a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture, where customers pay upfront and get a box each week), and selling at a farmers market. The next year we traveled around the world, again working on farms, this time on avocado farms in Hawaii, sheep farms in New Zealand, urban farms in Bali, and permaculture farms in France. After these three years of learning from other farms, we were ready to try out our own farm. Our first year we grew in Massachusetts, starting from scratch growing on an old hayfield. We are fossil-fuel-free, so all our permanent raised beds are always hand-dug by my husband Randy.
That first year we got more practice at farmers’ markets and perfected our circular bed design. The next year we came back to Missouri, again starting from scratch on an old hayfield. For four years, we were leasing land from another farmer, as we continued to learn and thrive as a farm, figuring out the St. Louis area markets. Then in 2019, we were finally able to buy our own piece of land. Once more we started over, hand-digging about 20 circular raised beds.
Now that we have our own land we are finally able to invest in the future of our land and immediately planted a small fruit tree orchard. We currently have a small CSA, and sell seasonally in Maplewood at the SOL Food farmers market on Wednesdays, and on Saturdays at the Wildwood farmers market.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the biggest barriers for small farmers’ is land access. We were lucky to stumble across a leasing opportunity with another local farm, and growing there for four years let us save enough money to buy our own property. But even then, no banks or even farm organizations would give us a loan because our income was so low, so fortunately we were able to get a private loan.
It was sheer luck that we have been able to find land to grow on, and many farmers are not so lucky. Having to start over three times was also a bit difficult, especially digging all of our beds. We are so thankful we will not have to build up from scratch again. On a larger scale, one challenge is making healthy local food accessible to all.
For us and many of our fellow farmers, we are only able to make a living by charging higher prices. But, we want everyone to be able to access it, so finding ways that we can still make money while ensuring everyone gets good food is a constant challenge.
We’ve been impressed with Rosy Buck Farm, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We are a small-scale sustainable farm, growing for a small CSA and St. Louis-area farmers markets. We specialize in unusual products, such as radish pods, purple green beans, and ground cherries.
We enjoy introducing our customers to new and different produce. We are beyond organic, not even using organic sprays or fertilizers on our farm. We are fossil-fuel-free, doing all the farm work with hand tools and elbow grease.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
There continues to be an upward trend in interest in and demand for local, responsibly grown produce.
Contact Info:
- Email: rosybuckfarm@gmail.com
- Website: www.rosybuckfarm.com
- Instagram: @rosybuckfarm
- Facebook: rosybuckfarm
