Ep.22- Michigan moves

Hello again. Welcome, or indeed, welcome back.

Scrap Farm is the newsletter/podcast where I detail how my partner and I are starting an agroecological farm.

I’ve had an influx of new subscribers over the past few weeks, which has been wonderful. But I thought I would re-introduce myself and what I’m trying to do here.

Hi, I’m Magda. I spent the past 4 years learning to farm. The most recent two involved my partner and I managing a farm (and a team of 6, and volunteers and U-Pickers) in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The two years before that I was a farm apprentice in both Virginia and Colorado. Each of the farms I learnt on, that my partner and I learnt on, since we met on the first fated farm in Colorado, have taught us about ways to grow both vegetables and a business.

This year, in fact this week (eeeeek), we are embarking on the next stage of our farming journey. We are hopefully signing a contract with some land that we wish to lease and then starting to cultivate our own business.

For those of you who have been following my journey for the past year, the question has been ever-churning. The US or the UK? Can we get a visa? Will we? Do we want to?

While I don’t have the perfect answer for each of those, we have come to a decision.

We’re moving back to Michigan. Hell, we’ve moved back. I’m here now.

This decision was not taken lightly. And in some ways I feel very defensive of it, though my friend and family have all been supportive. And I truly appreciate them for that. But in the end it was a decision that had to be made, between my partner and myself. We could no longer prolong the liminal stage we were in.

I had, since November, been applying for any and every job under the sun that would provide me with the requisite £29k annual income needed for the family visa. For anyone asking why we didn’t just get married, unfortunately it doesn’t work like that. You can be married (or live together for over 4 years like we have) and still need the ordained income to prove you won’t be a ‘drain on society’. An income that is more than the average income of farming FAMILIES in the UK, let alone individuals. I could not get a job that met this requirement, and my partner and I could not remain in limbo for several more months.

Some of this, of course, is absolutely terrible timing. I began job hunting just before the Christmas season, in a time when people are going to be fearful of hiring (what with the change in administration and all the shit Trump has already stirred up). Apparently in February there were also 24% fewer jobs than the year before. Not great timing there either. I have also obviously been out of the country, and out of an industry that pays that well for 4 years. And vitally, the farming season is about to start. All of this seems like I have to justify this choice. But in reality, it is the best choice for my partner and I at this time. Things change, situations unfold.

Am I sad about leaving my friends and family in the UK yet again and going to a place which is activly dismanteling tielsf before our very eyes. Yes, thanks for asking, I am.

But, I am not one for half-arsing, for not giving it my all. A choice has been made. A choice hummed and haared and discussed in a loop. Our choice.

So here are some things I’m excited about when returning to Michigan:

We have a group of friends that have been delighted to hear we are returning (and I can’t wait to catch up with them all).

We have two possible land options for us to use over the next 1-3 years, and with the guidance of the MSU extension service, we are firming up leases.

The libraries in Ann Arbor are so well funded and I can go do more letterpress.

We have found a cute flat in a nice area that is cat friendly, and ideally won’t move for the next couple of years.

Some of my friends have said they will visit me in the summer!!

My parents might visit me in the summer!

My partner and I will be on the same continent again, in the same house, working on something we are both so passionate about.

Everyone needs to eat, and with tariffs coming in there will be more need than ever. It’s going to be one hell of a time to start a business but at least it’s in something we all need (food).

Future Farm Updates

Or is it the current farm at this point? I think I’m going to have to update my format a little.

On Saturday, we went and looked at one of the prospective sites that we will rent this coming year. It is two acres with a building, use of a greenhouse, water, electricity and a very supportive seeming landlord.

Hopefully this week we will tour the other site, which is a smaller half acre fenced in area, with water/electricity access, use of barns and on a working seed farm.

Both of there options are viable and exiting, once we see them my partner and I will evaluate the best option and sign a lease ASAP. From there we will almost immediately start seeding for this year’s planting.

In the meantime, we will be ordering all the equipment (tools, soil, bins, carts etc.) that we need to get going. This includes making a website, which I’m very excited for and having a friend design the logo.

We have now officially filed to be an LLC on the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs website (LARA). We’re also filing a Doing Business As form to secure our name. Once we have these done, I hope correctly, we’ll be able to set up our business bank account and then from there start ordering all our items etc. If this all works out, I’ll probably write a more detailed order in which to do things so that the next person starting a farm can have a bit of a clearer step-by-step.

My partner and I are also interviewing for various part time jobs to support at least our first and maybe out second year of farming. So it is all systems go out here.

I hope to have a more detailed update for you all soon.

Thanks for sticking with me,

M

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If you missed the last update, read it here: