11 Questions for a Granby Farmer
Look for Farmer Kate Bogli's column each month in the Granby Drummer.
1) How did you get started in farming? Of course Jason grew up with all of this. His father bred and boarded horses all his life, and Maple View Farm has been in the family since his grandparents moved her in 1950. I guess I fell in love with a farmer - only, at the time, I didn't know he was a farmer since he was parading around Lower Manhattan as an attorney. But he always had his sights set on moving back to Granby. I was reluctant about farming in the beginning, but I've now found such purpose and power in it. Jason needs the balance between the intellectual stimulation of the legal work he does and the physicality and complete freedom of farm work. And we are so happy to raise our family here.
2) What's your favorite product/service that you produce? To eat: bacon! To sell: Christmas trees! (Everyone is happy when they come shopping for a Christmas tree.) To do: Teaching kids to love horses and farm animals!
3) What will your farm look like in ten years? I hope we'll be using a lot more of our land. We're really trying to look at the land we have and ask ourselves how is it best used and then build businesses that make sense for that. We started breeding pigs for this reason since a woodsy/grassland environment is perfect for them.
4) How does the community benefit from agriculture? How doesn't the community benefit from agriculture? Luckily, in Granby, we're talking about family-owned, pastoral farms and not industrial agriculture. So the community benefits from the farms' scenic beauty, the accessibility of locally grown food, and the institutional knowledge many farmers posses: history handed down for generations.
5) From whom did you learn the most when you were getting started? My father-in-law taught me much of what I know about horses. Jay and I are also very much self-educators. We love to learn from any source we can find, and especially by reading and talking to other people. Jason is fearless about doing anything new.
6) What do you wish more people knew about farming? That farming (especially livestock farming) is a 365 day a year job. A "figure out how you're going to feed the animals and not miss your kids opening presents Christmas morning" kind of a job. But don't feel too sorry for us: We get to work from home and job satisfaction is through the roof.
7) What's on your farm's wish list? Oh I don't know…… More time? More money? Did I say more time?
8) What's the biggest issue facing agriculture today? Getting people to understand how important it is to pay the true price for food. And that it is VERY important to know WHERE and WHO your food comes from.
9) What's next at your farm? Next meaning NOW is: we have a lot of Christmas trees to sell!
10) What's the most amazing thing you've seen on your farm? Motherhood at its best. We've had many types of mothers on our farm and they never cease to amaze me. Between giving birth without assistance (and with an entire barn full of summer campers looking on), to caring for 11 babies at once (I've got to give it to you, Floppy), animal mothers are amazing.
11) What's the best thing about farming in Granby? Definitely the support of the community -- the other farmers and amazing customers who are so enthusiastic, dedicated, and excited about the products and services we sell.
1) How did you get started in farming? Of course Jason grew up with all of this. His father bred and boarded horses all his life, and Maple View Farm has been in the family since his grandparents moved her in 1950. I guess I fell in love with a farmer - only, at the time, I didn't know he was a farmer since he was parading around Lower Manhattan as an attorney. But he always had his sights set on moving back to Granby. I was reluctant about farming in the beginning, but I've now found such purpose and power in it. Jason needs the balance between the intellectual stimulation of the legal work he does and the physicality and complete freedom of farm work. And we are so happy to raise our family here.
2) What's your favorite product/service that you produce? To eat: bacon! To sell: Christmas trees! (Everyone is happy when they come shopping for a Christmas tree.) To do: Teaching kids to love horses and farm animals!
3) What will your farm look like in ten years? I hope we'll be using a lot more of our land. We're really trying to look at the land we have and ask ourselves how is it best used and then build businesses that make sense for that. We started breeding pigs for this reason since a woodsy/grassland environment is perfect for them.
4) How does the community benefit from agriculture? How doesn't the community benefit from agriculture? Luckily, in Granby, we're talking about family-owned, pastoral farms and not industrial agriculture. So the community benefits from the farms' scenic beauty, the accessibility of locally grown food, and the institutional knowledge many farmers posses: history handed down for generations.
5) From whom did you learn the most when you were getting started? My father-in-law taught me much of what I know about horses. Jay and I are also very much self-educators. We love to learn from any source we can find, and especially by reading and talking to other people. Jason is fearless about doing anything new.
6) What do you wish more people knew about farming? That farming (especially livestock farming) is a 365 day a year job. A "figure out how you're going to feed the animals and not miss your kids opening presents Christmas morning" kind of a job. But don't feel too sorry for us: We get to work from home and job satisfaction is through the roof.
7) What's on your farm's wish list? Oh I don't know…… More time? More money? Did I say more time?
8) What's the biggest issue facing agriculture today? Getting people to understand how important it is to pay the true price for food. And that it is VERY important to know WHERE and WHO your food comes from.
9) What's next at your farm? Next meaning NOW is: we have a lot of Christmas trees to sell!
10) What's the most amazing thing you've seen on your farm? Motherhood at its best. We've had many types of mothers on our farm and they never cease to amaze me. Between giving birth without assistance (and with an entire barn full of summer campers looking on), to caring for 11 babies at once (I've got to give it to you, Floppy), animal mothers are amazing.
11) What's the best thing about farming in Granby? Definitely the support of the community -- the other farmers and amazing customers who are so enthusiastic, dedicated, and excited about the products and services we sell.
