Monday Motivation: Why I Farm Roadtrip Week 27

How is it November already? I'm half way through this roadtrip and 2016 is starting to wind down. As I head into week 27 of my Why I Farm Roadtrip experience, these farmers' stories are top of mind as my motivation. I hope you find them as inspiring as I have this week.

Rhode Island farmers: Loren & Gina Thurn

“I farm for the sunrise in the morning. I farm for that connection with life. I farm for the ability to be with my family. And the knowledge that I’m producing a healthy product that I have no qualms about eating or feeding my kids. That I get to be my own boss and do things I love with both plants and animals. Having already done other things, you couldn’t pay me to go back to them. It’s just part of your soul.” - Gina Thurn of Our Kids Farm in Exeter, Rhode Island

New York farmer: Mike Bulich

“When I was a junior in college, I came back from Christmas break and my dad was talking to me about how he was planning on shutting down the farm when he turned 62, which was only a year after I graduated college. I had quite a few job offers with some big firms in the business world. I have degree in business, minored in finance. I went there, in terms of internships, and just didn’t see myself doing it. So I talked to dad. When I graduated, my brother Mark and I went back at it, and rebuilt the whole place. I just like being able to do different things. On this type of farm, yes, we’ve got to get in there sometimes to harvest mushrooms, but then I’m in a big truck picking up manure, fixing a baler, or welding another piece of equipment. I’m doing the electrical, I’m doing refrigeration. I just like doing all these different things." - Mike Bulich of Bulich Mushroom Co. in Catskill, New York

New Jersey farmer: Matt Steinberg

"It’s the story you’ve heard a hundred times. I got tired of the corporate run around. As an engineer, I had kind of maxed out engineering and was just like, where do I go from here? My background is in computer science so this was a change of pace in life. I’ve only been doing this for a few years now. I have no connection to farming what so ever. I mean, I’m sure if I go far enough up the line, but not in my last two or three generations that I know of. It just kind of came, I decided I wanted to be out on the land. I decided I wanted a different life." - Matt Steinberg of Stone Mountain Farms in Lafayette, New Jersey

Click on each photo to read the farmers' full Why I Farm blog post. I hope these stories challenge you to try something new, learn different skills, and find a way to be connected to life. Happy Monday! Thanks for reading!