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POSTED: 1:49 pm CDT August 11,
2007
By Kathryn Kingsbury
Madison Magazine
Special To Channel 3000Moving to the country in your mid-30s to start up a certified organic vegetable farm may seem like a drastic move, but for Barb and David Perkins of the 65-acre Vermont Valley Community Farm near Black Earth, it was only natural.David had spent the previous decade working as a fiscal and policy analyst for the state. Barb certified home childcare providers. But a country life had always been their long-term goal. David grew up on a diversified farm in Brookfield, and Barb got the ag bug in college while working on a dairy farm in Norway. After marrying and graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1979 - his degree was in agronomy, hers in sociology -- they moved to Jefferson County to raise cash crops for three years. Although the farm was profitable, banks said it was too small to qualify for a loan to expand. So it was back to Madison for graduate school.Fast forward to 1993, when the Perkins heard about a new model of farming called community supported agriculture (CSA). In CSA farms, consumers pay at the beginning of the season for a share of the year's bounty. By cutting out the middleman, consumers save money and farmers are better able to manage cash flow. CSA farms tend to emphasize organic growing methods (which Vermont Valley employs), eating with the seasons, and community.
"It just clicked," recalls Barb, 46. "CSA took all of our beliefs and lumped them together." They found land and, in 1995, started their first growing season with 50 shares. Now in its tenth season, Vermont Valley feeds 800 households through its subscription program. How have they managed that growth?"We've improved our efficiency in terms of machines that help us do things more easily and quickly" -- like a washing machine converted into a giant salad spinner -- "and after 10 years of growing all these crops, you just get better at it," David, also 46, says. The Perkinses have added several full-time farmhands and continually expanded their "worker-share" program, in which individuals trade work for a food share.To continue reading, visit MadisonMagazine.com.
Madison Magazine
Special To Channel 3000Moving to the country in your mid-30s to start up a certified organic vegetable farm may seem like a drastic move, but for Barb and David Perkins of the 65-acre Vermont Valley Community Farm near Black Earth, it was only natural.David had spent the previous decade working as a fiscal and policy analyst for the state. Barb certified home childcare providers. But a country life had always been their long-term goal. David grew up on a diversified farm in Brookfield, and Barb got the ag bug in college while working on a dairy farm in Norway. After marrying and graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1979 - his degree was in agronomy, hers in sociology -- they moved to Jefferson County to raise cash crops for three years. Although the farm was profitable, banks said it was too small to qualify for a loan to expand. So it was back to Madison for graduate school.Fast forward to 1993, when the Perkins heard about a new model of farming called community supported agriculture (CSA). In CSA farms, consumers pay at the beginning of the season for a share of the year's bounty. By cutting out the middleman, consumers save money and farmers are better able to manage cash flow. CSA farms tend to emphasize organic growing methods (which Vermont Valley employs), eating with the seasons, and community.
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