Lily K

Counties of interest

Flathead, Glacier, Granite, Missoula, Powell, Teton

Planned Operation

Grain, Large Animal (cattle, sheep, goats), Small Animal (pigs, rabbits, poultry), Dairy, Vegetable, Fruit/Orchard, Other

Check all experience and education that apply to you and your farming partners

Agriculture-related college degree, General farming (over 3 years), Other experience/license/agriculture or business training

Other experience/license/agriculture or business training:

Permaculture Design Certification

Land Tenure

Buy/Sell, Cropshare, Lease, Partnership, Open to other arrangements

Briefly describe your current occupation(s) and responsibilities and list previous agricultural employment and experiences. If you are currently farming or ranching, please state the size, type(s), and location of the operation.

I am currently hired as an experienced farmhand at SweetRoot Farm in Hamilton with a specialty focus on bed preparation, amending, and greenhouse seeding work. The two-acre market garden/farming style is where I have found myself happiest though I have also worked or volunteered on much smaller and larger scales. At UC Davis, I was an intern and then lead student farmer in a 1/4-acre eco-garden where I was first introduced to growing food, composting, bouquet making, and the true beauty of gathering around these beautiful spaces to grow, cook, and share food with my community. I then made my way to a 12-acre organic production in Duvall, WA for two seasons where I the long days, efficiency, and hustle required to provide food to our communities. I was then a crew lead on a 2-acre market garden in the same area where I was able to gain key experiences in management, BCS and full size tractor operation, and everything in between. The next season I made my way out to Harborside, ME to work on another 2-acre production and had the opportunity to work and make decisions very closely with the management team as a crew member.

Acreage

1-5, 6-10, 11-40

Farming Practices

Organic

Please elaborate on the type(s) of agricultural operation you plan on running.

I am extremely interested in doing this work for my entire life and therefore want to find a way to do it sustainably for both body and mind. I would love to help create a cooperative farming business where there are multiple enterprises on a single property with a crew of experienced folks who love this work. I think perennial systems are key to this diversified system and would want to begin establishing perennial fruit trees/shrubs, nut trees/shrubs, herbs, flowers vegetables, mushrooms etc. very early on the property. As these systems take a lot of initial investment, annual agriculture will be the main focus, possibly forever, but at least at the beginning until some of the perennial systems can really start producing. Along with these, I think egg production, goat's milk, broiler chickens, or other varieties of animal enterprises would be key to soil health on the property, providing close to a full diet CSA to the community and providing space in the coop for many talented farmers to help each other maintain a work/life balance.

If you are interested in another type of business arrangement, please explain

I have a lot of aspirations, but I am also extremely realistic about how difficult, time-consuming, and costly all of this can be. I am young and starting to plan very early so that I don't have to rush into any big decisions. But I am also young and ready to take big leaps into contributing to a better food system for our future. I am looking for open-mindedness, optimism rooted in reality, those to play devil's advocate and poke holes in my ideas, and most of all people willing to collaborate as a community, business partners, investors, suppliers, and everything in between.

Please elaborate on the kind of additional training/information that would help you:

I very truly never want to stop learning and gaining more training and information across the board. Right now I think I have real deficits in the business planning department and I would need a lot of help with financial planning.