When we bought this overgrown vacant plot of land, Greg was light years ahead of me in terms of farming knowledge and know-how.
As the farmer newbie, I didn’t have the confidence or experience to do much of the technical farm work solo. And this meant we did a lot of work together.
This was a necessary dynamic in the early years as I was learning how to manage the menagerie of animals on the farm and cultivating my “farm-sense.”
And it had other perks, too. I got to learn from the best (Greg really is an amazing farmer!). And I got to spend time with the person I love most in this world.
But as time went on, this dynamic came with a lot of butting heads, often over silly things like how to use a ratchet strap or how to most efficiently pack the coolers. And all this strarted to chip away, one squabble at a time, at our collective goodness.
While doing chores on the farm one night a few years back, we found ourselves listening to an interview with a couple farming together out in Oregon. When the interviewer asked how they maintain their marriage while farming together, my ears perked up, as the farmer offered the best advice I’d ever heard.
While not discrediting the benefits of working together, she recommended that each partner have a segment of the business that they be responsible for – a domain to call their own.
This was not something we were achieving at the time. In fact, most of the big things going on at the farm on a weekly basis- like the newsletters, daily chores, big building projects- we were doing together, one small step at a time.
Over this past year especially, we’ve been finding our sweet spots – the parts of the farm that we’re uniquely qualified to do and that we enjoy the most – and doubling down on them individually.
And then we’ve been taking this thoughtful farmer’s advice and making sure that we’re granting ourselves and each other greater autonomy and freedom within these areas. And, it’s been groundbreaking.
Now that we have our own lanes (and found our virtual assistant Shelly!) we’re all the more focused on serving YOU and continuing to move this farm forward, together.