victory and defeat

With two feet of snow still on the ground, we are up and going and getting ready for the season. At the moment, most of what we have been doing is administrative work like, registering with the bank, getting a website up (rocklandsfarmMD.com), preparing budgets, making contacts, doing a lot of reading, etc, etc. It's been really cool so far to see what goes into getting a small business off the ground. I know I'm learning things that will help me down the road whether I'm involved with agriculture or not.

There are definitely some frustrations that come along when three inexperienced guys try to start a business, but also a lot of small victories that get us really excited. So let's be positive and look at something that really put a smile on our faces.

One of our biggest thrills this week was our visit to the Montgomery County Agriculture Extension Agent. In case you don't know, this state funded office is in place for the main purpose of helping people just like us, and it's completely free of charge. So off we went to meet with our newest friend Chuck, the extension agent. What a plethora of knowledge this guy is. It was a good thing I had my notepad with me, because he rambled off a new person to contact in the area it seemed about every thirty seconds. Chuck also introduced us to several others in the office, all of whom were very nice and excited about what we are trying to start. We took note of the excitement, but were really blown away by the time we met one of the last guys we talked to and he says, "HEY aren't you those guys who are starting that holistic agriculture thing down in poolesville??" Needless to say, word travels fast. Apparently the excitement is due to the fact that the majority of farmers in the area are sixty years old or more and when some fresh-faced recent college grads come in and say they want to start farming, it's almost as if it gives them hope for the future. So overall, the visit was great and put us well on our way to becoming more established in the area.

Be on the lookout for a survey on the blog next week, mainly pertaining to our proposed CSA (community supported agriculture) food boxes. Would be very helpful if anyone reading would fill it out.

Hope everyone is eating and drinking well.

Shawn