We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alison Espinosa a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alison , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
My entire life, I feel, has been predicated on taking risks. My most life altering risk taken was becoming a farmer as an Afro Caribbean woman with no inherited land or familial agriculture experience. I became certified as a Veterinary Technician at 21 years of age in 2011 through a natural and kindred love and connection with animals and spent much of my time learning and studying them. I didn’t realize it would prepare me for the journey as a livestock specialist and farmer. The following years after certification I worked in the clinical veterinary setting whether it was companion animals (dogs, cats, rodents, birds) to more exotics and emergency veterinary medicine.
At 25, I became pregnant with my son and every single thing changed for me. I began to pay more attention to what I consumed and the ingredients/freshness naturally as a pregnant woman, but I also began to pay more attention to the foods for CHILDREN, more specifically. I was disturbed and disheartened by the options of baby foods for when my baby would be on solids and anything from teething snacks to apple sauce packets with recalls for mold and bacteria. The decision was made to start a small garden on my tiny back patio in southern California at the time. After having my son and breastfeeding him exclusively for a year when it came time for solids I only used organic produce from the farmer’s markets or my own patio garden and would make my own baby food for my son, to limit his exposure to the preservatives of the foods sold on shelves for babies. During the time of working my small garden and researching as much as I could about livestock health, my animal husbandry education and experience made it a natural and easily grasped continuation of my education as a Veterinary Technician. I read Farming While Black by Leah Penniman and studied Master Herbalism, and felt ever more inspired and decided I was going to take the opportunity when it came. Affordability of homes and land in California were astronomical, so when our family relocated to New York State in May 2019, I immediately put my savings from years of work in the veterinary field and bootstrapped to purchase a home with some prime farmland and so much potential in the Finger Lakes Region. There was no established farm on the land, not even a fence, and I was an aspiring farmer. As quickly as I could, I began to build on the land. First, a chicken coop that could house over a dozen hens that was predator proof and had a 6 foot high agricultural fence to enclose the little of an acre homestead. After allocating all necessary safeguards in place I purchased 6 chicks from the local feed store and acquired a 13 week old livestock guardian puppy to raise to protect the flock. I dug plots and planted seeds.
By the time the pandemic came in 2020, I had over a dozen hens, 6 ducks and was easily getting the same in my amount of eggs daily. I was able to sell and donate eggs to communities that needed supplementation. There were vegetables, berries, and herbs growing and I hardly had to go to the grocery store to experience the stress of panic buyers and my son is a true farmhand and fresh vegetable FIEND. I wanted this lifestyle for others, the peace, the reliability, the improved health and energy. I chronicled my journey and offered inspiration and education on seed starting, herbs, greenhouse growing, poultry raising, human to animal bond and how to farm/homestead on a smaller scale to be able to grow their own food and have self sustainability and reliability for themselves and their communities.
Fast forward to present day, the beginning 2023 and I have close to 40 laying hens of various breeds, 12 ducks, honeybees, breed rabbits and grow close to 1000lbs of produce per year on my farm. The risks were MANY in this journey, starting out with being a woman of color in a predominantly white male sector. Breaching the anomaly of my mere existence in the world of Agriculture felt like an immense risk; risking not being taken seriously to given opportunities for funding or land expansion, risking all that comes from not working a more reliable 9-5 job to financially provide for myself and child and own/operate the farm; especially after investing my savings for the endeavor. In the short 4 years building the farm, I have opened my world to a network of Black Farmers beyond my wildest dreams and I am so grateful for the risks I have taken and the humans that have facilitated my successes. This, what was my biggest risk, has turned out to be my most profound blessing and source of peace.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers
Most important of any identity that I possess and claim, is the identity of Mother. I am a Mother. I am where I am today and continue to work towards the collective consciousness as I do because of my becoming a mother to my son.
I am also a 32 year old Afro Caribbean female farmer who lives, owns and operates a homestead in the Finger Lakes Region of Western NY. I run a flock of almost 40 laying hens with breeding and hatching on site, over a dozen ducks, honeybees and breed Silver Fox Rabbits. I am originally from the South, Melbourne, Florida to be exact. I am proudly of Yoruban, Puerto Rican, and Dominican descent very close to my culture and African religion and way of life. I grew up with an absolutely dynamic mother and hard working father who gave me 3 siblings to grow up with and learn from. I grew up on the beaches all along the Space Coast, and explored the woods. I did not grow up on vast amounts of land, however, or really had direct experience with farms or farmers growing up besides the miles of Orange Groves on the way to any destination around my home state. I never saw farmers of color, did not even know they were out in the world. Farming felt off limits to me. I did have the most kindred connection with animals of anyone I had known, even the most feral animals would be drawn to me; which led me to beginning my work in the animal field at 19 and becoming a Certified Veterinary Technician at the age of 21. I trained and worked in Massachusetts and moved to Colorado in 2013 to continue my education and expand my knowledge base. I practiced the bulk of my veterinary clinical care in Colorado and Southern California, where I worked in the emergent veterinary setting and managed an animal hospital at age 25. It also led me to my affectionate nickname by the inspiring and amazing Karen Washington of Black Urban Growers (BUGS), of “Doctor Doolittle.”
In 2015 when I became pregnant with my son, Solomon, something shifted in me; in my soul and being. I was attuned to the factors of not only creating this tiny human in my womb, also when he arrives to the outside world. I asked myself, how I could provide him the highest quality of sustenance, in every way, he needed to develop and grow into a strong, healthy and whole being. This became of utmost priority to me, and this becomes the utmost priority of many when they become a Mother. My journey to farming is a long one but ultimately it was the from the adoration of a Mother who wanted to provide the most nurturing and sustainable future for her progeny and for the collective as a whole. I spent the years that followed researching how to grow food beginning with seed starting, becoming a Master Herbalist, expanding my animal husbandry education by studying the specialty of livestock care, and small scale homesteading skills like preserving food, building small structures like raised bed gardens and holistic natural remedies.
I purchased a home with some land in 2019 from savings, bootstrapped the entire endeavor and began the journey towards self reliance, self sustainability, and inspiring other young Black folks to begin their own path to resilience via social media educational videos on seed starting, herbalism, poultry raising, growing produce, livestock husbandry, and more. I am a Livestock Health Consultant and provide services remotely or physically to assist individual farmers, families or organizations on husbandry practices including herbalism for animals. I also offer consultation and assistance to individuals interested in homesteading for themselves, families or their community’s self sufficiency. I educate on greenhouse growing, seed starting, produce cultivation, herbalism, honeybee raising, animal husbandry (livestock & companion). My vast experience in the veterinary care field, as well as expanded livestock education allow me to possess the unique ability to approach animal health through the lens of a veterinary professional as well as a farmer; which serves my clients very well for the best outcomes for their livestock.
The physical products I have available upon inquiry are a multitude of common and rare homegrown medicinal and culinary herbs in bulk individually or teas (for livestock and human alike), farm strained honey, colorful eggs (locally), essential oils distilled directly on site from herbs grown on the farm, medicinal salves, muscle balms, hand lotions, body butters and oils derived from the farm’s beeswax harvests.
I currently farm on over an acre of prime fertile farmland in Ontario County, NY and utilize
indigenous sustainable agricultural practices and regenerative growth cycles from the ancestors before
me. I am a small and humble farmer, but produce high yields due to biodiversity, companion planting,
livestock husbandry and the free ranging and facilitating of the natural cycle with farm animal compost. I
currently grow a variety of vegetable, fruit/berry produce and free range ducks and chickens for eggs as
well as composting, and breed Silver Fox rabbits for their garden compost teas. Additionally, I grow
medicinal herb gardens and am currently studying Advanced Master Herbalism and Veterinary Herbalism to treat
animals holistically on the farm for optimum health and wellness. I am currently involved in Advocacy work
for sustainable agriculture, land and financial resource access for BIPOC farmers and growers,
educational resourcing for BIPOC individuals interested in growing on a large or small scale, and a
member of various BIPOC founded farm committees such as Pilot Committee member for Black Farmer
Fund (BFF) Investment Committee & Rapid Response team, as well as a member of Buffalo Food Equity Network (BFEN), Black Farmers United NYS, Northeast Farmers of Color (NEFOC) and am strongly tied to Soul Fire Farm’s advocacy and land trust/acquisition and food equity work. I have been featured on Soul Fire Farm’s “Ask a Sista” series on multiple occasions to educate on Herbalism, Sustainable Harvest, Seed Keeping, Holistic Herbal medicine, Herb handling, Livestock
Husbandry and health with Leah Penniman.
My work is seeded in the Collective. For the sowing seeds of inspiration, community, curiosity, advocacy, empowerment, food & land sovereignty, land “ownership”, self sustainability & reliance, and continued learning. I aspire and work to facilitate and cultivate the next generation of young, black and brown farmers, those that don’t find themselves on the land any longer due to cultural traumas and beliefs. I hope to inspire the next generation towards less reliance on unpredictable and unhealthy food options provided to us by the powers that be or may not be.
Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?
The most helpful thing to possess when in Agriculture, in my experience, is sheer unmitigated grit. I mean the kind of grit it takes to transplant 100 broccoli seedlings only for 89 of them to get eaten by squirrels or some such other pest, to your livestock all dying at once due to some unforeseen and undetected illness that completely stops your operation and ability for income. Unemployment is hardly available to the small farmer the same way it would be for someone who was unexpectedly terminated from their job. the job of a farmer is 24/7, there is no time clock in or out, you are always in. Farming is one of the only professions where your true business partner is Mother Nature. You may need to physically protect your flock that you’ve worked so hard to raise for the past 7 months to lay one egg that a sly fox has cornered at 3am as I did before my farm guardian was formidable. You need to have grit and persistence and always have a plan and a plan for that plan.
Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?
I have known my business partner since birth, perhaps before. The business partner of a farmer is Mother Nature. No human business partner can truly affect your endeavor and operations such like Mother Nature can. Nature does not even require your farming to be done outdoors, the seed itself is a manifestation of nature. If it fails, the nature of it was so, or the human failed to learn what was required.. With Nature you must accept all that comes with the unpredictability, and sometimes pure volatility of nature. Nature will provide you the mildest winters some seasons but the most tormenting thunderstorms in the summer. I respect my business partner, in her infinite wisdom, nurturing and chaos.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://app.memoryfox.net/story/food-for-the-spirit/alison-espinosa
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootworkerscroft/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Rootworkerscroft/
- Other: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/news/2021/02/22/ontario-county-farmer-breaks-stereotypes-while-helping-community
Image Credits
Alison Espinosa-Me