We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Dana DiPrima. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Dana below.

Alright, Dana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

The dream of a quaint little farm. It happens to most hard-working Americans from time to time and is most frequently triggered by the florescent lights of a conference room life with endless meetings, Excel spreadsheets, and client deliverables. In the fantasy, you give up the rat race, move to a cute little farm, grow a few vegetables, and escape it all. But for me, it was all an accident. And it led me to become a fierce advocate for small farmers. Here’s how.

Fifteen years ago, my husband and I bought a piece of property in a rural landscape about 2.5 hours from New York City. The land had once been farmland, but it had been a few decades since it had seen a cow. Fast forward one challenging home renovation, one conversion of a crumbling asphalt tennis court into a massive garden, and one clutch of egg-laying hens later, and the once weekend retreat has been converted to the centerpiece of a national movement to support American farmers.

I don’t know if anyone has warned you about chickens yet. That they are a “gateway drug” to a bigger farm addiction. They have a sneaky empowerment magic that makes you think you can become a farmer. So, six hens led to the addition of three goats, two donkeys, a dozen beehives, and some very naughty ducks. I know it’s my fault, but I blame those six original Araucana hens for the inception of The Accidental Farm.

You’d think it would be enough to tend to all these animals as well as a family and a full-time job, but soon a blog about country life took on a life of its own morphing into a podcast featuring the stories of farmers near and far. Talk Farm to Me features farmers — from first-time farmers to famous farmers, including Joel Salatin, Will Harris, PJ Haynie, and other farming experts like Temple Grandin.

When you talk to enough farmers from across the country a few things become obvious. Farmers are invisible to most people, for one. And they shouldn’t be. We rely on farmers for our food, fiber, and fuel after all. Secondly, farmers and their work sit at the nexus of our food, our health, our environment, our economies, and our communities. If we want any of those components of our society to be better, farmers are the best place to start.

In 2021, I founded the For Farmers Movement to bring more people closer to those truths. For Farmers aims to do that by 1) sharing farmer stories — in those podcasts, writing, and on social media, 2) dispelling myths about farmers and farming by sharing more facts, and 3) providing farmers across the country with support through grants and other resources.

For Farmers is about to embark on its third grant cycle. Nominations of farmers open on October 12, National Farmer’s Day. Anyone can nominate a farmer. Actually, the nomination process is a very important part of the grant process. When a farmer is nominated by a friend, neighbor, family member, customer, or stranger, it’s a vote of confidence in them. Through nominations, farmers are seen by their communities. In the last round in the spring of this year, over 500 farmers were nominated from all 50 states.

So far, the For Farmers Movement has awarded 26 grants in 18 states for farmer-directed purposes including infrastructure (fencing and electrical), supplies (lambing supplies and hog farrowing huts), equipment (transplanter machine, milk condenser), and inputs like hay, bedding or seeds.

The idea for creating For Farmers started 15 years ago with a small flock of hens. Getting there has been more of a challenge. I have had input, coaching, support, conferences, inspiration, struggles, a rollercoaster of confidence, and an OJT for throwing spaghetti on the wall. One idea, one approach does not work for every person. I have a mantra that I live by and it is on this that For Farmers has continued to move forward. It is this: There is one door and it is my job to provide you with 100 ways in. For some, it may be my cute donkeys, a predator in the coop, or goat antics. For others, it’s a more serious story about reengineering farming methods. Ways in include farming stats, a focus on a new issue or an easy way to get involved without thinking too much. One size does not fit all.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

(Much of this is answered in the previous question. Here is the rest.)

Farmers face a lot of issues. They are near going extinct, representing only 1.2 percent of the working population. Small farms are failing with more than 270,000 gone in less than 30 years. The average age of farmers is 57 and rising with fewer young people entering the profession. Farmland is changing hands to non-farmers, suffering the development of non-farming enterprises. And yet, we all need our farmers to provide food to eat, fuel for our cars, and fiber for our clothes.

What’s more is that more Americans are facing health issues that relate to industrialized farming. Allergies, for instance. We eat too much processed food and not enough fresh, seasonal food that is available to us regionally.

So, what do we do? At For Farmers, we attack the problem in manageable bite-sized pieces over and over. We demonstrate how easy actions can have a big impact. For example, when you donate $1 to the For Farmers Fund, it lines up with other $1 donations and ultimately results in a grant to a farmer for something they need to make their business better. When you nominate a farmer for a grant, they feel seen heard, and trusted for the work they do in their communities. When a farmer gets a grant, the funds help to solve a problem only the farmer knows they have (fencing, safety, infrastructure, cost offsets, supplies for a growing farm) and the community benefits.

It’s a ripple effect. And as those ripples spread from $1 to nomination to grant to community, awareness for the important role that farmers play in our society grows. And the cycle begins again.
Here is a question for you. Do you know a farmer in your community? Talk to them. Find out what they need. What would they use a grant for? This conversation can really be a great way to understand our farmers better.

In our very first grants round one community nominated a farmer 22 times. She received a grant to fund a water system in her barn, so she didn’t have to haul water – every single day in all seasons – from her house to the barn for her dairy goats. Her community, excited about the award they inspired, rallied around the farmer and helped to provide even more funds to complete the project. A win-win-win!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media is a long game. Maybe I am a slow learner, but I think it takes a long time to figure out your social media voice and rhythm. Social media requires confidence (fake it if you don’t have it), simple messages that you can repeat in different ways, and consistency (even when you feel like what you are doing is not working). Oh, and don’t be afraid to tweak and pivot. Constantly.

I am on Instagram mainly (@xoxofarmgirl). I work at it. I post deliberately 6 days a week and often on stories which is where I feel a little bit freer. Some of my content is shared on Facebook, but I don’t prepare any content specifically for it. No Twitter. No YouTube yet, but key clips from my podcast may show up there soon. I’ve tried Threads, but I don’t think people are really on that platform to engage like they are on Instagram.

Lately, I have been finding new and interesting engagement with some of my followers and those who I follow on Instagram. When you comment honestly on content someone else has posted, the conversations that ensue can be really enlightening. I love this kind of authentic connection and conversation that can come from sharing opinions in a kind and productive way.

For Instagram, I have had some excellent coaching from Molly Balint (@Molly.Balint) in her Social Circle and from Emily Connors at The Creative Bodega (@the.creative.bodega). I think it is always good to get help in areas where others can share their tips and strategies for success.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Several careers ago, I went to a conference at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum where the director at the time (a Mr. Sterling) spoke to a group of museum professionals and offered a bit of advice that has stuck with me to this day: Subscribe to a publication and commit yourself to reading something that is completely out of your sphere of business, interest or influence. I remember asking what he subscribed to. Answer: A pork bellies magazine that he found utterly surprising and fascinating. What could it be for you?

I read a lot of fiction. When I garden, I listen to non-fiction for a book club I am in led by Sharon McMahon (@sharonsaysso).

I follow people on Instagram who aren’t like me, and who think differently, including some I don’t really like or understand.

I listen to podcasts – series and one-offs. I love Ologies and Good Life Project. Sometimes I tap into Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend or The Economics of Everyday Things. Whatever it is, I always find inspiration and a different way of thinking about what I do that helps me get unstuck or unlock a new idea.

I also take some courses to keep me sharp. Most recently, in addition to the work I do weekly with Molly Balint (mentioned previously), they include Laura Belgray’s Talking Shrimp mastermind, Marie Forleo’s Copy Cure (with Laura Belgray), Sarah Moon’s really strategic SEO course, and a permaculture course with Cornell University.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.forfarmersmovement.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/xoxofarmgirl
• Youtube: coming soon

Image Credits
Jeanne Sager