A leading force engaging people and ideas in building a better future for rural America.
Kirstin Bailey
Project Associate
Farm and Community Program
When I was little we lived in Brainard, Nebraska, but our family farm was only two blocks away. Since then it has always been a large part of our family's life. We now live on the farm, four generations all in a line of houses.
We work together to provide our community with fresh local foods through our CSA. As that business has grown so has my interest in helping others reach their farm dreams. The farm has been in our family since 1899, and we are working on making sure it stays in the family.
This guide to working with Latino producers and youth contains the most important lessons we have learned in the past two years. You will find two lists with our top tips and three case studies that highlight lessons learned by producers who secured loans. Each one has a different business and a different goal, but the theme is thesame. They needed a little extra support to help their farm dreams become a reality.
I love the wind. I like to feel it rushing by, rustling leaves. I like to watch birds catch a breeze and take off. My son loves flying kites, and watching bubbles twisting around, showing us just how much our air moves. However, there is a point where it stops sounding like the ocean and starts causing damage. Living next to our corn and bean acres outside Brainard, Nebraska, the wind races across the field unbridled and rips apart my yard. It knocks tree branches down, sends items unsecured across the highway, and causes damage to property and trees.