A Note as we move forward from 2020

Hey everyone,

First I want to thank each of you for the support that you've shown me this year, both in this project and in life in general. It has meant a whole lot. I want to acknowledge that support, and fill you in on why I've been quieter lately, and how I'm feeling about moving forward.

This year I've had a hard time imagining how Habit Farming fit into my 2020 reality. I had a million ideas for what to write about/share, and yet none of it felt important enough to put into the world. I felt, instead, like I needed to spend the summer focused on keeping our business up and running, and keeping myself healthy, both physically and mentally. I also felt like this wasn't the summer to put my own voice into the world, opting instead to follow, listen, and support other voices in the farming community, specifically BIPOC and LGBTQ farming voices. In practice that meant tuning into podcasts and live Q and A's, learning about other farming models in our state, and donating 25% of each month of my Patreon income to a BIPOC farming/farm related business or individual. I will admit that I felt I should have been spending more time and money on these efforts, it just wasn't in the cards in a season where I was pregnant and catching up with/running a business that effectively doubled in size from March to May. That said, my hope is that maintaining that level of attention and support over time, rather than giving it one big shout out and donation while the topic is hot, will have a more lasting impact on the future of this conversation of equity, reparations, and the future of agriculture.

As I plan to continue to support those efforts, I also plan to bring Habit Farming back online. This effort may be rocky at first, as I am the proud new mother of a 5-week old baby, and as I am still unsure about including my voice in what feels like an important time to listen to and learn from other farmers. I'm hoping you all will continue to help guide this process, and keep me on track with what's helpful, important, and valuable to your farming careers. Please also let me know if I get off track, post or talk about something in an inappropriate or naïve way, or misrepresent people, places or facts in these posts.

Thank you so much and let's get back into it.