Welcome to Your Small Farm

The 2009 4-H Career Explorations were held here on campus from June 30 through July 2. Violet and I were asked to lead one of the focus groups, called Exploring the Small Farm Dream. We led 13 teens and 4 chaperones in a discussion of the many farm-related careers and different possibilities for farming on a small scale on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, we visited Dilmun Hill (Cornell's student-run farm), Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese, and Reisinger's Apple Country. We finished on Thursday morning by discussing the field trip and asking the group to reflect on their experiences.

Since everyone was so quiet in the vans on Wednesday, I was surprised and grateful when Thursday's discussion turned out to be lively. Visiting farms with different business models worked out well: it was easy and educational to compare their strengths and weaknesses. One group of teens recorded a video of the field trip. The highlight (of course) was getting the vans stuck in the mud.

If you're unfamiliar with 4-H, check this out.

Dilmun Hill put us to work:













The cheese was amazing!













Mr. Reisinger explains about thinning the fruit.