Choosing a Farm

I have no idea what to look for in a farm to intern on. What am I wanting to learn or get from the farm where I would eventually intern? How much do the personalities of farm owners matter vs. what I can expect to learn? Should I be concerned about living conditions if I can get great depth and breadth of farm experience?

My criteria, in order of importance are:
- Must be an organic farm (all the farms in the CRAFT network employ organic methods, as far as I know). This is critical, since my overall objective is to explore alternatives to conventional farming methods.
- Farm manager/s must be willing to answer questions and explain things.
- Has some livestock (such as chickens, cows, pigs). Livestock manure is very important for a self-sustaining farm. I'd like exposure to livestock. Who knows? Maybe I'll become a cattle baron.
- Has a record of profitability (but learning good farm techniques doesn't necessarily mean they know how to run the farm as a business.
- Offers a wide range of farming experience, including, greenhouse growing, vegetable production, livestock management, and machine use, repair and maintenance
- Proximity to Toronto would be a bonus

I can't tell a good farmer from a bad farmer, but I'm trying to find clues.
The manager who said he "loved" his new and very expensive tractor concerned me, especially when he mentioned that their operation is finally becoming profitable after several years. On all the other farms I visited the farm machinery is old. Common sense tells me you should never buy a new tractor, unless you're Donald Trump setting up a hobby farm for your mistress.

All of the farms I visited had some great qualities. At one farm they used draught animals. No tractors. And they were very positive and engaging.

It will be a challenge to find the right farm.

What I Used To Do

I set up and ran the global distribution department comprising more than 170 distributors for a New York based digital media company, (www.Photolibrary.com). We represented about 2,000 photographers. As their representative we licensed their photographs to end users, including advertising agencies and corporations.

To sell our photographers' images outside the US we used overseas agents (or distributors). As the VP of Distribution I traveled to 30+ countries to visit with prospective or current agents, negotiating distribution deals, and advising on their sales and marketing strategies.

As images were being valued more and more as a commodity, and not for their aesthetic value, the industry was consolidating, and companies were getting bought up. The old photo agencies, many in Europe, that were started and run by photographers were becoming fewer. This presented new challenges, and I had to find new ways to ensure that we retained an agent in each foreign country who was at or near the top of the heap in their respective market.

I loved this job and the people I worked with, and some of the great meals we had. When I quit from Photolibrary I think I was one of the few in my industry who resigned, and was not laid off.

Below are pics from visits to the offices of my "agents" in Warsaw, Budapest, Moscow, Prague and Hamburg.

Friends in Warsaw, Poland. I think this visit was part of a ten-countries-in-12-days tour. I was pretty tired, but loved every minute.

A relatively small agency, in Budapest. I didn't enjoy telling them that sales were not adequate.

This agency in a suburb of Moscow was in an apartment building with freezing hallways.

My Russian agent, Gennady, took me for a great dinner on my first trip to Moscow. Unfortunately I had to let him go, as he was too beholden to another supplier, to my detriment.

This lady was one of the first entrepreneurs to start a business when the Czech Republic opened up to free enterprise. Despite her savvy I choose another agent.

When I first visited Joachim's newfound stock photo agency in Hamburg it was an empty space with one desk, but a beautiful view of the Elbe River. I thought he was a gun runner using a photo agency as a front. He turned out to be one of the most profitable distributors for us (of photos).

One of the annual stock photo conferences. Every year it was in a different European city.

Fear and Trembling

I'm feeling alternately excited and fearful at the thought of interning on a farm. When I feel uncertain I try to re-examine my reasons for wanting to do this. What is it that I want to change in how I live my life, and what is it that I want to aspire to. Once re-think my rationale I once again feel certain about my plans.

When I first suggested to Deborah the idea of interning on a farm, I was only half sure myself. I didn't expect her response.

"Well Peter, this is probably the best time to go and do this."

"What? Nooooo."

She wasn't supposed to be so agreeable, bless her heart. She called my bluff. I called my bluff. The wheels have begun to turn, despite my fear. To keep them turning, for this to not be a mere passing whimsy, I've started on the steps required to get accepted on a farm. The process has turned into a vortex. The further I descend, the harder it will be to turn back, no matter how doubtful I feel.

I like projects, and visiting several prospective farms is a project in itself. I haven't thought too much about the objective: that I may actually live on one of these farms for at least six months. One day soon I'll stop telling my friends and family that "I'm planning to intern on a farm," Instead I"ll them, "I'm going to intern on a farm." But which farm?