faces of new farmers series - farmstart · engage with food at the root level. ... comes with...

Faces of New Farmers SeriesHanna Jacobs and Eric Rosenkrantz Find a Better Future in Farming By: Kelsey Rideout

BACKGROUNDAfter working in restaurants as a chef for ten years, Hanna Jacobs decided that she wanted to leave kitchens and engage with food at the root level. She founded Matchbox Garden & Seed Co. in 2006. “I love feeding people, but this is way less stressful than working on a line,” explains Hanna. Tired of feeling helpless, business partner Eric Rosenkrantz joined Matchbox a few years later with a personal desire to help alleviate social and environmental injustices. “I wanted to address some of the social problems and things that I’ve seen around me, political problems, environmental issues, things like that…And this sort of fit the bill as a business to take up that would address those things,” says Eric. In 2008, Hanna and Eric moved Matchbox to McVean Incubator Farm, where they have

spent the last three farming seasons expanding their business.

LAND AND OPERATION Matchbox operates on three acres of land, and produces over 100 varieties of rare, heirloom and open pollinated vegetables, seeds and seedlings. To maintain the health of their soil, Hanna and Eric garden two acres and leave the third acre under a cover crop. They’ve also embraced a central principle of ecological farming and divide their farm into blocks for crop rotation. With 30 blocks now set up for rotation, Hanna described the continual growth in the size of their operation.

“When I first started the business we were in a 1,000 square foot raised bed garden, and we were doing seedlings. We were starting our own seedlings indoors under artificial light. So we went from that to moving out here to the farm

“We’ve really stayed true to the original idea of really a lot of diversity in the garden with plants and insects and animals.”

Eric Rosenkrantz, Matchbox Garden & Seed Co.

THE SERIESFaces of New Farmers is a series of case studies featuring stories from new farmers at FarmStart’s McVean Incubator Farm. Dealing with all that comes with starting new organic farming enterprises, this series highlights the challenges and successes that McVean farmers have experienced, while profiling their dynamic histories and impassioned advice. The series includes:

Bob Baloch – The Fresh Veggies Margaret Zondo and Rodney Garnes – Southern Horizons Daniel Hoffmann – The Cutting Veg Hanna Jacobs and Eric Rosenkrantz – Matchbox Garden & Seed Co. Luis Canora – Canora Honey Farm

Missing a profile? Please visit www.farmstart.ca for the complete series.

Faces of New Farmers: Hanna Jacobs & Eric Rosenkrantz, 2010

http://www.farmstart.ca


where we’re on three acres…It has really expanded. We stopped doing landscaping because we quickly realized…we wanted to be on the farm more. The size of the farm has grown. The size of our seedling production has grown as well.” Throughout the growth of Matchbox, Hanna and Eric have stayed committed to cultivating a broad diversity of plants. By relying on a companion planting system, Hanna and Eric plant complimentary crops close together, allowing for a better use of space, a greater protection from harmful weather patterns, and a reduction in pests. “We’ve really stayed true to the original idea of really a lot of diversity in the garden with plants and insects and animals,” explains Hanna. “...There’s been a lot of growth but really I think we’ve managed to stay true to our original vision of using diverse kinds of seed and relying more on the existing insect population.”

Hanna and Eric are the sole employees of Matchbox and do not receive any off-farm income. With a young daughter, Hanna is committed to working hard without burning out. They’ve decided not to work on Saturday markets and find other opportunities to sell their produce during the week.

“I’m sure that if we decided that we were going to work weekends and do a Saturday market, we would make significantly more money, but what am I making the money for if I’m exhausted and I don’t have a personal life? We’ve managed to find ways to work and sell our product throughout the week that sustains us.”

BUSINESS AND MARKETINGMatchbox sells their produce at markets and restaurants in the city of Toronto and also has a Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) program with a growing list of members. “The CSA model is a fantastic way for us to raise capital at the beginning of the season,” explains Hanna. Matchbox also raised initial money through small loans to help in the beginning of launching their business.

Hanna and Eric have established various outlets to sell their product, by placing an emphasis on the company’s image.

“Even though we don’t have advertisements everywhere, people remember our name and they remember the way that we present ourselves, whether it be at market or with our restaurant customers or what have you. We feel that we’ve branded ourselves well. And a lot of people might say, well that’s sort of contrary to what you’re doing. But that goes hand in hand with sort of trying to make this more mainstream. You need to brand yourself a little bit in order for people to remember you and to want to buy from you, which at the end of the day is what we need them to do.”

Hanna stresses the importance of learning from those who have already gone through the process of starting up a farming business. She recommends taking a pragmatic approach when listening to other farmers. “Honestly, a lot of [the learning] has just been [through] reading a lot of books and meeting other farmers and listening to what they have to say and then applying various ideas to my farm and going with what works and learning what doesn’t work so you don’t do it

“You’re doing this because you love it. You’re not doing this because you’re going to get rich.”


Hanna Jacobs, Matchbox Garden & Seed Co.

the next season. As long as you can be open to that [learning curve], then every year can be an improvement, regardless of how long you’ve been doing it.” With their bottom line increasing every year, Hanna and Eric don’t need to work another job during the off-season. Throughout the winter months, they spend their time planning for the next farming season. According to Hanna, revising business objectives is integral to the continual growth of Matchbox. “Essentially we’re doing a new business plan every year, because we’re readjusting our original plan to fit to where we actually are, and that in itself gives us a great perspective of where we are and where we need to be. It makes us think of about how we need to get to that place.”

Hanna encourages fellow new farmers to be patient and plan carefully while starting up their own farming businesses.

“If [people] are at the point where they want to start their new farm, they need to be thinking a year ahead. So if I don’t have a farm right now and I want to start one, I’m not starting one next year, I’m starting one[the year after]. If I need to get access to land and everything else, it’s a long process. You’re going to have a second off-farm income for the first while. And that’s just how it is. And you’re doing this because you love it. You’re not doing this because you’re going to get rich.”

GROWING A MOVEMENT For Hanna and Eric, living in accordance with their environmental and social values is a great motivating force behind the work that they do. “Environmental goals are at the top,” says Hanna. “Eric and I are not the kind of people to go to a demonstration and protest, but we do this. That’s our way of having some effect on change.” Eric believes it is easy to become overwhelmed by the social and environmental challenges surrounding us. But organic farming is one way to help our society live in a more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner, offering some hope for the future. “This kind of growing addresses a lot of problems, obviously environmental because of all the shipping and also the poor soil

conditions that typical farming creates,” explains Eric. “It’s great socially because it undermines really corrupt food systems. It’s great economically because it keeps money in the community. It keeps local marketplaces alive which is something you can depend on more so than shipping.” Eric is amazed at how practically organic farming contributes to creating tangible change, something that is hard to feel when solely discussing the problems at hand. “It has literal implications…You’re actually substantially doing something. That’s the thing, it’s not conceptual. It’s not about legislation or ideas or messing with the markets or trying to manipulate some sort of positive changes. Literally, just do this work. It will actually take in carbon. It will actually put out oxygen. It will actually create food. It will actually do those things. It’s actually happening.” Hanna and Eric’s commitment to environmental and social change influences them to look very sensitively at every aspect of their farming operation. “We’re really interested in the whole system, the whole food system from seed to table,” says Eric. “We’re interested in how the whole thing works. So our business addresses all of those things. Whether it’s using CSA models to fundraise and cover costs for the season, producing particular varieties, producing seed and seedlings, having preserves, [we’re] working on the whole system.”

THE FUTURE Hanna and Eric are happy to have found land at McVean Incubator Farm and share in its flourishing community of diverse farmers. “There aren’t really very many models of production in the modern times in this way,” says Hanna. “We’ve been lucky to work at the McVean Farm with FarmStart and all the other farmers on site who come from different traditions and backgrounds of growing and know stuff that we wouldn’t even think of...We’ve been coming up with whole new ways of producing and distributing food locally, so it’s been a great experience.”

As for the future of Matchbox Gardens & Seed Co., Hanna and Eric hope to further expand the operation and continue to build healthy communities through the food that they produce. With whatever


"You’re actually substantially doing something. That’s the thing, it’s not conceptual. It’s not about legislation or ideas or messing with the markets or trying to manipulate some sort of positive changes. Literally, just do this work. It will actually take in carbon. It will actually put out oxygen. It will actually create food. It will actually do those things. It’s actually happening.”


For more information, contact:FarmStartPO Box 1875, Station MainGuelph, ON N1H 7A1519-836-7046www.farmstart.ca

fruitful changes are to come their way, a love for organic farming and the sense of purpose it gives to them will undoubtedly remain consistent. “I love that I can get up every day and know that I’m doing something right,” says Hanna. “I can get up every day and I can feel good about what I’m doing because I’m doing good work.”

2011 Update: Matchbox Garden & Seed Co. now produce seedlings at the Downsview Greenhouses in Downsview Park, and grow vegetables on the Matchbox Farm at The Living City Campus on Kortright in Vaughan, Ontario. Their operation has grown to a ten acre property, including a two acre apple orchard surrounded by the conservation area of Kortright. Matchbox entered into a partnership with the TRCA on the Kortright Farm in an effort to create more opportunities for growers, chefs, and the general public to have access to sustainable local food and land to produce it on.

What is FarmStart?The objective of FarmStart is to support and encourage a new generation of farmers to develop locally based, ecologically sound and economically viable agricultural enterprises.

There are many challenges in agriculture today but there are also many exciting opportunities. By thinking about agriculture in new and innovative ways we can meet the challenges head on with a variety of solutions that promote a sustainable, healthy and regional food supply.

What is McVean Incubator Farm?Our McVean incubator farm facility in Brampton is the first of its kind in Canada. It provides a working, vibrant example of near urban agriculture: a place where new farmers from around the world can thrive, grow delicious food and contribute to the health of their communities. Located in the developing north end of Brampton, Ontario, the McVean Farm is leased to FarmStart by Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA). FarmStart is bringing new life to this farm by providing new local farmers with access to land, equipment, and infrastructure as well as support during the first years of their farm business-start up.

To learn more please visit www.farmstart.ca or call 519.836.7046

The McVean Farm is a refreshing island of diverse, ecological food production surrounded by suburban development.This year, 19 new farmers are digging in with 11 different farm enterprises on-site. These farmers, from all over the world, are growing over a hundred kinds of different vegetables, which are fresh picked and often sold directly to their consumers through farmers markets, restaurants and through farm you-pick.

“I love that I can get up every day and know that I’m doing something right. I can get up every day and I can feel good about what I’m doing because I’m doing good work.”




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