2025 FarmStarter Tommy carrying a tray of seedlings at The Plot, an organic market farm close to Lancaster.
When new FarmStarter Tommy moved to Lancaster last year, he found out about the FarmStart course after he got involved with the Claver Hill Community Farm. Here, he tells us more about his motivation to get hands on..
Hi, I’m Tommy,
For the past 5 years I’ve been thinking about becoming an organic fruit & vegetable grower but unsure how to make the change of career or get the relevant training or experience. My interest in growing food has grown over recent years, primarily from a concern about food security and climate change, and a strong desire to be more self-sufficient. After moving to Lancaster and discovering FoodFutures I was deeply impressed by the work they are doing to try and transform the local food system, and I’ve got involved with their workshops and events when I can. The FarmStart course sounded like the ideal course for me to find out if a career as a grower is something I wish to pursue longer term, and so I signed up straight away after hearing about it.
The course is addressing concerns about viability and physicality
My hopes for the course are to learn what it’s like to work on a small-scale organic farm. How physically straining is it? How economically viable is it? How enjoyable is it? It will also help me gain valuable growing skills and connect with people who share a similar interest & vision for a healthier and more sustainable food system. My biggest concerns around starting a career as a grower are the financial challenges in making it profitable, and the physical strain and long-term effects on the body.
Allaying doubts about low wages
Before I began considering a career in growing, I used to work as an outdoors activity instructor. I enjoyed the job, but I decided to stop working as an instructor after 6 years primarily because of the low wages and struggling to save much money in an increasingly expensive world.
So I often ask myself why am I thinking of changing careers into an equally low paid job working as a grower? Maybe I’m foolish. Or maybe the answer is best said by a fellow red haired tree hugger and activist… “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, It’s not.” I love this quote, and I’m becoming increasingly aware of how true it is.
As the ‘polycrisis’ we seem to be in continues to get worse, I am increasingly unable to be passive in continuing with the way things are. In recent years I have been involved in climate activism with Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil, protesting against the continued use of fossil fuels, to the point of arrest multiple times. We need to change the way we’re living our lives in order to begin to avert or soften some of the crises we’re in, and changing the way we grow and transport food is a fundamental area to start making such changes.
A book recommendation
A book called ‘Local Is Our Future’ by Helena Norberg-Hodge explains the crisis with our food system very well, and FoodFutures are making a great effort to try and resolve this problem.
Support the FarmStart programme
Become a FoodFriend and support the training up of new organic farmers who are vital to achieving local food resilience. For just £5 per month, you’ll have the chance to win a £30 voucher to spend at one of our partner food businesses, including Gather, the online farmers market for North Lancs (selling veg grown by Tommy and the cohort of FarmStarters)
Find out more here.
