Hannah Breckbill, co-farmer at Humble Hands Harvest in Decorah, Iowa, felt a desire to own land originally because of a yearning to incorporate perennials into her vegetable and sheep operation. This can be a frustration for land renters who feel unsure of their longevity on a piece of land. In this episode, Hannah sits down with Taylor Muglia of the New Agrarian Program to talk about the process of working with a community-owned land-holding company that served as a “bank” to allow her to purchase land at a reasonable pace with no interest. Hannah also talks about weaving all owners and employees into the Humble Hands business model in a cooperative way, and how she has found a deeply meaningful community through creating the Queer Farmer Network.
Find Humble Hands Harvest on Instagram and Facebook.
Music attribution:
Wanderlust by Scott Buckley
Timestamp & Show Notes
0:50 Taylor is explaining why today’s episode is special and introducing Natalie Berkman, who is helping with this podcast episode and interviewing Susan Elder
2:48 Natalie and Susan introducing themselves
6:30 Both Susan and Natalie talk about what their jobs look like and challenges and learning opportunities they have come across
29:00 Susan and Natalie talk about their transitions to their new ranch jobs and new teams
40:16 The experience of going from “Sunshine and Rainbows” of apprenticeship to real full-time ranching
51:05 Which hard skills and soft skills have come in handy for your work?
1:01:02 Natalie and Susan’s advice for new apprentices
1:05:17 Thanks Natalie and Susan
