Down on the Farm

During the school year, many Nicholas School students find themselves holed up in computer labs or classrooms, poring over textbooks or frantically scribbling the last few lines of their dreaded 10-page papers. Many of these students never take advantage of the beautiful landscape right outside their windows.

In the spring of 2006, first-year Master of Environmental Management (MEM) student John Kerkering set out to change that.

In an effort to get students out of the classroom and into the dirt, Kerkering, who graduated in 2008, started Farmhand—an organization that encourages students to escape to the country and help out on local farms for a day.

“John Kerkering was chatting with Nancy Kelly (Nicholas School conference and events specialist), and one day he asked her if she ever needed any help on her farm,” explains Cassie Hoffman, a second-year MEM student who is vice president of Farmhand. “So John gathered a group of students and they went out to Nancy’s farm for a workday. They did a whole bunch of chores, she served them beer and chicken wings when they were done, and Farmhand was born.”

The roots of the organization quickly took hold, and Kerkering (with Kelly’s help) came up with a list of local farms that might need a few extra hands, and a group of students who might be willing to pitch in.  

“It turned out to be a very workable model, because Nancy knew tons of other farmers who wanted help, and John knew students who wanted to get out of the classroom,” says Hoffman.

As a result of Kerkering’s work, in the fall of 2006 Farmhand became an official student organization. More and more students began showing up for the once-a-month workdays, trying a hand at things like planting crops, feeding livestock, clearing fields and even butchering poultry.

“There’s always a variety of tasks to do, and each experience is unique,” says Gretchen Kroeger, a second-year MEM who is president of Farmhand. “Sometimes the tasks may be really fun and exciting, like building a chicken coop or doing some welding in a blacksmith forge. And then other times it might just be repairing a fence or digging holes. Sometimes it’s glamorous, sometimes not so glamorous.”

Students who take part in the work days say that, along with the fun and camaraderie, they enjoy the chance to become more involved in their community and help out local farmers.

“A lot of times we go out to the farms and the tasks that we’re able to get done in a day are tasks that would have taken the farmers months to do on their own because they only have a couple of people,” says Kroeger. “Being able to give back to them, seeing their appreciation and eating their really delicious lunches, is really gratifying.”

Equally satisfying, Hoffman says, is the chance to leave the pressures of schoolwork behind and get out into the country.

“Just being outside and doing physical labor is really gratifying, and that goes back to why the organization was initially started,” she says. “Sometimes we spend the day just shoveling goat poop, but it’s still great to be doing that instead of sitting in the computer lab.”

Visiting the farms also allows students to form friendships outside of class with other students and with the farmers they assist.

Christine and Allan Green own Woodcrest Farm School in Hillsborough, N.C. They say they always look forward to having Farmhand students help out or hold events on their farm.

“It’s a mutually beneficial relationship where the farmers are getting work done and Farmhand is learning about agriculture and farming and how to make a living from the land. But even more than that, it’s about forming relationships,” says Christine Green.

Allan Green agrees, and says that while they are teaching students about farming, they themselves have a lot to learn as well.

“It invigorates us in terms of thinking of ways to present things, how to organize work and figuring out what work needs to be done. So it’s a good discipline for us to host the group,” he says. “We’re grateful for the time they’ve been able to give us, and probably even more so, for the people we’ve met. Hopefully it’s been good for both sides.”

Helping students learn about sustainable agriculture and small-scale farming is one of the main goals of Farmhand. Amy Smith, a first-year MEM student, says it is one of the chief reasons she likes to go to the work days and other events.

“It’s really interesting to see how things are done,” she says. “It’s good to know where your food comes from and how local sustainable farming actually works, so you can better appreciate that kind of stuff.”

Farmhand works to foster awareness of local sustainable agriculture through additional events, including “sustainable dinners” where students get together with local farmers and discuss current agricultural issues. Other popular events have included movie nights where students screen documentaries about farming, and a Fall Festival that featured hayrides, a pig roast and live bluegrass music. This spring, Farmhand helped organize a sustainable foods seminar series co-hosted by Duke University and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, in an effort to teach even more people about farming issues.

“There is a lot of interest in what we’re doing and how people can be a part of it,” says Kroeger. This year, the group has received queries from undergraduate organizations, the Duke University Sustainability office, and from other groups on campus who want to learn more about Farmhand. As a result of the increased interest, Kroeger and her cohorts are working to coordinate Farmhand events and activities with these other groups, she says.

One result of this collaboration is a new community garden created by Farmhand and the Duke Apiary Club. Located on a small plot of land in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens, the garden gives undergraduates and graduate students alike a chance to help grow tea and herbs. As payment for their work, students will get to take home a small portion of the yield.  

Ultimately, Hoffman hopes that by getting more people involved in Farmhand projects, the group can spur increased campuswide interest in living sustainably.

“After joining Farmhand, I find myself going to the farmer’s market more, being more aware of local products,” she says. “I want to have my own garden eventually; I want to start composting. Hopefully other students are starting to feel the same way.”

Having a group that focuses on sustainability and environmental issues close to where students live is incredibly beneficial, she feels.

“We’ve been to a million talks and heard so much about deforestation in the rainforest, but how many people have actually been to the rainforest?” Hoffman says. “Farms are 30 minutes away: it really brings all the issues closer to home.”