April Jones Thatcher Named 2022 National Organic Farmer of the Year
On May 9th, 2023 I was honored as the Organic Trade Association’s National Organic Farmer of the Year. I am the first small acreage, community-based farmer to receive this award. Because the awards ceremony was on the other side of the country and the farm is in full swing, I wrote a condensed version of this acceptance speech and pre-recorded it. It wasn’t easy! I wrestled with draft after draft to no avail, until I thought of all the ways a cadre of kind, hardworking, deeply generous family- blood and chosen- have made my success possible. I thought about how much I wished every farmer had the support I have. Then the words just flowed. In true form, my acceptance speech became an essay about love, courage, commitment, and the power of working together.
Acceptance Speech | OTA 2022 National Farmer of the Year Award
What an unexpected joy! For me, receiving national recognition for my work comes with a deep sense of responsibility to lead with kindness and honesty.
With unending gratitude to the land and community I steward, to my partner Brad, and to my family- I say thank you. My success is rooted in your unconditional love.
Every morning, every evening, thousands of diversified organic farmers head out on chore rounds before their work day starts and after it ends.
We don’t stop for holidays, 116 degree days, weekends, pandemics, birthdays or snowstorms. Animals and plants and our communities count on us. In short, we live and breathe a stewardship that is impossible for the majority of our population to fathom.
I am one of only 4% of US farmers privileged to make a living entirely from their farm. Something as sacred and necessary to all of us as food, and 96% of farm families have to do it as a “part time” job.
How transformational would it be for our world if 100% of farmers could dedicate themselves full time to this beautiful, essential profession? The April Joy Farm Community is a living testimony to what that world could look like.
It is up to us to create a world that incentivizes and honors the critical work of diversified organic farmers. So in true pragmatic farmer form- I have a chore list- ways we can pick up the proverbial pitchfork and work together to make this vision become the reality, not the exception.
Move beyond the transactional. Years ago, as a beginning farmer, I can still remember potential customers who tried to haggle with me over my pricing. While they were focused on the cost per pound, I was thinking about how I was going to pay my mortgage, and persist long enough to create a farm system that would feed their kids and their kids’ kids. The worth of that farmer standing behind the booth at your local market isn’t rooted in their deliciously sweet carrots. So help rebuild his snow collapsed greenhouse, plug them into your networks, crowd-fund for that tractor she needs. Forget the assets on their balance sheet. Invest in them.
Take on risk. I get paid upfront for my work. That’s the reason my farm has survived a heat dome, a massive snow storm, dense wildfire smoke, and a pandemic. My CSA families are not customers buying cabbage, they are dedicated community members willing to share the risk because they know that when grocery store shelves are empty, my survival means their survival. On 96% of farms, spouses, family members, and farmers with second and third jobs are subsidizing the costs and risks of growing food. So pay in January. Offer a no interest loan. Work on her behalf to secure an equitable long term land lease that provides essential stability, critical infrastructure, and room to grow. Adapt the CSA model and use it creatively at all scales of production. It’s not about cabbage. It’s about courage.
Ask with compassion. In our lifetimes of service, farmers like me have no paid time off, no sick leave, no retirement pension, no insurance benefits, no overtime to collect. Nothing is guaranteed. And yet, our farmer ethos is rooted in generosity. We give all we can, and then we dig deep and give a little more. So when you ask a farmer to join your board, sit on a committee, give a tour, educate, or provide food for a good cause, acknowledge out loud the sacrifice that comes with your ask. Compensate generously, creatively, and then give a little more.
Show up, steadfastly. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but my farm’s financial wellbeing absolutely depends on a small but mighty crew of passionate, steadfastly dependable family members and volunteers. We forget that small farms are small businesses that have marketing, accounting, legal, IT, grant-writing, communications, distribution, infrastructure, and equipment maintenance needs. Find a farmer you care about and volunteer. Put your expertise to work so farmers can focus on the things that only farmers can do. Farmers crave dependability. Be a source of stability that helps them go the distance.
Learn and teach. The average retention rate for my CSA membership is consistently over 85% and nearly 50% of my CSA members have a relationship with my farm that is at least a decade old. Telling my story, week after week, and year after year is how I have nurtured an educated, engaged community. Subscribe to and read the weekly essays organic farmer-writers share with their communities. Reading first hand accounts of the decisions farmers are making in the face of the tornadoes, floods, or wildfires while you are also living through that experience, brings to life farm realities in ways that are unforgettable. Help farmers like me reverse the extreme agricultural illiteracy so prevalent in our country. The stories that come from organic farms are powerful and genuine. Amplify our voices for the greatest good.
Act for land & farmers! Here in Clark County the only thing left of many of our farms and their precious, irreplaceable soil are names on subdivisions - co-opted by developers to sell more houses. From local urban growth boundaries decisions to the federal Farm Bill, we need more advocates. Systemic racism, farmworker rights, Indigenous food sovereignty, farmland loss, organic farming research and education, fair land access, food insecurity, animal welfare, open-source seed protection, beginning farmer needs– there are so many doorways in. Find the place your passion sparks and please, show up, speak up, and act- act so that the less than 1% of us in this country who are farming can focus on the daunting task of growing food in the uncertainty of climate change.
As a farmer and steward of the land, I bear witness to the magic resilience that comes from Nature’s complex connectivity. And that reminds me that as humans, we must work harder at relationship building.
In that spirit, I extend an openhearted invitation to all of you to reach out and connect with me. I have 15 years of essays waiting to become a book and a Farm to Heart blueprint powered by caring farmers, families, funders, and community partners- and I’m only one of the many thousands of farmers with good ideas- hungry to build deep and lasting relationships full of reciprocity and gratitude.
At all scales and in all places, I say let’s make complex, organic magic together- each day and every day- in ways that inspire countless others to do the same.
With joy as my guide, I remain steadfastly determined to keep nurturing hope and seeding connections. Thank you for this recognition.