Employer Name  

Little Toad Farm and Gardens

Employer Website

Job Title  

Owner, Farmer

Major and Class Year

BA Anthropology-2005

Additional education

Food For Thought Organic Agriculture Summer Program, The University of the South, Sewanee TN

Environmental Internship, Heifer Ranch, Perryville Arkansas

Briefly describe what you do.   

I run a small organic farm providing vegetables, eggs, and various other value added vegetable and meat products directly to consumers in the Houston area through a community supported agriculture subscription program (CSA).

What other jobs have you had?

I have worked retail and been a receptionist but as for relevant work, I founded and ran Creative Futures Organic Landscape Design.

What are the key skills, abilities, and personal qualities necessary to succeed in this type of work?  

You really have to love it. If you don't love it and are not driven by and obsessed with what you do, the hours and the responsibility might be a bit much. Goats have to be milked twice a day. You have to just love goats to do that 300 days of the year.

What do you enjoy most about your current position?  

The freedom, the satisfaction of the work, how strong it makes me, and how beautiful everything is.

Most important/valuable lesson or activity in college that impacted your career? 

I did a lot of independent study in alternative agriculture and food issues. It was helpful and it gave me time to work on my plans.

What advice for someone entering this field?

You CAN be a small scale no till sustainable farmer without chemicals. Don't let people tell you that it can't be done. You have to be strong in the face of opposition. If you're the kind of person who doesn't get worn down by other's constant skepticism

Questions?

E-mail your questions to askalumni@trinity.edu
Put the name of the alumni you wish to contact in the subject line, then type your question.