Planning for the future
"My Advice is: You always have to keep persevering." "If I did not have my work, I would not have my life."
~Temple Grandin
Happy New Year! If you’re like most people, you’ve spent the page turn into the new year doing some reflecting. We gathered at the farm with friends and family for our traditional fancy-pants lobster dinner. We spend the last day of the year in extravagance enjoying the company of some of our most favorite people. It’s our way of sending off the year in gratitude and welcoming what is to come with full bellies and open arms. Throughout the evening, we volley reflections and questions about the previous year, and hope and dreams for the next. Of course, the farm is often at the forefront of my and Chris’ minds in our future planning. This New Year’s Eve was no different.
However, I found myself melancholy about wrapping up 2024 and moving on. My sister died this year. My sweet, dear, big sister, Shaina. We had always planned that she would live at the farm with us. But those plans changed quickly with a diagnosis of bladder cancer in February of 2024. Turning the page on the year felt a little like leaving her behind. The Specialty Crop is because of her, it is a place for her and special people like her. What does it mean for the farm that she is not going to be here? What will it look like?
But, because of her legacy, the future of the farm is looking incredibly beautiful and hopeful. Shaina is with us, always, at the farm. Her spirit lives on here, and she will continue to shape the farm for all the years to come. Thanks to the kindness of people who loved her, more than $10,000 was donated to the Shaina Strong Memorial Scholarship. What an incredible gift and legacy. Because of Shaina and her love for the farm, special people (no matter their financial circumstance) living in Sioux Falls and the surrounding rural areas will have the chance to learn and grow with us at The Specialty Crop for years to come. We have portioned out the scholarship into funds that will be used this growing season, and the rest which was invested in a short term certificate of deposit to continue to grow the fund for future farmers.
We learned through our pilot volunteer program this summer that a year-round place at the farm for farmers to gather, learn, and sometimes get out of the elements is a necessity. Farms are rain or shine, but that adds an additional hurdle for some with mobility issues. The Specialty Crop Collaborative (the Nonprofit at the farm founded in spring of 2024) has already raised $7,100 dollars toward a larger $10,000 starting capital campaign to renovate our existing shop into a year-round classroom. We have since drawn up plans and begun the task of clearing out the shop to start renovation yet this winter. This includes wiring for all our electrical needs, insulating, and finishing the interior of the shop all before our growing year begins in May! This renovation not only works to accommodate what is currently happening at the farm but it will expand what we’re able to accomplish together with our farmers. We cannot fully express our gratitude and excitement this year-round classroom brings, but we will continue to try!
If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation to The Specialty Crop Collaborative, a non profit growing meaningful job and life skills through agriculture for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, you can do that HERE. As always, thank you for your generosity and support. And as we like to say, WELCOME TO THE FARM!