Next Generation

Rodale Institute cultivates a fresh crop of regenerative organic farmers.

The future of farming in America is in the able hands of Julia Boughton, Rodrigo and Lucy Menocal, and Rob Younkins, along with many others like them. These people came from diverse backgrounds, considered their career options, and decided to make a commitment to regenerative organic agriculture. They enrolled in Rodale Institute Farmer Training (RIFT), spent a season or more devoted to hands-on, in-depth learning, and are prepared to serve their communities with healthy food while earning a living for themselves.

“The program is life-changing,” says Boughton, who completed it in 2023. “I had just a little knowledge about growing food, and now I’m attempting to produce food on an economically sustainable scale.”

People from all over the United States who want to become organic farmers have completed the course. Many are US military veterans moving into the next chapter of their lives. “The goal of this program is to maximize the number of organic business owners across the country and the world,” says Daniel Kemper, Rodale Institute master trainer. “We don’t want to just train farm laborers.”

Finding Direction

Before Julia Boughton retired in 2023 from more than 20 years of active duty in the US Air Force, she took advantage of a US Department of Defense program that allows military personnel to lay the groundwork for their next steps while in their final six months of enlistment. She spent that time as a student in the Veteran Farmer Training track at Rodale Institute. “When I started thinking about my life after the Air Force, I wanted to learn how to grow food for a living,” says Boughton, a native of Pennsylvania who now resides in Colorado. She continued her training with an extend-ed fellowship at Rodale Institute.

Lucy Menocal is originally from Mexico, and her husband, Rodrigo, hails from Peru. Both are now US citizens living in Arkansas. Lucy learned about RIFT through her job at the Center for Arkansas Farms and Food (CAFF). Farming has been a vision that the couple have shared since they were married seven years ago, she says. “We want a homestead where we can raise our family, but we knew we needed to learn the necessary skills,” she adds.

The COVID pandemic inspired them to begin acting on their plans. “Like everybody, we were paying more attention to our health, and we wanted to have more control over it,” Rodrigo says. “We wanted to be closer to our food.” They completed the RIFT course in 2023.

“The amount of information we were taught was incredible. We learned about the biology behind the plants and gained other knowledge we didn’t have.” —Lucy Menocal

After seven tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, including some “hot and heavy” combat action, Rob Younkins left the military in 2012 for a job with a defense contractor. He felt restless and unfulfilled. In the military, “you have a clear sense of your own purpose,” he says. “It’s hard for me to get that from a desk job.” He joined the 2024 RIFT cohort because he believed learning to farm would give him a similar sense of meaning and purpose. “I have a family that depends on me,” says the father of three. “I want to develop my self-reliance, provide for them, and serve others.”

About 60 to 80 people apply for RIFT each year, and 20 to 30 more apply for the Veteran Farmer Training track. The 2024 group of 12 trainees included six other veterans besides Younkins. The cohort size varies from season to season based on the number of qualified applicants. Farming experience isn’t required, but students must be US citizens able to work 40 hours per week and to lift at least 50 pounds. Those who are accepted are paid a weekly stipend and are eligible for free housing.

Since Rodale Institute began accepting interns in 2011, more than 100 individuals have completed its farmer training. The youngest was 17 years old, Kemper notes, and the oldest was a 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran who now operates a farm stand in New Jersey. The graduates have come from nearly every state in the US, and about 75 percent are still working in agriculture. More than 50 percent of those program graduates working in agriculture operate their own farms.

“We attract people who are in love with the idea of working as a farmer,” Kemper says. “Many have a romantic view of what they want, and we help them see reality without discouraging their hopes and dreams.”

Comprehensive Course

The nine-month session, hosted at Rodale Institute’s main campus in Pennsylvania, includes classroom instruction, farm visits, and the practice of essential farming skills. The students are immersed in the day-to-day activities of a growing season and the research trials, and they learn about how farmers can apply the research findings.

“We’re learning about every aspect of running a small agriculture business.” —Rob Younkins

“The amount of information we were taught was incredible,” says Lucy Menocal. “We learned about the biology behind the plants and gained other knowledge we didn’t have.” Much of the time is spent in the field. “I was working in an office environment before,” Rodrigo adds, “so the training was a big change for me.”

Participants also get lessons on the economics of farming. “We’re learning about every aspect of running a small agriculture business,” Younkins says. “And we’re getting coached on setting up our own business plan.” The program’s capstone project is to present a multiyear budget and business plan for their dream operation to the whole class, Kemper says. The graduates leave with a professional portfolio that they can use to begin applying for loans, grants, and other types of support.

Two RIFT students are selected each year to participate in a fellowship position after their first season. The fellows get advanced training in farm crew management, tractor work, organic certification, budgeting, and more. For all students, the program focuses on the production of vegetables, fruit and other perennial crops, and grains for human consumption. There’s a strong market for organic grains and pulses, Kemper says. “We show students that they can make a living off 10 acres with high-profit-margin crops like popcorn and dry beans,” he explains. The 2024 group grew vegetables and sold them at a weekly farmers’ market they organized at Rodale Institute’s main campus. Staff members there enjoy picking up fresh organic produce to take home.

Going on field trips to working organic farms is another valued component of RIFT. “The students take a lot away from conversations with these business owners,” Kemper says. “They get to ask intimate questions like ‘How much [money] did you have to get started?’ ”

Putting Down Roots

Boughton has started with a small vegetable-growing operation not far from Colorado Springs. She’s named it Piccolo Fields Farm, a nod to her years spent playing flute in the US Air Force Band. “I have set up a market garden on 7,000 square feet,” she says. “I’m converting an unused soccer field, and the soil is not great yet. I have planted a variety of crops this season to see what will be marketable and grow well here. I’m out on the prairie, where it’s constantly windy and temperatures fluctuate wildly from day to day.”

The Menocals are back in Arkansas, where they’ve launched Blooming Hope Mushrooms, growing for wholesale customers. Like 88 percent of farms earning less than $350,000 in revenue, they also rely on off-farm income. Lucy works as an instructor assistant at CAFF (part of the University of Arkansas), while Rodrigo is garden manager at Cobblestone Farms in Fayetteville. They are seeking financing to buy 5 to 10 acres nearby.

As Younkins completes his time with RIFT, he’s shaping his plans for when he returns to his family in Wilmington, North Carolina. “Perennial crops, like a berry patch, seem like a smart way to go. I also want to produce fermented foods, like sauerkraut and kvass, so I’ll always have inventory to sell,” he says. “Dan [Kemper] told us that cut-flower growers are the first to sell out at farmers’ markets, and bouquets have the best profit margin. Growing flowers never occurred to me, but I’m now thinking of adding that to my plan.

“My most important goal is to show my kids that you can harvest the power of nature to grow your own food,” Younkins continues. “That’s an awesome power. It’s better than money.”