Mark Kimball heads the innovative and well-known Essex farm in Essex, New York. The farm has only been around for eleven years but grows a huge range of animal and plant products on its 850 acres. Mark is an inspiring guy who puts so much thought and energy into his farming. More so than any other farmers I have met, he is extremely aware of larger issues and his strong beliefs on these matters inform and frame his approach to farming. After visiting and working on Essex farm a few times, I wanted to interview Mark to hear more about his philosophy and practices. I posted this interview to FarmTogetherNow, where I am guest-blogging at the moment. In an attempt to honor my commitment to their blog, I have decided not to simply copy the entire post here but instead include a link to it. The interview is fairly long, so I split it up into two more digestible parts. Here are part one and part two. The piece includes thoughts from Mark on farming, food, labor, and the environment, among other things. If you are interested in these topics, I think you will encounter some fascinating new ideas and perspectives in Mark’s words. If you don’t have a chance to read the interview, definitely check out Essex farm’s website or pick up Kristin Kimball’s book The Dirty Life which tells the story of this farm.
Additionally, in the future I am going to really try to post more frequently with a cool article, website or book that is worth checking out. If you have a twitter and are looking for interesting articles and such, I often post links to these kinds of things on my twitter, @Eat4TheEarth. If you have ideas for posts or anything you’d like to see me write about, you can e-mail me at eatfortheearth@gmail.com
Thanks for reading,
Simon
Eat for the Earth 