Ciera Gardner

Photo of me at Emily's Produce during the horticulture tour taken by Mikaela Seltzer

This past week I did some telework which involved researching farm grants and data entry. On Wednesday, I attended a farm tour and learned a few things about starting and expanding a small farm. I learned about the challenges that these farmers faced and how they found solutions and ways to innovate their practice. The farm that I particularly remember is Emily’s Produce which provided U-pick, We-pick, farm fun and many other services and goods. The owners of Emily’s Produce faced challenges with employee trust, obtaining certifications to sell certain products, navigating a pandemic, and others. During the farm tour I learned that having a farm is something that I would be interested in having in the future. I would want to have a smaller scale farm and I would use the fruit and vegetables yields to feed communities with food insecurities. 

Photo of a piglet, taken at Emily's Produce during a horticulture tour taken on 7/10/24 by Ciera

Later on during the week I worked with another person to cut up biomass samples, which we are finally done with! While working together I learned how to better work with a partner and how to collaborate, compromise and communicate. As of right now, I don’t have a preference of working independently or as a team just as long as I can get the job done. I value these aspects when working as a team because it creates a stress free environment for both people and can even make completing a task fun.

Photo displaying the wildflower field at Emily's Produce taken by Ciera on 7/10/24