The 151st Real Farmer Care recipient is Grayson Crane of Pink Moon Farm @pinkmoonfarmer in Eatonville, WA. Grayson writes, “I'm Grayson (he/they) and I farm and run Pink Moon Farm where we grow veggies, and raise layers and Icelandic sheep on unceded Nisqually land (Eatonville, WA). As a young trans and queer kid, I always loved being outside. I had deep relationships with animals and the trees in the reservoir across the street from my house. I've been farming for about 12 years and several years ago it clicked that those memories of being outside working and making childhood potions and forts, has pulled me back to farming. I really enjoy the physical work of farming and the joy of using my body to produce things that people eat. There's a really cool intimacy to that.
Self care has been tough--I feel like I'm just getting out of a period of intense burnout from years of hustling off farm jobs and spinning too many plates. I know this is really common for a lot of young farmers. Even more so for farmers who are under-represented and are often doing community work and being asked to represent their communities. The cycle of feeling alone and being alone with the difficulty of farming and running a business was creating an unsustainable amount of stress for me. Asking for help has been the most important thing I've done to change my relationship to work and myself. Strong relationships have really supported me through those tough times--knowing other folks have my back, are also doing the best they can, and can call me back to my boundaries when I'm trying too hard.”