The 284th recipient is Madison Smith of Saura Creek Farm @sauracreekfarmnc in Westfield, NC. Madison writes:
What self-care and well-being mean to me as a farmer: “My husband and I run a small first generation, no till, regenerative seasonal vegetable farm with a large aquaponic system in NC. We have sunk every dime we've ever made into building our farm from nothing. We have been farming for 6 years now and have never had an employee which is wearing us down. We hope to change that in 2025. Our families ‘believe’ in the farm dream but not-so-secretly think we are crazy and work too hard. Feels like we are constantly having to prove ourselves to them and the general public which seems to be the case for a lot of small farmers I've met. Needless to say, we never take time for ourselves. If we do, we go to the Dan River and let those sweet river waters wash away all our sweat and relax us.”
How I might use this $100 self-care award: “If we won this award we would get a massage. That may sound silly but neither my husband nor I have had a real massage in years and our bodies are struggling. Both of our backs feel like we are aging ourselves quicker than we should. These massages would reset our blocked up bodies and gear us up for another year of doing what we love, farming.”
Most important self-care needs that contribute to my well-being as a farmer: “Resetting or relaxing our bodies. They are used and abused daily and we definitely don't give them the rehab they deserve.”
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