Reyna Yagi of Yagi Sisters Farm

The 392nd recipient is Reyna Yagi of Yagi Sisters Farm in Sebastopol, CA. Reyna writes:

What self-care and well-being mean to me as a farmer: “It's the epitome of investing in longevity of this highly important industry. I came into this work prioritizing soil health, and I still very much do, but attempting practices like No Till has hugely impacted my body and frankly my economics. I've done workshops and a research trial on my farm to have discussions about balancing soil health and farmer health to increase awareness of the need for pivoting our bodies as #1 on our agenda and that farms continue to need external support (especially small farms who don't get the same benefits large commodity farms do) to maintain and support our efforts to agroecological practices that benefit the wider environment, farmworker health, and farmer health. I, like many others, have had to learn the hard way what self care really means and how I sacrifice my body, family time, and well being for the farm. It's a lifestyle we choose, absolutely, and I love it for that and attracted by the physicality and elements. But the economics are and have been too slim and those externalities get taken on by the small farmer. Self-care is not just about my need to rank it high on my priority list, but that the greater public and farm-supporting organizations recognize that too.”

How I might use this $100 self-care award: “Self care has become an unfortunate, expensive hobby. I go to acupuncture, yoga, chiropractic care, and massage to address my issues - the latter unfortunately being the most effective one and the one least often covered by health insurance. I often can't do all of them as regularly as I need because of costs and frankly time when it comes to the busy season. But it's significant I stay as consistent as I can to actually experience pain relief. $100 doesn't cover much in terms of meaningful repetition for pain relief given the increased costs of theses services and inconsistent coverage by health insurance providers. The best use of it is 2-3 sessions of acupuncture which I go to a community site which decreases costs. I also can't tell you what it means to go to a provider that's actually effective, otherwise it's like throwing money away. I get recommendations from and to other farmers about who i got to because it's pretty critical we get what we need and not have to play the provider roulette game that often many folks with sub par health insurance have to play - that is all wasted time farmers don't have. Frankly, my recommendation to you is to find providers willing to offer farmer discounts or start a fund that would offset that cost given the variable and luckluster health insurance in this country. Or even starting a list of verified practitioners by county? Many farmers I speak to have to do specialized services to address some chronic issues, if they're even addressing them.”

Most important self-care needs that contribute to my well-being as a farmer: "If folks want to see farms stick around in their communities, communities that rely on them for local food security, for their tourism perhaps, and for their own needs, then we need community support. We need to address not just what keeps a farmer going, but sustained at the basic level of needs - housing, healthcare, resource sharing, tool lending, etc. That's the underlying lever to help with farmer well being. I see young farmers burning out all the time, I see those that haven't with such spirit that I want to see succeed, but have even less of a chance with the insane housing and real estate market in my county. Maybe community support looks like a regional tax to support subsidized leases or ownership opportunities. I digress a bit, but it's hard not to go into these foundational issues. Our bodies hurt because we're working harder every year against pricing that skyrockets for basic needs all the while a bunch of kale hasn't seen anywhere near a comparable increase to meaningfully raise farm revenue and then customers complain about organic food prices. I don't have all the answers to this, I feel I have to keep pivoting my farm model to stay afloat, but I find this work too important and soul-enrichening to stop. Self-care is ultimately maintaining a love for this work.”

#realfarmercare