January 9, 2009

Working through retirement, couple farms ‘in harmony with nature’

Theresa Laurence, Tennessee Register

PETERSBURG, TENN. On a chilly and damp winter morning John McGary kneels in front of row upon row of green leafy vegetables, sorting through freshly picked spring salad mix and carefully packing it into plastic containers for his customers.

He and his wife of 48 years, Judy McGary, will deliver the salad mix, tucked into a box alongside sweet potatoes, butternut squashes, radishes, greens and apples to drop-off points in Nashville later that day.

“There’s nothing like taking these boxes of fresh vegetables to families and seeing how excited they are,” said Judy.

Instead of easing into retirement like many couples their age, John, 70, and Judy, 67, work the land every day, growing and harvesting vegetables and driving hundreds of miles a week to deliver them.

“Our children think we are crazy to be working so hard at our ages, but we have been blessed with good health and feel that we are being good stewards of our land which is dedicated to growing food for our farm supporters’ tables,” said Judy, mother of three grown children.

With no other regular employees, John, a retired electrical engineer, and Judy, a retired nurse, do everything from planting seeds to marketing the business themselves. When they were both sick for two weeks during the fall, they still had to harvest and deliver the produce on time. When deer “picked the tomatoes clean” one growing season, the McGarys had to scramble to fill the customers’ boxes with an alternate vegetable. While they have never missed a delivery, “some weeks we haven’t been able to deliver what we would have liked,” John said. 

“A lot of things are not in your control,” Judy said. “Faith plays a real important part in farming, and everything you do,” said Judy, a lifelong Catholic whose home parish is Holy Spirit Church in Huntsville, Ala.

Nestled in the rolling hills of Lincoln County, Tenn., near the Alabama border, the McGary’s Doe Run Farm is one of the few vegetable farms in an area where most land is devoted to cattle and horse farming. The McGarys also have the distinction of being one of the few certified organic community supported agriculture programs in the state that operates through the winter.

This winter season, 65 families signed up to receive a weekly box of produce from them. Since the subscribers know they will receive only what the farmer has available, they agree to share in the rewards and risks that befall the farmer. “The CSA is about building relationships,” said Judy.

These strong relationships are evident on a rainy January day as customers stop by the McGary’s big white van parked outside Vanderbilt University Medical Center to pick up their boxes. The weather may be nasty, but each customer approaches the van with a smile, peeking into their box, curious what this week’s harvest holds. “I know all CSAs say this, but we really have the best customers,” says a beaming Judy. 

Now in their fifth year of operating Doe Run Farm as a community supported agriculture program, the McGarys are sold on this increasingly popular business model for small farmers. “If you know the families you’re growing for, it means a lot more,” said Judy.

Additionally, with the CSA model, “there’s very little waste,” said John, and it provides for better planning than setting up shop at weekly farmers markets, which the McGarys no longer do.

With 150 CSA shares sold last summer, the McGarys expect even more subscribers this year. But, Judy said, “the organic farming movement is still finding its place in the world.”

“I’m all for food that’s fresh, local and doesn’t have to travel 1,000 miles,” John said. But with small scale, organic food still costing considerably more than conventionally mass produced food, “I don’t know how popular this movement is going to be” as a model for American agriculture, he said. However, “our customers are willing to sacrifice a little to get fresh, local food.”

Judy has faith in the organic farming movement, she said, because “people are yearning to know more about their food.” She is also encouraged by the number of young people coming into organic farming, and tries to help any way possible. “We try to have an open door policy,” about giving advice to fellow farmers, she said.

Judy, who devotes most of her time and talent to promoting and growing the farm business, is interested in helping parishes in Middle Tennessee learn more about land stewardship. The ‘C’ in CSA could also stand for “congregational,” she said.

Growing up on farms in Kentucky with ready access to fresh or farm preserved food, John and Judy McGary have always appreciated local, seasonal food. Once they became empty nesters, the couple began thinking about the next step in their lives, knowing they wanted to return to the country.

They took the leap of faith into farming, purchasing 29 acres of land near Fayettville, Tenn., without a clear plan. The McGarys moved out of their 4,000-square-foot home in Huntsville and lived in an RV for two years while John built their new home and they laid the groundwork for a small farm business.

After attending conferences and getting educated about organic farming, Judy said, she and her husband decided they wanted to grow food “in harmony with nature,” rather than using harmful pesticides and fertilizers. After all, she said, “We’ve only got this one earth, and the good Lord expects us to take care of it.”

The McGarys slowly built up their business, growing for just six families the first year. “It takes a while to get established,” John said. “I think we made $4,000 the first year.” He also estimates that he and his wife have invested about $100,000 to build up the proper infrastructure, buy equipment and cover other startup costs for the farm. This year, he said, “we should make a pretty good profit.”

Of course, raking in a profit is not why the McGarys, or any other small farmers, are in the business. “It’s a wonderful way of life,” Judy said.

While they rarely take a vacation or travel, they have fairly flexible hours, and most importantly, find their work truly rewarding. 

After visiting with her six egg-laying hens, Judy walks across the front yard toward the green house, taking in the view of the fog-shrouded hills. “It’s very awe inspiring,” she said. “You do find yourself praying sometimes.”

Doe Run Farm is now signing up subscribers for the 2009 summer growing season. For more information visit www.doerunfarmtn.com. They have drop off locations in Nashville and Franklin as well as Huntsville and Madison, Ala., and are open to adding a new one at a Catholic parish in the diocese.

Photos by Theresa Laurence

Judy McGary talks about her and her husband John’s commitment to organic farming while John sorts spring salad mix into containers for their customers. The McGarys, lifelong Catholics who have been married 48 years, retired from their first careers and now manage a community supported agriculture farm in Lincoln County, Tenn.

Pippa Holloway checks out her weekly box of winter produce from John McGary of Doe Run Farm. The McGarys, who run one of the few certified organic winter CSAs in the area, make weekly deliveries to Nashville and Huntsville, Ala.