Spring’s agricultural adventures began the summer of 2009 when she worked at Calypso Farm and Ecology Center, a nonprofit educational farm in Alaska. (It’s also where she met Fuentes, who was also working there.) Her goal was to learn more about the food she ate. “I’d been a vegetarian for six years, and went to work on a diversified livestock and vegetable farm with a purpose to eat meat again by learning how to care for the animals from birth to death,” Spring tells Modern Farmer in an email. “That summer sowed the seeds for my farming journey, and at the end of it, I knew I needed to keep growing.”

At the end of 2010, Spring and Fuentes moved to Vermont – where Spring is originally from – and started Good Heart Farmstead in Worcester in 2012. (Spring gave birth to their son during their first full growing season.) Today, they grow a variety of vegetables, herbs, and flowers on their 14.5 acres. They have a CSA and sell wholesale greens to local restaurants. Their farm mission is to increase the accessibility of local food to low-income Vermonters; their CSA shares are available at a discount through the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Farm-Share Program, and through work-trade. This year the couple planted 22 elderberry bushes and 100 feet of raspberries, with plans to add an acre of blueberries and more raspberries in order to diversify their farm offerings and balance the work between annual and perennial crops. They also host open-houses, workshops and special on-farm events each summer.

Modern Farmer: Why do you consider yourself a modern farmer?

Katie Spring: Because I expect the farm to grow more than food. Farms have a critical role to play in the creation of sustainable communities. Part of that work is growing good food, part of it is tending to the land in a responsible way that enhances biodiversity and the health of natural systems, and another part is growing community and creating an opportunity for people to connect to the land and their food. Our goal is to do all of this, and so we put energy into knowing our customers, creating a beautiful place for them to come, and hosting events and workshops at the farm.

MF: Why is it important to you to support local agriculture?

KS: I read a quote from Nightfall Farm at the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont winter conference that goes: “Feeding your neighbors is part of feeding the world.” When too much emphasis is put on feeding the world, it can make us feel small and unable to make an impact. The truth is, though, when we can feed our neighbors we can support the growth of a more resilient and strong community. Our farm, and many local farms here in Vermont, support organic seed companies, organic compost companies, and other responsibly-driven companies. When you support local, you are also supporting a network of businesses and people who are creating a positive impact in the community and state, which of course ripples out to the country and world. More directly, when you support local, you are folding yourself into a community that cares about you.

MF: If you could grow or raise any food or animal, what would it be and why?

KS: Elderberries! I am so excited for our newly planted elderberries to blossom and fruit. They are an incredible healer, are able to grow in areas that vegetables can’t, and make a delicious syrup.

MF: What’s your favorite vegetable?

KS: That is a hard one. My favorite crop to harvest is carrots; they are so satisfying to pull out of the soil. I also love kale and beets.

MF: If you could give other modern farmers any advice, what would it be?

KS: When you are starting out, learn from as many people as you can and gather experiences. Before starting our farm, I worked on vegetable farms, livestock farms with goats, sheep, chickens, pigs, cows, turkeys, guinea hens. I WWOOFED in New Zealand on an orchard. I went to farming conferences and workshops. I read books on organic farming. Continue to do this every year. Become a member of local farming organizations like NOFA and the Vermont Grass Farmers Association. The community of farmers we are part of and that we learn from is invaluable both in terms of knowledge and support.

MF: Do you have a farming/agricultural hero? Why do you admire them?

KS: I admire all the women who have taught me how to farm. Specifically Rocio Clark, of Applecheek Farm in Hyde Park, Vermont, who taught me how to be confident as a woman working mainly with men on a second-generation dairy and livestock farm. I have so much gratitude for her strength and gentleness.

MF: What was the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in regard to farming? How did you solve it?

KS: I’m not sure if it was a mistake so much as an underestimation. Our first summer running Good Heart we raised sheep, pigs, turkeys, chickens (layers and broilers), grew vegetables, and I gave birth to our son at the end of July. To say the least, we were totally stretched thin. Over the next three years we slowly cut out the livestock from our operation and now focus only on vegetables. Trying to do it all, all at once, is not something I strive for anymore.

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