while trying to grow their | |||
businesses to meet their | |||
financial goals . | |||
She is also realistic | |||
about the challenges facing | |||
Dodo Farms and other | |||
small-scale table crop farmers | |||
in Montgomery County , | |||
many of them women of | |||
color . High costs , scarce | |||
farm labor and housing , | |||
difficulty accessing land , | |||
and a long history of systemic | |||
racism in some USDA | |||
programs make building a | |||
Dodo Farms sells their fresh produce at DuPont Circle Farmers Market in Washington , DC . |
successful farm business |
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are grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers , using intensive production methods that result in a high dollar per acre yield while producing food that Tope and Niyi feel good about selling to their customers and friends . Tope herself struggled with severe and painful heartburn after moving to the United States . Doctors told her that she needed to cut out acidic foods , including tomatoes , a staple in Nigerian cooking . “ I was like , ‘ well , I ’ m just going to die eating it ,’” Tope jokes . When she and Niyi started growing their own tomatoes , however , Tope realized that her heartburn was gone . “ Because we don ’ t put anything , apart from maybe cow manure in the soil , we don ’ t do anything to the tomatoes , so it ’ s pure . Yes , tomatoes have acidity , but there is no added thing in there .”
One of Tope ’ s key roles in the Dodo Farms operation is as its business manager and financial advisor . As an MBA and CPA with expertise in financial literacy , agricultural business management , and entrepreneurship , she works off the farm as a lecturer and
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advisor in agricultural business management at the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources . She was also recently accepted into a doctoral program at George Washington University . There are few farmers in Montgomery County who understand the intricacies of farm finance as well as Tope .
“ There are so many decisions that have to be made that the farmer either doesn ’ t have the skill set to make or doesn ’ t have the time to make ,” she says , emphasizing how critical it is for farms to connect with business advisors . Financial management and marketing “ take skills ,” she continues . “ We have this romantic vision of the independent farmer who does it all , but that doesn ’ t exist . And if that farmer cannot scale , that farmer will die .” Tope recognizes that it is challenging for small and mid-size farmers to do it all — not just production of high-quality food , but also marketing , financial planning , staff and crew management , business administration , regulatory compliance , and more —
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even more challeng-
ing . According to a recent study by researchers at the University of Massachusetts , Black farmers lost roughly $ 326 billion worth of wealth in land over the course of the 20th century . And historically underserved producers — including Black , Indigenous and Latino farmers as well as veterans , low-wealth , and beginning farmers — can have a hard time accessing available costshare funding for conservation , crop insurance , and land purchase . “ I say this with the most sincerity ,” Tope says . “ As much free money as there is for farmers , there is also as much systemic racism .”
Threats and Visions
According to American Farmland Trust ’ s June 2022 report , Farms Under Threat 2040 : Choosing an Abundant Future , farmland in Montgomery County is among the most threatened in the state , despite the protections of the Agricultural Reserve . Low-density residential development and the need to increase renewable energy infrastructure are par-
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