Joe Rowland, the owner of Rowland Row Farms in Gold Hill, North Carolina, has been farming for nine years, having initially begun his agricultural career in the Incubator program in Concord, North Carolina. His eighteen acre farm is family-run by himself, his wife, and a team of employees. In 2018 he partnered with a neighboring farm in order to share equipment and labor to efficiently produce organic vegetables. Mr. Rowland discusses his experience as a new farmer, from his time in the Incubator program, to the changes and challenges he has faced running his small family farm. He recounts his childhood, where he first developed his love of agriculture when he spent summers at his grandparents farm in Indiana. Mr. Rowland offers insight into the motives, trials and opportunities available to new farmers in an industry defined by conventional farming. He also discusses an interest in serving his local community, and the ways in which agriculture and the community can support one another.
