Exploring Life & Business with Catherine Blackwell Hess of Browns’ Farm Niwot

Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Blackwell Hess.

Hi Catherine, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I can thank my choice of getting a BA degree in Studio Art for being a farmer today. I graduated unsure of how to make a career out of “Art” outside of becoming a teacher and tried farming for a summer. I’ve farmed every year since.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think any farmer would tell you that farming is a “smooth road”. I do think we would all tell you that it is gratifying (and the problem solving can become addicting). My very first day on a farm I was tasked with mucking the chicken coop as well as rotten onions from the barn. I now look at that day with fondness because “romantics” generally make better gardeners than farmers and I realize I was being put to the test.

I’ve farmed through flood years in NC, the detrimental hail season of 2018 here in CO, the ash falling skies last season amidst a pandemic and still I think the biggest struggle comes each winter when I feel distant from my purpose and community. But farming is so illustrative of life- the ebb and flow, ups and downs, changing seasons, shortening days and return of light. As challenging as it may be, it is equally grounding.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Browns’ Farm was started 3 years ago when I was looking for a farm home and a livable wage. I was discouraged after being offered $14 an hour for my decades worth of experience. After hearing my struggle, a farm mentor, John Brown and his wife Felicity, recommended we create a farm centered around our shared values.

John had been dedicated to soil-health and science for over 25 years and we all wanted the opportunity to “grow the food we want to eat at a price we would be willing to pay for it.” What started out as a 10 foot market booth at the Longmont Farmers Market evolved the next two years to serve Boulder Market, Wednesday Market, a 50 member CSA and 5 additional crew members.

While market customer adore our aesthetic displays (never say you aren’t using your degree) and the quality of the produce we were growing that would “keep for weeks”, what we cherish is our team and putting the money back into their pockets.

I am incredibly grateful to the Browns for bringing this farm model to life. Every farm is reliant on human labor, but few achieve their goals without exploiting the people who are a part of the process- a problem that seems to be systemic in farming both past and present.

We quasi joke that we have “created a monster” as we navigate work-life balance and how to continue to fulfill our community’s needs as well as the evolution of our personal life and desires.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
An all encompassing answer would be the neighborhood I grew up in with my siblings, cousins, and cul-de-sac friends. We were surrounded by creeks that fed marshlands, a small family farm, and if you roamed far enough, the field where I had soccer practice. As long as we were together and back by dinner we could go wherever we wanted. Nets on our back to catch the minnows as we headed upstream in our muck boots, under the barb wire fence and into the cow pasture to unpack our lunches by the pond.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brownsfarmniwot.com
• Instagram: brownsfarmniwot

Image Credits:
Catherine Blackwell Hess