Fonz has been farming on farms not his own for 7 years. This year he is taking a hiatus and working for Verizon in Colorado Springs, though when he is back home in Albuquerque on weekends, he helps a friend out at a hemp and vegetable operation. UPDATE: Fonz was laid off from Verizon due to COVID-19 and now works full-time at his friend’s hemp/veg operation in New Mexico.
When asked why he took a break he said, “Honestly it was the money. It was a lot of work and a lot of hours with not enough money to support my car payments and other bills. I would love to go back to farming and am currently looking to see what I can do to come back. I enjoy farming more than what I’m doing now, and am considering taking a pay cut to return.”
I can’t remember how many pairs of glasses that I have broken while working on the farm, and just thinking ‘f*ck ! Now I have to buy new ones and they are expensive.’
I don’t know, the thing is, I love farming, so there will be times that I do complain, but I will put up with a lot more on a farm than another job because I like doing it.
I can grow stuff, but I don’t know if I could sell it. And it’s not cheap to start your own farm. For a good functioning farm, I think you need at least one greenhouse to do year round growing. Those guys are expensive. But I’m able to learn a lot of other people’s farms – I’ve learned how to build greenhouses, drive tractors, and take care of pigs.
It’s also nice to work on other farms and see what they are doing – farms all do the same thing differently.
God, what don’t I miss about farming…just being able to be outside is a big one, but also hard work. There is something about being there with your crew, shootin’ the shit and getting work done that is really rewarding at the end of the day. It makes me feel like I’m not just doing it for a paycheck, I’m doing it for something. It’s the same as being an artist – you don’t just do it because you have to, you do it because you want to.
Not Our Farm 