ABEL LOPEZ
ALBUQUERQUE, NM
Abel is in his third season farming on farms not his own. He just started working as a farm trainer at a county-run farmer training program.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY DOING? (WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING, ETC)
Currently I’m working at a farm program funded by our county where people who are interested in farming receive a paid internship to learn all the aspects of farming. I am a trainer for the program, and this is my first season working there.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN FARMING?
I’ve been farming two seasons, and I’m going into my third season.
WHAT INITIALLY BROUGHT YOU TO THE FIELDS?
Honestly I just needed a job at first. I hopped on Craigslist and found an opportunity in Corrales, New Mexico. I’ve always been intrigued by farming and I was always curious about it, but I just never knew how to get into it.
Learning new things every day, definitely being outside every day and I’m the type of person who can’t be inside and I need to be doing something outside and just learning new things every day.
For the majority of my last jobs, I had been working with kids. I used to work with kids at a mental health facility. I did that for about four years, and after that I was a substitute teacher. I think teaching kids about where their food comes from is really cool - having that experience with kids and teaching kids and jumping in the farming world, I always thing, ‘holy crap, this is something I can do in the future: teach kids about the importances of growing food and where it comes from.
Now with the farmer training program, having that previous experience of teaching, I have a lot of patience, and I think that will help my position now.
WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN TO FARM FOR SOMEONE ELSE (NOW OR IN THE PAST?)
I’ve decided to stay farming because I like it and it’s not just a job now. I fell in love with it. It brings a lot of joy to my life so I want to keep doing it.
I don’t know how to start a farm yet, I don’t know how to do that.
If you last long enough in it, it ends up being one of your goals, starting your own farm. In the future i would love to have my own farm and i’m not thinking big scale or like anything crazy, just something thatis my own plot of land, even if im just growing for me, not to be a commercial farming.
I think the mere fact of growing your own food is really cool and learning about different types of food - at the very beginning I didn’t know what an heirloom tomato was. It’s always about learning new things.
I would like to be my own boss. I’m in the position where I have to listen to others - i would like to run things the way I would want to run it, instill the aspects that I would want to instill.
WHAT ARE SOME ISSUES FOR FARMERS WORKING ON SOMEONE ELSE'S FARM - ISSUES THAT YOU'VE WITNESSED OR EXPERIENCED?
Straight off the bat - wage is a big challenge for us on farms. I feel like everyone that I’ve met farming, that is one thing that we complain a lot about. We work long hours...we basically live for the farm and to not get anything in return, or what you think you deserve in return, it’s really shitty.
I’ve experienced racism and it may not be to the extent of someone calling me a ‘wetback’ straight to my face, but it’s certain things you catch on to... other people are getting favors or special treatment, being talked down to.
I’ve seen a lot of sexism, too - sometimes I would be picked over a woman to do something physical, or not get as much backlash as one of my female coworkers would get.
This is my third season farming and now I’m at a different spot - what I’ve experienced previously is this holding of knowledge and not pushing workers to want to keep farming or create a farm of their own someday. That’s really affected me. It blocks your knowledge and pretty much anything you need to start your own thing.Where I worked before there wasn’t enough support from the higher ups to push you to want to stay in this job. As a matter of fact, by the end of my second season, I hated coming to work - that’s when I realized, I loved farming and for me to be getting to this point, I shouldn’t be feeling this. That’s because I didn’t have the support from my higher ups to push and challenge me to stay in farming. I was treated as I was a replaceable employee.
It was a feeling of what the farm owners had I could never have - it was straight up told to me that I’m never going to make more than $15/hour there. When people tell you that, it shows you their intentions, how they value you and when you’re told that, you don’t want to pursue it. You see the ceiling.
When your bosses don’t see your worth - I think that is huge issue with a lot of people. Many farmers that have worked for not their own farm can sit and say the same thing probably, that they feel undervalued. That they are not being given the respect or credit that they deserve. A lot of the time you don’t even see the owners…you’re the one getting there at 5 or 6 in the morning to get shit done, and I get it, it’s part of the job, but it’s nice to get recognized and a simple thank you is nice.
Recognition is a big thing. These are the people who are literally running your freaking farm. They are the ones who are loyal and bust their ass every day and then for you to see social media posts where you’re not even mentioned...that is something like that can boost workers’ confidence and morale. I’m not saying that I want to be mentioned all the time, I’m not saying I want to be the farm’s poster boy, but when the public is blinded and they think the farm owner is the one literally doing everything, that is the credit I’m talking about.
I want to be recognized for the work that I'm doing.
Also the physical challenge. The amount of damage your body takes season to season is pretty gnarly.
CAN YOU TELL ME THE QUALITIES OF A DREAM FARM NOT LEADING TO OWNERSHIP - THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO WORK ON?
Being treated the same as everyone. Equality.
Not having to worry about how they look at you because of your race or where you come from.
The opportunity to learn . Not being kept to learning only a certain amount of things. Not having to be in competition - not competing with others both on the farm and in the community and actually working together.
Higher wage, I’m not talking about making 6 figures a years -something you can live off of. When you don’t have to worry about living check to check.
Basically the opposite of everything that has been challenging for me at my last farm.
Having the recognition for the work that I’m actually doing.
“I was talking to my coworker the other day – giving him my background, that I don’t come from a farming family. He stopped me and reminded me that I do have a farming background – maybe not in the past decade or 30 to 40 years, but somewhere, some time, my ancestors were farming.”
WHAT KEEPS YOU COMING BACK?
Honestly it doesn’t feel like a job to me at times. You do something different every day and I love that part of it, whether it’s a challenge or not.
The fact that we’re doing a lot of the stuff that our ancestors did just in a different way. I was talking to my coworker the other day - I was giving my background, I don't come from a farming family. He stopped me and reminded me that I have a farming background - maybe not in the past decade or 30 - 40 years, but somewhere, some time, my ancestors were farming. I'm doing what my ancestors did back back back in the day - that’s a cool connection for me. Teaching my family about growing vegetables is really cool. My sister is getting really into it and wants to learn about compost - for me teaching others is really cool. I feel like I have that value to bring to my family.
WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THE DIFFERENCE (IF ANY) BETWEEN A FARMER AND A "FARM WORKER"/"FARM EMPLOYEE" BESIDES PROPRIETORSHIP?
I think the farm worker is the farmer. Maybe not the way that the posters or social media play it out to be.
DO YOU CALL YOURSELF A FARMER? WHY OR WHY NOT.
People always talk about how many seasons they have under their belt. With my two seasons, I don’t know...am I considered a farmer?
So no...maybe I don’t call myself a farmer? I mean, I am, but I have so much to learn. I don’t know if it’s a good thing or bad thing. I’m doing the work of what all the other farmers are doing, but in the bigger picture I don’t know if I have the experience to justify calling myself a farmer.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE ABOUT YOURSELF & YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FARMING? WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT?
I want people to know who the real “farmers” are. Not to take anything away from farm owners, but for the people who are actually doing the work to be noticed and recognized.
You have so many people, a lot of migrant laborers who bust their ass way harder than me and we never hear about them. They’re kind of numbers and it’s really sad. I wish in the farming community and just in general, farmers would be recognized for their work and what they’re doing.
I was born in the United States, but the rest of my family was born in Mexico. We all live here now. It’s always this game for me where I’m either “too Mexican” or “not Mexican enough”. Sometimes I kind of fall back on farming to justify my Mexican-ness: “Ok, you said I’m not Mexican enough, but look at me - this is what a lot of Mexicans do, they farm.”
This connection gives me peace of mind. That I’m Mexican regardless of the piece of paper that says I was born in the United States. That is the fall back I have when my Mexican friends tell me I’m not Mexican enough or not speaking Spanish enough.
I’m doing this work that people back in Mexico do all the time...working in agriculture. I’m doing what migrant laborers do. I also think of it in an ancestral way - like my coworker Concho told me - someone in my family was growing their own food - it could be hundred of years back, but we are still connected.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION/TAKE ON THE FARMER LUNCH? (DO YOU TAKE LUNCH, DO YOU SKIP LUNCH, DO YOU ENJOY TAKING LUNCH WITH YOUR CREW - FOR COMMUNITY BUILDING, IS THERE PRESSURE TO BE SOCIAL....)
At first it was kind of crazy because if you haven’t farmed before you’re used to lunch at 11 or 12 o’clock, but with farming it can get stretched out to 2, 3, 4pm or you don’t even have lunch.
Personally I don’t mind working through lunches because there is so much to do.
Every once in a while, it would be good to sit down and have lunches together, cooking together.
For me, late lunches aren’t a problem. I think i’ve gotten used to not having a set lunch so I’m not disappointed when I don’t have lunch at the “right” time.
