MARIO HOLGUIN
EL PASO, TEXAS
Mario has been farming for 9 years on farms / land that are not his own. He currently has a microgreen operation at his home and works for a non-profit providing technical support to small farmers in Texas and New Mexico.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY DOING? (WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING, ETC)
Right now I’m a microgreen and baby greens farmer. I sell that to local restaurants. I have two small greenhouses, and when I say small, it’s 20x10, and the other is 5x11 in my backyard.
I’m also farming in Soccoro, Texas: planting, technical support, harvesting, training the owners . They offered me to farm over there, keeping 40% of profits and they keep the 60%.
I also work at La Semilla Food Center working with the local farmers providing technical support and marketing, and I’m the connection to take their produce to schools, local markets, farmers’ markets, restaurants. We have a farm box program and every week we sell 10 boxes. Our record was 75 boxes in a week. I’m in charge of creating the produce list, contacting the farmers, buying the produce, making sure they meet food safety requirements.
Before the pandemic, I used to do more farm visits. I still do some - if they have questions. For example, we have a farmer who changed the crew; the main farmer quit and they hired new people, so I went to train them in how to harvest lettuce. They had been more summer farmers, and it was the first time growing greens.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN FARMING?
I think about 9 years.
WHAT INITIALLY BROUGHT YOU TO THE FIELDS?
I was first brought to farming because I was unemployed. I’m from Mexico and I moved to the United States and wasn’t able to work legally because I was waiting for my resident card"
I was using facebook and a farm in El Paso posted that they were recruiting volunteers to learn how to farm and to learn about ancestral foods. At the same time I was deciding what to do with my life. I wanted to be a chef, and I learned that, in order to have awesome ingredients, I needed to grow my own food.
I was reading a seed catalog thinking, ‘I want those black radishes and I can't get them, I have to grow them."
Months after, I applied to a “Farmer to Farmer training program” program in Anthony, New Mexico put on by the American Friends Service Committee. I started that program, and I was there for almost 3 years. I started as a trainee and then I became an assistant. The third year I was a trainer/farmer and I start planting for my own consumption.
After the third year, they gave me the opportunity to plant on ½ acre - 60 beds. It’s where I started the Desierto Verde project farm. They put the water and the land, and I was paying a monthly fee.
From there I received a farm manager position at another farm in New Mexico and Texas and I farmed for two years for the owner. Then, I started working for a restaurant - a really cool place that also has a farm - it wasn’t a farm, more like a small garden. They hired me to develop the farm and I worked there for two years or a little bit more. It’s where I learned a lot about specialty crops and what the restaurants are using, and more about cooking. It’s a really interesting place because it’s right next to the border, you can see Juårez from the farm. The wall is right there.
It was also sad because you can often see people crossing and getting caught by the border patrol, and when I say often, it was twice per week.
I would always farm here and there at a friend's house or in my backyard. I’m always planting in different places. That is kind of the mission of Desierto Verde, my landless farm operation.
Now I want to keep working at La Semilla and in my backyard. Right now it’s starting to become a good business, my microgreen production. And I love to work for La Semilla supporting farmers- I want to put all my energy at La Semilla and in my microgreens production.
WHY HAVE YOU CHOSEN TO FARM FOR SOMEONE ELSE (NOW OR IN THE PAST?)
I always wanted to have my own farm. I used to decide what to plant, how to plant. I just like it.
WHAT ARE SOME ISSUES FOR FARMERS WORKING ON SOMEONE ELSE'S FARM - ISSUES THAT YOU'VE WITNESSED OR EXPERIENCED?
I think the main issue that I have had working for other farm owners is getting paid on time or getting paid at all. That’s the main thing. Farming is not always having a good income as a farm owner, and sometimes you struggle, no? And then you have issues paying your employees - that was the main issue, getting paid from my boss.
It took a lot of my energy and time just making calls and going to his home and finally he paid me half of the debt. He told me he would come see me tomorrow and give me the rest. He never showed. That day I just let it go.
He was having a lot of issues, personal problems, but I spoke with him and I told him, I have this job offer in a restaurant, let me know if you are going to pay the next weeks or months and he told me, no worries I will pay you. That is when he stopped paying me at all.
As a farm owner my main issue is that. You have customers who take a lot of time to pay.
I have had a couple of bad experiences with farmers being misogynistic. I don’t want to be with someone who is like that.
CAN YOU TELL ME THE QUALITIES OF A DREAM FARM NOT LEADING TO OWNERSHIP - THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO WORK ON?
The qualities of a dream farm for me first is the size of the farm. I only want to work on a farm that is ½ of an acre, mainly to keep it clean, under control. I worked for one year at a backyard farm that was about 30' x 60', very small, but very intensive crop rotation. The yield was high and the income was good, no weeds at all.
Another must for my dream farm would be the relationship with the owner. If it’s someone who only wants to make money, then forget it. I want to work at a farm with a mission and vision and similar values that I have. The values are respect for others, definitely. Not just not racist, but a person who is working to abolish racism, an activist. And someone who has a good relationship with the land and the people. Definitely sustainable farming or at least close to sustainable farming.
“I wanted to be a chef, and I learned that, in order to have awesome ingredients, I needed to grow my own food. I was reading a seed catalog thinking: ‘I want those black radishes and I can’t get them. I have to grow them.”
WHAT KEEPS YOU COMING BACK?
That’s a good question, what keeps me going back to farming - a couple of things at least.
One will be flavors. I like knowing and trying new flavors. Every year I try to grow something new for me. That is something that always keeps me going back to farming.
Another reason is economic. There is always money to pay your bills when you sell produce. It is also therapeutic. Planting a seed and seeing the seed grow, it’s therapeutic.
WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THE DIFFERENCE (IF ANY) BETWEEN A FARMER AND A "FARM WORKER"/"FARM EMPLOYEE" BESIDES PROPRIETORSHIP?
I think that most people think that the farmer is the owner, the white dude that has a lot of money and land and water; and the farm worker will be most of the time an immigrant who is weeding all the time or harvesting by the bucket.
But what I think is that the farm workers are the farmers and the farm owner is just the owner.
DO YOU CALL YOURSELF A FARMER? WHY OR WHY NOT.
I call myself a farmer. I started calling myself a farmer probably in my third year of farming when I started planting and selling and keeping 100% of the profits. Right now I am comfortable (calling myself a farmer). I wasn’t before - I don’t know why. It’s probably related to credit; farmers that have been farming for 20 or 30 years and I was kind of new and I’m still new, that’s why.
Now that I’m farming pretty much microgreens, I feel like I’m cheating a little bit because it’s easier and I’m not all day under the sun and it’s not as hard as a vegetable farmer, but I still call myself a vegetable farmer. "
WHAT KIND OF SUPPORT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR PEOPLE WORKING ON FARMS NOT THEIR OWN?
If a person looks for it, it’s not hard to get affordable land or free land for lease, but we need something more than that. Probably legal advice, that way you can keep farming for 3 years or 5 years, whatever you prefer. There needs to be something more attractive. Something at the end of the day, if you farm land that isn’t yours, the owner is going to keep the soil and your work. Something more attractive, like if you want to farm on my land, you’re going to have my help, my supplies. Or at least a contract, a legal contract.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE ABOUT YOURSELF & YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FARMING? WHAT KEEPS YOU UP AT NIGHT?
The production I have in my backyard, it’s the first time that I own property. We bought the house last year in July so I feel like I can do more things - like the greenhouses, they are permanent. I’m not going to move them ever. One of the greenhouses I’ve already moved three times. Even though it’s not huge, it was hard. The other one is smaller, this is the second time that I’ve moved it. It’s more permanent, I can plant. If I plant asparagus I know I will harvest that asparagus.
My landless farm operation is called Desierto Verde:
With the idea that you don't necessarily need to own land to have a farm, Desierto Verde is a farm with no established land, some seasons we lease an acre to plant quantity and diversity of crops to supply several markets, some seasons we plant on a friend's backyard and some other years we harvest just from our small greenhouse located on Central of El Paso. For the last years, we have been focused on small and gourmet crops, like microgreens and petite vegetables full of flavor and very visually attractive. In Desierto Verde we like to do research to see what crops grow better in this beautiful,but extreme weather. Our farm produces tons of compost derived from the intensive microgreens planting techniques, compost that is used in other farms to grow more delicious produce!
