daniel hoffmann profile final1

7/30/2019 Daniel Hoffmann Profile FINAL1

1/4

Faces of New Farmers Series

Daniel Hoffmanns Desire to Create Transformation Through FarmingBy: Kelsey Rideout

NTRODUCTIONWith a background in social work, Daniel Hoffmann

ecognizes the therapeutic value that is found in farming.

Ive worked with people with disabilities, adults with

mental illness. Ive worked with kids and youthThe farm

acts as the social worker in a sense. Its the intention of the

arm to be a therapeutic and educational resource to the

community, where people can come and feel empowered,

and reconnect with themselves and others and nature. By

inking to FarmStart and McVean Incubator Farm five years

ago, Daniel combined his passions for

community development with organic

farming and established a dynamic

business called The Cutting Veg.

LAND AND OPERATION

Daniels approach to farming is holistic.

In order to cultivate personal, social,

environmental and economic health

through organic agriculture, The Cutting

Veg has several areas of programming.

Primarily, the business focuses on

organic produce cultivation at McVean

Incubator Farm. On four acres of land,

Daniel and his team of staff, interns and

volunteers grow a wide range of

vegetables. These include: onions,

potatoes, beets, turnips, radishes, salad

greens, kale, chard, spinach, peas, beans,

Bok Choy, summer squash, winter

squash, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers,

Its the intention of the farm to

be a therapeutic and

educational resource to the

community, where people can

come and feel empowered, and

reconnect with themselves and

others and nature.

Page 1

Daniel Hoffmann, The Cutting Veg

THE SERIES

Faces of New Farmers

series of case studies

featuring stories from

farmers at FarmStart

McVean Incubator Fa

Dealing with all that

comes with starting n

organic farming

enterprises, this serie

highlights the challen

and successes that

McVean farmers have

experienced, while

profiling their dynam

histories and impassi

advice. The series

includes:

Bob Baloch The Fresh

Veggies

Margaret Zondo and

Rodney Garnes South

Horizons

Daniel Hoffmann Th

Cutting Veg

Hanna Jacobs and Eric

Rosenkrantz Matchb

Garden & Seed Co.

Luis Canora Canora H

Farm

Missing a profile? Pl

visitwww.farmstart

for the complete seri

Faces of New Farmers: Daniel Hoffmann,
http://www.farmstart.ca/http://www.farmstart.ca/


2/4

and some herbs like basil and parsley.

Another stream of programming is The Cutting Vegs Global Garlic

Project. Daniel has nearly 20 different varieties of garlic from about

2 different regions around the world. Some of these places

nclude: Korea, Tibet, Russia, Ukraine and Salt Spring Island in

British Columbia. Through diligently building up seed stock overhe past five years, The Cutting Veg harvested approximately

20,000 garlic bulbs by the end of the 2010 farming season. Daniel

anticipates 32,000 bulbs will be harvested in the summer of 2011.

Daniel enjoys educating others about organic farming practices

and has developed an internship program. The part-time internship

uns from the beginning of May until the end of October and

equires two days of farm labour per week. In exchange, interns

gain knowledge and lots of delicious veggies. Daniel also hires two

ull-time and part-time employees to help operate the farm.

With his passion for community development, Daniel provides

education outside of the farm to individuals, groups and

organizations in the food coaching component of The Cutting Veg.

We support individuals and groups or organizations to take their

elationship with food to the next level. Specifically, we do

something called garden and compost project consulting, so

people who want to start up a garden or compost project at their

homes, or at their organizations, or whereverwell support them

with that process. We dont do it for them, but we can help

acilitate the process so they can gain the skills.

The Cutting Veg offers additional workshops including: Planting an

Organic Veggie Garden, Preserving a Harvest: Canning, Feezing, Drying

and Storing, and Biz Savvy for Farmers. Daniel also offers counseling

or individuals who are looking for one on one support to help

better all areas of their wellness.BUSINESS AND MARKETING

Daniel markets and sells his produce through a Community Shared

Agriculture (CSA) program. He describes the CSA as foundational

o operating The Cutting Veg. In four different locations in the GTA,

members pick up fresh veggies throughout the farming season. The

ncome Daniel receives from the CSA is paid up front, with a

minimum share starting at $576 dollars.

Each CSA is partnered with a community organization. These

partnerships help better educate the public about organic

agriculture and assist The Cutting Veg in gaining popularity.

So for each of [the CSAs], theres a community partner I partnwith to outreach to the community. So for example, on the Tues

Temple Sinai has a Social Action Committee so I work with the

outreach to the community. We organize talks and postering a

internet-based stuff. So its not just me; Ive got a committee fo

each CSA. I have a group of people working on it with me to

outreach to the communities.

A quick way to market products is by turning to the internet. D

created an online newsletter called FarmTalk that provides reg

updates and information to about 1,000 individuals who have s

far subscribed to it. Daniel also looks to other organizations to

get the word out on the web. Theres other kinds of food-base

organizations that have their own newsletters in Toronto, so I t

and get as many as those people and those organizations to

outreach for me on their newsletters.

Daniel acknowledges the financial struggle that most new farm

are forced to confront. He believes that in order to cover costs a

remain monetarily afloat, its important to sell produce in bulk.

Well I think typically, people struggle because think about how

much energy it takes to grow a bunch of carrots, you have to

prepare the seed, prepare the soil, fertilize the soil, prepare you

raised bed, weed the bed, thin the bed, and then weed it again,

harvest it, and clean it and then you go take a bunch of carrots

sell them for $2.99. When you focus on these three dollar sales

which a lot of farmers do, it gets you nowhere fast. Three dollar

just doesnt add upSo I dont focus on three and five dollar sa

focus on $500 dollar sales.

We support individuals and groups or organizations to take their relationship with food to the next level.

Page 2 Faces of New Farmers: Daniel Hoffmann,


3/4

The garlic sold through The Global Garlic Project is purchased at a

minimum required cost. Thats another one where we do bulk

orders. Minimum order is 20 bulbs and three dollars per bulb so

minimum order is $60 dollars.

FINDING EQUILIBRIUM

An integral part of Daniels operation focuses on the needs and

wellbeing of others, so it can be difficult at times for him to find his

own personal balance. Its a priority for me and its not one Im

eeling very successful with. My professional life takes up a huge

amount of my time and it takes away from the balance. My stress

evels often high. My wellness isnt always at its best.

n order to gain a stronger sense of stability, Daniel has devised a

plan to enable The Cutting Veg to continue operating with less of

his direct involvement in the future. Right now I hold up a lot ofhe responsibility, and Im trying to kind of share that moreI have

his plan, this vision as I said to make [The Cutting Veg] less and

ess reliant on me and more and more reliant on staff and interns

and volunteers. So Im moving in the right direction.

Daniel recognizes all the work that is needed to operate a farm and

has spent the last several years devoting his life to building the

Cutting Veg. But he also emphasizes the need for farmers to be

able to spend time with their families and develop a life outside of

he farm. I think there is a phase in life when its appropriate for

your professional life to take up a big part of your life. The key is to

not let it last forever.

ADVICE THAT FLOWERS GROWTH

Daniel points to the need for new farmers to establish concrete

goals and become fully aware of their own personal visions.

Depending on what farmers are looking for, their workloads wil

inevitably vary.

First of all, people need to identify what their goals are and wh

theyre trying to achieve. Is it a lifestyle theyre going for? Is it

community building? Is it a successful thriving business? People

need to clarify for themselves what theyre wanting out of this.

youre just going for just a little extra money its a really differe

approach then if youre trying to have a thriving, financially-

rewarding business.

If new farmers are looking for the latter, a thriving farming

business, then Daniel suggests paying close attention to threeparticular skills. To have a thriving business you need people

skills, you need growing skills, you need business savvy and the

you need to be working on all these different sets of skills if you

want to have a successful business.

Once new farmers have identified their goals and have begun

working on their skills, Daniel encourages new farmers to pace

themselves, and work on developing their farms step by step.

I would say do less better. Try not to take on too much space to

quickly or take on too many customers too quickly. Grow slowlyrather than trying to get there quickly.

A FUTURE FULL OF IMPACT

Daniel plans to keep The Cutting Veg operating at the McVean

Incubator Farm well into the future. He appreciates the farms

unique structure and values the community found on its premis

Its a gift to have the support of FarmStart. They were the ones

that secured the land in the first place, and that was a great gift

They provide an on-site mentor and support system [and] prov

machineryThe opportunity to observe other farmers and learnfrom them is great.

As for other future plans, Daniel hopes to continue positively

impacting all aspects of life through farming.

I want to cultivate personal, social, environmental and econom

health. On a personal level for me and everyone who engages w

the farm, I want it to enrich their lives and lead to a balanced,

healthy life. On a social level, again, I want to promote social

Page 3

I would say do less better. Try not to take on too much space too quickly or take on too many customers too

quickly. Grow slowly rather than trying to get there quickly.



4/4Page 4

For more information, contact:

FarmStart

PO Box 1875, Station Main

Guelph, ON N1H 7A1

519-836-7046

www.farmstart.ca

wellbeing in the community. Environmentally[I want to] be a

model of sustainable practices. Economically, I want to have

financial abundance for me and my staff and for my interns, [I

want] their food budget to be reduced. For the land itself, I want it

o keep increasing its fertility by caring for the soil.

With whatever changes come in the journey ahead, Daniel will be

sure to carry one of his most cherished aspects of farming with

him: his passion for empowering others.

I really feel like were changing peoples lives, and were growing

people. For the internship program for sure, the CSA members, the

volunteers, everyone who engages with the farm I think for the

most part is impacted really positively. So knowing and being a

part of the process where people can grow and be empowered,

hats one of my favourite parts for sure.

What is FarmStart?The objective of FarmStart is to support and encourage a new

generation of farmersto develop locally based, ecologicallyound and economically viable agricultural enterprises.

There are many challenges in agriculture today but there are

also many exciting opportunities. By thinking about

agriculture in new and innovative ways we can meet the

challenges head on with a variety of solutions that promote asustainable, healthy and regional food supply.

What is McVean Incubator Farm?Our McVean incubator farm facility in Brampton is the first

of its kind in Canada. It provides a working, vibrant example of

near urban agriculture: a place where new farmers from aroundhe world can thrive, grow delicious food and contribute to the

health of their communities. Located in the developing north

end of Brampton, Ontario, the McVean Farm is leased to

FarmStart by Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA).

FarmStart is bringing new life to this farm by providing new

ocal farmers with access to land, equipment, and

nfrastructure as well as support during the first years of their

arm business-start up.

To learn more please visit www.farmstart.ca or call

519.836.7046

The McVean Farm is a refreshing island of diverse, ecolog

food production surrounded by suburban development.

This year, 19 new farmers are digging in with 11 different far

enterprises on-site. These farmers, from all over the world,

growing over a hundred kinds of different vegetables, which

fresh picked and often sold directly to their consumers thro

farmers markets, restaurants and through farm you-pick.

I want to cultivate personal, social, environmental and economic health. On a personal level for me and

veryone who engages with the farm, I want it to enrich their lives and lead to a balanced, healthy life.

http://www.farmstart.ca/http://www.farmstart.ca/

daniel hoffmann profile final1

Documents