Job: Greenhouse grower and farmer
Salary: You never get paid enough for your hours when you work for yourself. You can get paid anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000. But everything goes back into the business for most people in this industry.
Education: High school and a few years of postsecondary.
Background: We're all farmers in my family. My dad was a dairy farmer. I have brothers who are dairy farmers also, and my mother was a grower and what we call a "truck farmer." We would raise produce and load it onto trucks to take to market, and I still do. I owe a lot to my parents and their passion for working.
You're starting a greenhouse/market alongside the Withrow ballroom that you're reopening. How did you get the idea for such a unique business? There's the growing part of it, and then there's entertainment for the people. Kids love it. You never stop learning in life. I like this part of "agri-entertainment." You take people for hayrides, show them the great experience on the farm. It's a fun life.
What do you do every day? Now I'm mostly managing, which I never thought I'd be a part of because I like the physical part and I like to do the labor myself. I work with a great group of people. I will not give anybody a job I won't do myself. Digging a ditch, planting a tree -- I don't care at what age. My job title now is owner and manager, but I'll be a laborer as well as working in sales and driving the truck. I'm a jack-of-all-trades.
What do you do in the winter? With this new venture it'll be nice, because I'll be working in the ballroom, which I'm looking forward to. Good bands playing here and good music. In the past, we worked in the greenhouse getting ready for spring. We start up in January. It's almost like indoor farming in the greenhouse. I do outdoor farming in the spring and summer: pumpkins, soybeans, corn and the corn maze. When that's done and the blanket of snow comes, it's nice to see everything covered and at rest for the winter.
Is there a lot of competition as a farmer? It's not competition from farmers. They're all pretty respectful of each other. It's the big-box stores that are hurting a lot of the industry. When you go to a [big-] box store and they have our products there, it's hard for a small farmer to make a go of it. People used to be coming out to the local market and the local farmer to get that.
What would you say to someone trying to get into the farming business who wasn't raised in it? Just go and work with another farmer, get the experience. See the passion in their eyes. It's not about the money. You've got to like it. It's long, hard hours, so you've got to have a strong back and a weak mind sometimes. It's a long row to hoe.
HILARY BRUECK
