I was perplexed after reading the article “Diversity, Equity, In-Fighting” in your May 24th issue. Joe Rossi was quoted as saying of the Headwaters Farm Incubator Program run by the East Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District that “the incubator isn’t operated in a way that would actually teach people what it takes to run a farm in the real world. … We are setting them up for failure.”

As a graduate of this program running a successful farm business in East Multnomah County, I strongly disagree. My farm business, along with numerous fellow Headwaters graduates, run successful farms that gross over $80k per acre, serve a very large and diverse community (including numerous nonprofits, hospitals, schools, restaurants, farmers markets and households), provide local jobs, and keep farm land in agriculture.

The district investments in this program have a huge impact on our community at large and help to establish the next generation of farmers.

The beginning farmers who go through the rigorous application process and are admitted into the Headwaters program do not have all the necessary resources to establish a farm business yet they have the skills and drive. The program provides access to resources such as tractors and storage, while also creating space to learn how to become a good farmer, and the ability to save some capital for when we graduate from the program. My farm business would not exist without this program.

Rossi acts as if the district purchasing a tractor is absurd because it’s not feasible for new and beginning farmers to purchase.

It’s not tractors that are out of graduates’ hands to buy — it’s farmland. Thanks to programs like buy, protect, sell, beginning farmers, many who are first generation farmers and do not have any potential access to land, have a path forward to future farm security.

Thanks,

Mary Colombo

Wild Roots Farm

Troutdale, Ore.