Today I was asked once again how I got into farming. I apologize for going on so long but this is the "short version"! Actually, my battery died a few seconds before my planned ending so it ends a bit abruptly. I'm a third generation farmer in the area with my grandfather immigrating from Madeira, Portugal about 110 years ago and he began farming about 100 years ago. However, my path to farming was not a direct one and was heavily influenced by an early childhood love for gardening and also by the exposure to many different crops and farming philosophies I was exposed to in my 27 year career in agricultural lending. I had no desire to become a large farmer but instead have focused on things that I enjoy and which help expand my knowledge. I've found I get bored pretty quickly and am always looking at new plants to try to grow.

Update: Over two years later I shared this video with a friend and watched it myself. It was a bittersweet viewing for me when I realized my dad died three days after I recorded this video. I still think of him pretty much every day and appreciate the lessons he taught me.