DaQuan Campbell

We Arose | Waterloo, Iowa

Why do you want to farm?

To produce public and social benefits for community members; to become an expert in developing profitable urban farm businesses; to elevate urban farming cooperation; and to inspire and educate others on the benefits of producing and consuming local food.

What are you farming right now?

Leafy greens and baby greens (mustard, turnips, collards, arugula, kale, chard); root veggies (salad turnips, beets, radishes); specialty items (okra, green tomatoes, purple hull peas, green beans); and microgreens (I have not started production yet).

What’s your vision for your farm?

To become a profitable urban farm specializing in leafy greens, baby root veggies and popular Southern crops utilizing organic and no-till practices on small-scale neighborhood plots.

To strengthen services provided to our partner farms in order to enhance our ability to increase access to affordable, locally grown produce and satisfy diversified distribution channels.

In addition, we envision standardizing production, post-harvest and sales operations to do the following:

increase efficiency and effectiveness of staff workflow
educate and demonstrate developed systems to our current network of producers and aspiring producers
position our farm business model to be scaleable

Why do you want to participate in this program?

To have a support group that will help evaluate the current state of my farm business; and identify what’s working, what’s not and what improvements are needed.

To develop a sound business plan that will build on the positive traction gained thus far and guide us as we look to scale.