After the three months, Jim feels that progress on the farm is on track to meeting his goals. Of course the operation is losing money, but he can see that apart from the capital invested for equipment and the land lease, the farm can break even in the first year. Most importantly, it runs while he isn't there and they are already developing some creative processes and strategies which could be useful on other farms.
He puts Mei and Tom in charge of daily operations, if the those two can't agree on a decision, Jim decides. Mei turns out to be good at holding people accountable for hitting their goals, and a hard laborer who pitches in wherever she is needed. Tom encourages and gives perspective - he has so much general experience, in things like carpentry and welding and using a chain saw - he's a great teacher.
Since they took over a working farm, there are many sources of revenue - cattle sales, chickens and eggs, a large filbert orchard, walnuts, raspberries, blueberries, apples, hay, mint, grapes from the vineyard, trout from the lake to local restaurants - the old farmer had dabbled in many crops and ventures, and part of the reason he had decided to move now was the desire to stop managing the seasonal laborers that he had been hiring to do the work. Now this work is being done mainly by - college graduates. That's funny.
Well, when you take out the cost of owning a car, what's that, about ten thousand a year, for car payments, gas and insurance - and you lower the cost of housing and utilities to a few hundred bucks a month - and you can get food for free or half price - you can afford to make less money. That's one of his big goals for his workers.
A few of the employees are on track to creating some wealth for themselves beyond their wages, selling extra production from their own projects. Pete has started a line of baked products, using ingrediants like hazelnuts, and exotic cheeses obtained by trading farm produced hazelnuts with a small dairy farm on the coast. These are sold at wholesale and traded for wine with some the wineries around Chahalem Mountain, and over in Yamhill County. Pete knows what everyone is producing at surrounding farms and the market value of bartered ingrediants.
Mei and Kristin have started a marketing program that identifies what activities will
produce the most cash flow for the farm. The eight campers are occupied, and another six employees are making the commute to their downtown Portland homes every day. A few more hearty souls have set up wall tents over wooden platforms, and are heating with wood stoves. The farm house provides a large common area, with a couple of
recreation rooms, offices, showers and bathrooms, and of course the kitchen. Pete has expanded the kitchen by knocking out a wall on the house and framing an large room which holds some used ovens and food processing equipment they had purchased.
A group of four has purchased a couple of used pickup trucks and chain saws and a hydraulic log splitter, they are working ten hour days running loads of firewood out to customers in the western metro area for cash or barter only. They seem to be pretty happy with their work, they come in off the light rail every day and go straight to work, and some days take one of the last trains into the city at night. Mei seems to be happy with their numbers, and some of the cash that is being generated is being invested in necessities for the farm - a second fuel tank had been purchased and occasionally a big tanker truck comes in and fills up, so everyone is who drives is buying their gas from the farm at a slightly reduced price, and it's convenient.
Tom has been a great teacher and hasn't had time to work on any of his own cash producing projects, but apparently he has made arrangements to share in the excess profits generated by some of the folks. He'll get a cut on some of the produce that goes to the farmer's markets, and keep multitasking on welding, teaching welding, fixing and maintaining the farm equipment, putting up new buildings - he loves the variety and he's a patient teacher.
Marti and Flash have become an odd couple, cooperating and debating various engineered projects. They are already looking at wind and solar power options, and automating whatever routine farm tasks that can be save labor time and money. Sarah and Anna have taken charge of setting up the gardens, including a tomato hothouse made of a wood frame and plastic, it uses heat from the wood burning boiler plant near the village to extend the growing season. The look forward to marketing the first crop of tomatos in the city.
