"I am proud to be a field worker’s daughter …. I am one of nine children; my father was a bracero." Agriculture has always been a part of Magdalena Vigil Garcia’s life—it is her past, present, and future. Vigil’s history and family heritage introduced her to farming initially, and as a graduate of the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association’s Farmer Education Course and current student of the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture (MESA) program within the Training in Applied Agroecology Program, Vigil continues to bolster her education to cultivate a strong future as a farmer in the organic agriculture community.
Vigil’s sights are set on becoming a full-time, independent small organic farmer on the Central Coast of California, focusing on regenerative organic and sustainable farming practices to grow and sell healthy organic food that is accessible to everyone. “When you know better, you do better,” she says. It is this sentiment and philosophy that drives Vigil’s continued passion for an organic education. Pairing the classroom learning with hands-on field experience enables her to learn and grow more successfully each year. Understanding organic certification requirements is crucial to a flourishing organic business, but her drive to improve and her resolve to adapt each year to the rigors and dynamics of the season will be the ultimate factors that determine the longevity of Vigil’s organic farm business.
With the support of the CCOF Foundation’s Future Organic Farmers grant, Vigil has successfully wrapped up the PEPA program at the Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (ALBA) and is continuing her education at the MESA program in Berkeley, California. Vigil is on her way to her second year of successful farming on Mas Organic Farm as the owner and head farmer, and she hopes to find and purchase her own land in the near future. The CCOF Foundation congratulates and wishes the best to Magdalena Vigil Garcia with her studies and farming in 2022!
Find out more about the Future Organic Farmers grant fund from the CCOF Foundation on the website!