We get asked endlessly about expansion and doubling our CSA and growing wholesale. Most times it’s helpful suggestions of people that want to work with us or see us do more or reach more markets. This last year some of those asks were more in the upset range, after we ran out of capacity so quickly to sell any more CSA shares. Our truth is that we are good enough farmers to know our limits. Sure, maybe we dream too small. Maybe we should go back and manage farms on better land for someone else. But there’s also such appeal of learning to do something hard and becoming good at it, because sometimes life is hard, and it would be good if we are able to grow local food for community futures in all regions (even our windy, extreme one).I like the constant learning and challenge of evolving the farm systems as new technology and research comes online. I appreciate how the internet and greater connectivity helps communities that have been growing much longer on this continent share how they manage and adapt. There’s so much to learn and try out there, with eons of agricultural systems already tested and continually being re-tested, that it seems a poor plan to get stuck in one immutable this-is-how-thee-must-grow system.And I also feel like there’s lots to learn from farms like ours, growers that are plunked down onto the more challenging spots but who still make things work. These past two years, the weather for much of the eastern US was lousy. The weather for us on the escarpments of Syracuse was “normal,” in that it was also lousy, but within our expected range of weather. This isn’t to say we don’t struggle or aren’t terrified of hail and windstorms, but that we are used to those challenges. Our farm systems are set up to operate a commercial organic vegetable operation knowing that we will likely get 4 inches of rain in an hour, 60mph winds (and weeks of 20mph standard breezes), and either eight weeks of daily rain or not a drop of rain. Drought, heat waves, never cracking 80, going from 30 to 90 in a week, heavy snow in mid-May? Been there, done that.So this is my call for all us farmers and gardeners—to feel more confident in how we grow on our spots, to feel open to constantly learning and questioning and seeking new ways, but to not be judge-y about others who are finding their own ways.Do you have some farm or garden tactics that you don’t having to use, but really make a difference on your site? What are your favorite farming education resources? I’m partial to NOFA-NY (their conference is running this week) and Cornell Small Farms. And we are always happy to talk with farmers trying to learn how to deal with wind (our specialty!)