Full-time Country Woman profile: Corinne Gompf, part 1

Corinne and Matt Gompf talk with a customer at NorthSide Farmers Market
as son Fletcher hams it up for the camera :)

The thing that I notice most about full-time country woman Corinne Gompf is her infectious smile. The thing that I admire most about Corinne is her dedication to the healthy family lifestyle and business that she is growing with her husband, Matt.

This young mother of two left the corporate world for work in  sustainable agriculture. In just a few short years she and Matt have expanded their operation to include CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares, setting up at farmers markets, and supplying eggs and other products to The Farmers Wife store, run by fellow full-time country woman Mendy Sellman (read Mendy's profile here).

Recently I interviewed Corinne for a story about women farmers for Acres of North Central Ohio. Here is part of that interview in the original Q and A format.

OCJ

Why did you decide to become a farmer?

Corinne 

I wanted to become a market grower because, simply, I love growing food. The taste of fresh, chemical-free food that I grew myself is beyond compare, and I truly enjoy discovering new plant varieties from all over the world that I can grow for my family and share with my customers. I love the connection to the land and teaching my children how to sustain our lives through farm-fresh food. I wanted to live this lifestyle, fully immersed in homesteading: growing and preserving our food, keeping chickens, raising my family, etc. I wanted to create this all-natural, farm-fresh food heritage for my son, Fletcher, 4, and daughter, Emery, 10 months.
OCJ

When did you start your business?

 

Corinne

My husband, Matt, and I bought our farm in August 2010, with market gardening in mind. The following spring was our first year growing fruits and vegetables for farmers markets. In 2012, we started our Community-Supported Agriculture, CSA, program. This will be our third year.

 

OCJ

What are the biggest challenges on being a woman on the farm?

Corinne

Being an effective, creative, nurturing mother to two young children and operating a market farm is challenging. I never want my children to feel like I don't have time for them because I am working so hard to keep the farm operations in check. This is still a learning process for me. When things happen, I can't wait until 5  o' clock for my husband to come home and take care of something.

 I have to problem-solve, or at least make a temporary fix. Women farmers never get enough credit for the work they do, and that is very frustrating. Farmers are always men in the media, and women are "just the wife." This is not true on any American farm, and it sure isn't on ours. We're partners; we're both farmers.

OCJ

What are the best things/ advantages/ joys of being a woman on the farm?

Corinne

I love working at home, earning an honest, modest and hard-earned living. I worked office jobs in Columbus for 10 years, and I never want to go back to that. This is how I want to raise my children. This is the dream I've had for a very long time.

 

Stay tuned to this blog for part 2 of Corinne's story tomorrow :)

Marcheta *questions, questions