MEET THE FARMER: Mitchell Hora

Let’s just consider this a leading indicator that Mitchell Hora was destined to be a farmer. It also doesn’t hurt when you have a farming legacy in your family stretching 150 years. “But this year is different,” says Hora. It is becoming clearer that the tests of resilience we are all undergoing in 2020, that Mitchell’s generation might be the most critical for the future of the farm. And not just his farm, but farms around the world.

MItchell is playing a vital role as he is connecting farmers through the channel of information and learning. He believes farmers need to come together to learn from each other, share strategies, and support each other if they are going to find a way of farming that brings the system back to what makes sense for every lever in the supply chain so they can make a sustainable livelihood, steward the land and have the space they need to take risk which is necessary to figure out the ideal regenerative practices for their land.

Farmers from South Africa to California have been learning and listening to Mitchell’s approach which is based on data analysis, learning, experimenting, failing, reiterating, and allowing for optimization to mitigate the risk of change. The combination of entrepreneurial innovation with farming and conservation sets Mitchell apart and more farmers are paying attention.