Skip to content

Farmer voices

Verbatim public quotes from farmers using Orisha, organized by theme. Every quote below is lifted word for word from a named source (video interview, public presentation, Instagram caption, or written correspondence). Use these when copy needs a farmer's voice rather than ours.

How to cite: always attribute by first name and farm name. Every farmer named on this page has given consent to be quoted by name on Orisha surfaces (landing, brand site, emails, social). Never paraphrase into a claim the farmer did not make. If a quote needs trimming, cut cleanly and keep the voice intact. Never add a dash.

The before, what life felt like without yield or automation

Drew, Ghost House Farm (Michigan Upper Peninsula):

Our first spring in the hoop house was awful. It was miserable. Our tomatoes and peppers were sitting with cold feet, underwater for the first month of their lives.

The year after that, we didn't have flooding but we weren't automated yet. And we had a lot of disease pressure. Our yields were really low.

Scott, Indian Creek Orchard Gardens (Ontario):

Before we got our automation set-up we were unable to accept a dinner invitation in the late spring or mid fall, because we had to be around to open or close the greenhouses roll-up. During the day it is hot yet often below zero after sun down. If you close up too early you cook your tomato blossoms, close up too late and you freeze them.

The mechanism, why climate control beats constant attendance

Dan, Broadfork Farm (Richmond, VA):

What I realized with automation was that we could get better quality and better yield in the wintertime with the tunnel being totally automated without us there than if we were there managing the tunnels without automation. Literally, the tunnel will do a better job by itself.

In the wintertime, as we were controlling ventilation with humidity sensors, we started to see disease go down, which meant yield went up dramatically.

Every time we automate even one thing on the tunnel, we get good results in multiple ways.

The lift, what the numbers looked like

Drew, Ghost House Farm:

When we switched to [Orisha], 2024 compared to 2023, we increased production by 250% in the same amount of space.

This year, I think by July 1st, we had harvested as many cherry tomatoes as we had in all of 2023. And in 2023, we hadn't even started harvesting cherry tomatoes by July 1st.

Drew, Ghost House Farm, Instagram caption, August 30, 2024:

As of today, we have DOUBLED tomato production compared to last year. That's more than 2000 pounds of tomatoes harvested this summer. In general, it has NOT been a great season for tomatoes in the Keweenaw. As we dial in our heated hoop house, we are able to overcome those cold nights, wet spells, and dry days.

The life, what the system freed them to

Drew, Ghost House Farm:

The biggest thing for us was, give over, surrender what you don't actually have to take care of.

It's helped us really focus on more nuance, variety selection, getting better at pruning and trellising, just because we don't have to be running around the hoop house trying to take care of things that can be automated.

We joked that if we didn't have the automation system, one of us would be full time just sitting outside the hoop house, rolling up one side and then running to the other side and rolling it up.

Dan, Broadfork Farm:

We have four children, and automation helps us continue to run the farm when we're not there.

The last thing was quality of life improved because the greenhouse controller and motors are doing it for us.

Scott, Indian Creek Orchard Gardens:

Our automation freed us from all that stress. We now have time and headspace to devote to other things on the farm or even travelling. With alerts and the app we can monitor the greenhouses remotely, from Italy once even!!! It's been a real game changer. I couldn't imagine going back, no way!

The flip, what the yield actually bought

Drew, Ghost House Farm:

Well, Allison quit her day job and we're both farming full time now.

Having this functional of a greenhouse with how small of a footprint we have to farm on is enough to make a living farming.

The regret, said by one farmer to another

Dan, Broadfork Farm:

We wish we had done it sooner. If I were to go back in time, I'd do this five years ago. We would have seen better yields earlier.

Source notes

  • Drew, Ghost House Farm. Video interview with Orisha and public Instagram captions. Full transcript and raw field notes are internal.
  • Dan, Broadfork Farm (Richmond, VA). Two-acre intensive operation, four 30x96 high tunnels, year-round production. Quotes from a public presentation on automation and yield.
  • Scott, Indian Creek Orchard Gardens (Ontario). Orisha user. Quote is from an unsolicited email about what automation did for the farm.