Rosa’s Garden: From Farm Workers to Farm Owners
Small Farmer of the Year
A few miles off Interstate 295 south east of Mechanicsville, Va., you’ll find Rosa’s Garden. The big sign out front lists the name in bold green letters and reads, “Wholesale and Retail Fresh Produce.” Rosa’s Garden is the realization of a lifelong dream for Rosa Nuñez, her husband, Carlos Ordaz, and their two sons, Carlos Jr. and Andy. Nuñez and her husband came to the United States from Mexico, settling first in California where they worked as agricultural laborers for a few years until a relative encouraged them to move east and settle in the Richmond area.
Nuñez and her husband began working for Dodd’s Acres Farm more than 25 years ago. Within a couple of years she was running the owner Robert Dodd’s packing warehouse and greenhouses, while her husband was field supervisor and Dodd’s second in command. When Dodd passed away in 2017 and his family decided to dissolve the farm business, Nuñez and her family launched their own farm business. They secured 135 acres of land that had been rented to the Dodd family. “We got lucky in that we had a lot of relationships via Dodd’s Acres Farm,” said Nuñez’s son, Carlos Jr. “Everyone knows and loves my mom, so when we ventured on our own, a lot of those contacts followed her.” Their deep ties to the community helped.
The family prepared for being on their own by attending VSU Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) workshops and getting support from Mery Caldwell, SFOP Hispanic outreach coordinator and Leonel Castillo, SFOP Hispanic outreach agent. Carlos Jr. explained that SFOP helped them understand how to connect with local buyers and the community. Although his mom had connections with big buyers, they didn’t have the acreage to do high volume, so they had to find and develop relationships with smaller buyers. They got a loan from USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) to purchase equipment. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for USDA, FSA and the support of VSU,” Carlos Jr. said.
“We already knew how to farm, but it’s harder to figure out how to make farming into a business, and for the business model aspect there was a lot of support.”
Their first year was both exciting and challenging. In summer 2018, there was a lot of rain, which hurt them, and they barely broke even. Carlos Jr. said they also made mistakes like not maximizing their acreage, not understanding their market and failing to control costs. “We put six feet between our beds. It should’ve been two feet, so we wasted about one-third of our acreage,” he said. “We were so used to doing high volume, so we had to streamline our process to work better with smaller markets. We didn’t control our costs, and we were too worried about saving pennies instead of investing dollars. It’s better to invest in your business for the long term than to save a few dollars today.” Hanover County tomatoes comprise roughly 30% of Rosa’s Garden’s sales. They also sell a lot of hot peppers and have branched into specialty produce that they sell to restaurants and smaller grocery stores.
Carlos Jr. shared they’ve learned important lessons, including using every square foot of available farmland and that a good schedule of crop rotation is necessary for small acreages. “We’re lucky here in Virginia that our growing season can be really long,” Carlos Jr. said. “If you’re aggressive with your crop rotation, you can increase your yields. If you’re able to transition from early spring to early summer, midsummer, late summer and fall, you can increase your yields. If you can keep something going in the winter, you can make some money.” He recommended new farmers complete a market analysis to figure out which crops make sense. He also suggested going vertical, having raised beds and doing platform gardening. “Anything you can to increase your size is good. You’re not limited to your acreage if you are creative with it,” he said.
The family is committed to expanding its growing season and has ambitious goals that include developing Rosa’s Garden into a brand and achieving a profit margin of 15%. “The way to get to 15% is to maximize your yields, control your costs, don’t count pennies and invest in yourself,” he said. They plan to expand from their current 135 acres to 350, the same as Dodd’s Acres Farm, while maintaining their devotion to high-end, high-yield farming. They would like to expand by creating value-added products like ciders. And within the next five years, they hope to purchase a 50- to 100-acre plot they can develop and build into their own farm. Carlos Jr. acknowledged how difficult and expensive land acquisition is.
“I remember being little and seeing all the migrant Hispanic laborers just working on the farm, so it’s a really proud moment for me and especially for my parents that this is our business,” Carlos Jr. said. “We’re one of the very few minority-owned farms, especially in the Latin American community.” They are collaborating with the Small Farm Outreach Program to be a resource for other minority and beginning farmers. They held a field day in February that included a tour of their operation. They showed how they first grow plants in their greenhouses, then transplant the production to the field as well as how the processing plant works. “The idea is to share our story with new farmers,” Nuñez said. “It’s a lot of work, it’s hard, but it’s possible to do.”
E-NEWSLETTER
Sign up to receive our weekly e-newsletter and event alerts directly to your inbox.