Help Save A Trans-Owned Farm

Hi, I'm Lee. I'm a trans man and the farmer, cheesemaker, and founder of Moxie Ridge Farm in Upstate NY. This is our 7th year in business and we've grown from just 7 goats getting hand-milked to a herd of 75 with more babies on the way. I and a small staff take care of these animals and make cheese from our goat milk. We also raise pigs and sometimes sheep for meat and fiber. We sell our cheeses locally near Washington County, NY as well as at the Saturday Union Square market in NYC.

I am asking for help to help keep the farm open during a financial crisis due to a catastrophic equipment failure.

WHAT'S HAPPENING

Last year during our peak cheesemaking season, we had a major equipment breakdown of our main boiler. Despite having multiple professionals in to fix it, this breakdown lasted over 2 months. We could not make any cheese and had to dump all of our milk. During this crucial time, we lost almost half the farm's income for the year - this is because much of the cheese made during this time is aged to sell later in the year and during the holiday season. This year, we did not have that cheese to sell.

Though it was a tough blow, at first we thought we would weather the storm because our insurance covered the breakdown and therefore our loss of income. Unfortunately after working with the insurance company for almost a year, and despite the fact that the cause is covered, they are now refusing to fulfill our claim because they made a clerical error. We got a technical assistance grant for a lawyer, but we have no timeline and no guarantee of an outcome. There is no appeals process and even if we can afford litigation, we would lose the farm long before we had our day in court. Time is running out.

The farm is in a financial crisis. Without the money that we lost to that breakdown, we will not be able to make it through the Spring. This is a heartbreaking life-or-death situation for the farm. I've started this fundraiser to help cover some of the losses we endured last year to keep the farm. We've exhausted all our other options, including loans, laying off staff, and selling off part of the herd.

Rather than setting our fundraising goal at the full amount we lost, I'll be starting with small milestones and moving them in order to keep our momentum going. As with farming, seeing when we reach smaller goals makes the larger task more approachable.

What we really need from this fundraiser is to replace as much of this lost income as possible before our kidding season/high season starts in May of 2023 in order for us to make it through the year and continue as a farm.

Please share!