Reflecting on 'Future Harvests, Stronger Communities'

Clewiston, Florida — This month, we’re celebrating the completion of our 6th Annual Hispanic Farmers and Agricultural Professionals Symposium! Over five weeks, mano-Y-ola and Asekia Inc. had the privilege of hosting a series of webinars and YouTube premieres showcasing leading Hispanic voices in agriculture. 

Centered on the theme “Future Harvests, Stronger Communities,” these events highlighted some of the outstanding agricultural, conservation, and community-building work being done by farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners in communities from Las Marías, Puerto Rico, to Clewiston, Florida. Additionally, in a look to the future, the Symposium featured a panel of former mano-Y-ola interns who are rising stars in the field of agriculture and conservation. 

If you missed any Symposium events and want to watch them, they are all available on our mano-Y-ola YouTube channel. We’ve included descriptions of each event below, along with a link to the video recording. 

Celebrating our second Climate-Smart orientation, held in Clewiston, Florida! 

Recap of the Symposium’s October events: 

1. Addressing Climate Change Smartly: A Conversation with Hispanic Agricultural Producers In this session, José Sánchez of Victus Puerto Rico facilitated a conversation centered on the Hispanic Climate-Smart Commodities Initiative. The session featured panelists Brenda Ayala, Andy Rivera, Eliezer Velázquez, Myrna Comas, and Rosely Hernández, who are participating in the Climate-Smart initiative in Puerto Rico. They spoke about how climate change is already affecting their land through noticeable changes such as hotter temperatures and changing seasonal rainfall patterns, and how the Climate-Smart initiative helps to mitigate these effects. Several Victus Puerto Rico team members in Puerto Rico also shared valuable insights during the panel, including Mariemines Ortiz, Edwin Más, and Javier Medina. 

2.  Conservation and Community-Building in Puerto Rico In this panel, Heriberto Martínez Méndez, mYo Chief Agronomist in Puerto Rico, presented about the accomplishments of the Hispanic Forest Landowners Outreach Program in Puerto Rico. Heriberto then led a conversation with panelists Leonardo Pérez de León, Jesús Pérez de León, and Manuel Baez, who are participants in the Hispanic Forest Landowners Outreach Program in Puerto Rico. The panelists shared their experiences as forest landowners and discussed how their families are involved in their farms. 

   
   

3. Cultivating Futures: From Internships to Innovations in Conservation

   Guided by Sara Espinosa and Patricia Morales of mYo, former mYo interns Eliudes Camps, Gabriela Vélez, Fabiola Robles, and Julian Lamadrid discussed their experiences as interns and how those experiences have influenced them. Topics of conversation included some of the challenges they faced, the memorable experiences they had, and their future aspirations. 

4.  Vera Farm: Working with Nature in Sebring, Florida 

   In this video, Pedro and Maria Vélez of Vera Farm in Sebring, Florida share the inspiring story of their agricultural journey, including how they have collaborated with NRCS on conservation efforts on their farm. During the making of this video, Pedro and Maria led mYo team members on a tour of their beautiful farm. (We even got to meet the miniature donkeys!) This month, we’re also featuring Vera Farm in the Spotlight section of this newsletter. 

5. Climate-Smart Orientation: Empowering Farmers in Florida 

   During this orientation held at Trinity Farm in Clewiston, Florida, part of the Hispanic Climate-Smart Commodities Initiative in Florida, members of the mYo and Victus Puerto Rico teams introduced landowners to the Climate-Smart program, describing how the program works, what it aims to achieve, and how it benefits landowners. This session features Ariel Ávila of Trinity Farm, José Sánchez of Victus Puerto Rico and Ismael (Maelo) Reyes and Paul Pendergast of mYo. Maelo, who emphasized the program’s educational component, shared an interesting fact about cows’ grazing patterns. 

6. Closing Remarks and Acknowledgements

   mYo Co-President Dr. Nolo Martínez delivered the closing remarks for this year’s Symposium, thanking those who participated. 

On behalf of mYo and Asekia, we hope you enjoyed this year’s Symposium events! To share your feedback about the Symposium with us, please complete this brief survey. We’d love to hear your thoughts about this year’s events and your ideas for topics or speakers that you would like to see featured in future symposiums.

Hispanic Forest Landowner Spotlight: Vera Farm’s Story 

https://youtu.be/B7MfSrqL1pE

We had the opportunity to meet Pedro and Maria Vélez of Vera Farm at our first Climate-Smart orientation in Florida, which Pedro and Maria kindly hosted at their farm. 

 Pedro and Maria, who are originally from Colombia, started their agricultural journey at Vera Farm in Sebring, Florida about five years ago after moving from Miami. Maria has a corporate background while Pedro studied agriculture. In 2019, they took the leap into agriculture and established their farm. 

“It has been a great decision,” Maria said. 

Over the past five years, their farm in central Florida has blossomed into a multifaceted family farm that includes both animals and crops. In terms of crops, the farm specializes in growing liners - plants that will be sold to nurseries and later transplanted. They incorporate natural pest control methods into their growing operation, using plants such as garlic, onions, and hot peppers to help keep pests away from their crops. When we visited the farm in late September, they were about to begin planting their fall crop of cold-hardy vegetables, including broccoli and cauliflower. 

The farm also raises sheep and miniature donkeys that quickly won our hearts with their affection. We could see how much the donkeys love Pedro!

Pedro and Maria raise sheep and miniature donkeys at Vera Farm. 

For new farmers, Pedro and Maria emphasized the importance of community support and learning about the resources that are available to farmers, from visiting local NRCS offices to meeting neighbors and learning about their farming practices. 

Vera Farm has worked closely with NRCS on a variety of projects, aiming to conserve natural resources and keep their crops and animals healthy. For example, they’ve installed wells with solar pumps, built a shelter to protect their sheep from the weather, and are working on a high tunnel project. 

When she looks toward the future of Vera Farm, Maria said she feels “like we’re still building.” 

“We're still making sure that the sheep have everything they need, that the nursery has all the resources, the infrastructure it needs to keep going,” she said. 

The couple’s two children, who are 8 and 11 years old, were their main motivation for moving to Vera Farm, Pedro and Maria explained. At the farm, their kids can run, play, learn and grow in connection with nature. 

“We’re very happy to be able to give them that because we see how they’re growing into these whole persons…It has made them more aware of all the things that we need to do to take care of the planet and how important it is that we have fresh food,” Maria said. “It has been a whole journey.”

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