Laurie Reese uprooted her life in the Pacific Northwest to learn how to become a farmer. The 54-year-old grandmother resigned from her office manager job and drove cross-country with her 76-year-old father last spring to join UVM’s Farmer Training program.
The granddaughter of a California almond farmer, Reese grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, where her parents had chickens, gardens, and goats. Her own children grew up with horses, gardens, and other animals. In her 50s, she finally decided to take things a step further and pursue sustainable agriculture. (Read our recent profile of Laurie).
“This is my dream, and I now know it’s never too late to realize it,” she says.
Laurie created a video for a class project highlighting all that she loves about the UVM Farmer Training Program and what sustainable agriculture really means.
Watch Laurie’s video:
The UVM Farmer Training Program is a six-month, farm-based program where students learn by managing UVM’s Catamount Farm, taking classes from local experts, and experiencing diverse, local farms in the Burlington area.
