Today’s News from the Farm is an interview with an awesome member of our team, one of our interns, Misuzu (Mizu)! She is part of the 2024-2025 Japanese Agricultural Training Program cohort. She came last September and will be with us until the beginning of October when she’ll head to UC Davis for a few months of classes before heading back to Japan at the end of the year.
Here’s a lightly edited version of our conversation – it only scratches the surface but gives a glimpse into the diverse backgrounds and day-to-day experiences of the Full Belly team!
– Elaine Swiedler, CSA Manager
Where did you grow up?
Osaka – in the city.
Were you around farming as a child? When did you first start farming?
Maybe around 5 years old. My grandmother lived in the country and had a garden. She grew tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, daikon. Summer vacations and winter vacations I would go to her house.
And then you decided you wanted to work in farming?
Yes. I studied agriculture in high school and learned about chickens, vegetables, tropical fruits, but I liked vegetables the most. They grow so fast. And I like eating and cooking them. Fruits take such a long time. And I can’t eat flowers.
In college I studied vegetable cultivation. I focused on bell peppers.
Why did you want to come to the US? How did you decide to apply to the JATP?
My college friend did the same program last year and he worked in Hawaii and said was it really fun and I should join. He asked what I liked. I wanted to do organic and be at a place with a lot of diversity where I could try a lot of things. He recommended coming to Full Belly and connected me to Mai and after talking with her, I decided I wanted to come here.
What kind of work have you done at Full Belly?
Transplanting, a lot of animal work, flowers (transplanting, making bouquets, prepping buckets and boxes, harvesting). And I go to the markets – always Palo Alto. Recently I tried cultivating with the tractor. It was so fun.
What do you like doing most?
I like everything. But I think I like the flower work a little bit more. In Japan I wasn’t interested in flowers but being here has changed me.
What’s something you still want to do at the farm?
More tractor work. I have some experience from Japan but the tractors here are so much bigger.
Have there been any other surprises about farming here?
Seeding – in Japan we do everything by hand. I had never seen a vacuum seeder. It makes things go so fast.
Flowers are so beautiful. I remember when I got to the farm in September and and saw the flower field right at the entrance of the farm. They were so beautiful and the field was so big. So amazing.
The sheep – I’m still surprised that they manage to escape so often. I don’t like having to catch them. They are so fast and so big.
What’s one of your favorite Full Belly crops to eat?
Tokyo turnips – they are good raw. I snack on them when I work at the market and I get hungry. I also like adding them to miso soup but I eat them raw more often. So creamy and sweet. Not spicy.
What’s something new that you tried here?
Pomegranates! I like them. And they look so beautiful. I had never had jujubes before either.
Do you have plans yet for what you will do after you leave the farm?
My friend owns a pineapple farm in Okinawa. She said that I can work with her when I get back. Maybe I will work with her. They also have goats.
Eventually I want to have my own farm. With vegetables, and maybe flowers.
