My father was a small-town doctor who also ran a family farm. I live on the same land, but the farm has been fallow while I worked desk jobs. Having improved my health by eating fresh food instead of processed, I now want to farm full time and help others do the same.
Brian Johns
Overview
Focus
I’m raising my four children along with my wife in rural Oklahoma, 25 miles from the nearest towns. And I’m starting a new phase of my life, with the goal of expanding the supply of healthy, locally-grown food, including from my own small farm, for my family, my community, and others around the US and the world who want to learn from my journey.
Priorities
Right now, I’m working the night shift at a nearby jail to pay the bills. Fortunately, I get four days off for each four nights of work, and I’m using that time to be with my family and make the change to farming full time.
Challenges
Working night shifts, I find it difficult to be productive during the first day off. Financially, the job is mainly for survival, but I’m not able to save or create anything lasting for my own and my family’s future.
For the past year, I’ve been looking at what it would take to make it as a small full time farmer. Now, I believe I can succeed at my goals if I can bridge the financial gap between quitting my day job and harvesting my first crop in 2026.
For the past year, I’ve been looking at what it would take to make it as a small full time farmer. Now, I believe I can succeed at my goals if I can bridge the financial gap between quitting my day job and harvesting my first crop in 2026.
Experience
Working in office jobs has shown me how hard it is to sit all day in front of a computer screen, and also how unhealthy it can be. Even though I’ve done that a lot, I never feel like I’m getting anything done or ending the day with a sense of accomplishment. My own health benefits from changing my diet combined with spending so much time at a desk has given me the strong motivation to make the big change to the much more physical work of becoming a small farmer.
Legacy
I would love to leave a farm that I’ve developed and grown, and a community of friends and associates doing the same thing in a way that can be sustained for future generations.