HAFA Farmers

Hmong Tab Laj Farm: Two (and more) are better than one

Business development, Food Hub, HAFA Farmers, Land Access, Spring, Value-added products

In the mid-2000s, two school-aged children, a newborn baby, a fulltime job, lack of rest and farming on land an hour away from home pushed HAFA member, Song Moua, to the verge of ending her family farm business.

Song struggled to find a sense of balance with her family responsibilities and the farm business until her husband, Lenny Xiong, saw the importance of locally grown food and realized the farm business was more profitable than a fulltime job.

Now they both farm fulltime during the growing season, and their operation, Hmong Tab Laj Farm, brings them a sustainable livelihood doing the thing they are passionate about. Their kids are older and able to help out, and they’ve even leased 12-acres in Cottage Grove for another 10 years.

“We are happy to have this 10 year contract. It’s allowing us to increase our perennial production which helps our income increase because we can sell more to the HAFA Alternative Markets Program.

And now Song and Lenny are able to focus on financial aspects of their farm business instead of worrying about land access. Other aspects of the business that Song and Lenny wish to focus on this year including focusing on profitable crops and investing in equipment that will make their farm run smoothly.

The husband and wife duo have taken their knowledge gained from HAFA trainings this year and re-evaluated their farm business. They calculated their cost of production for each crop and decided to cut 40% of their crop varieties due to lack of profitability while still maintaining a healthy variety.

Their second goal is to prevent crop loss throughout the season.

“We hope to extend our selling season through the winter and sell frozen strawberries and rhubarb. We also want to make fermented leafy greens.”

The family hopes to also launch their first packaged product this year through HAFA’s newly launched Value-Added Program. The program allows families to use a commercial kitchen to process and package their vegetables and sell it in a different form allowing for an additional form of income.

“I am thankful my husband joined me in the farm business because we wouldn’t be as successful as we are right now without the commitment of the whole family.”

We must be like a bird

HAFA Farmers, Winter

Naton and his youngest child, Patrick. (HAFA/Mike Hazard)

Naton Vang was only eight years old when he started walking alone in the tropical forest of Laos. When it thunderstormed and the raindrops collected on his white collared shirt, the only thing that kept his clothes dry was a shriveled plastic bag held high above his head. His feet would get wet because the only pair of shoes he owned were flip-flops. Only two hours by foot and he would soon reach school where he hoped to learn something new and see his friends.

Now Naton is 38. Naton left his family and home country in 2005 to pursue an exciting new chapter of life in the United States. Naton told me this lesson about his decision to leave his home:

“We must be like a bird. A bird is born into the same nest as its brothers and sisters, but it will go on its own one day. You must not stay in the same spot. Being comfortable limits your knowledge and success, if there is an opportunity take a chance. Fly away, so that you can help yourself and more people.”

Naton is the second in his immediate family to come to the U.S., while his older sister arrived soon after the Secret War in the 1970s. In 2005, Naton married his wife Pa Nou and now has two sons and one daughter. Today his mother, sister, and five brothers are still residing in Laos.

Before Naton arrived in the U.S., he came with the belief that it was prosperous and had plentiful opportunities. If you ask what Naton’s thoughts are today he will tell you “To be completely sure, am I seeing everything? I am not sure.” Naton would love to return to school to obtain higher education, but he says he is “too old” for that now.

Now, Naton plans to uplift his family’s dreams by going back to his roots in farming. Naton started farming at the age of five. Farming was a way of life for his family. Actually, farming during this time also symbolized family pride and determination for success. He spent most of his childhood living at the farm with his parents and siblings.

Naton loves farming today because it brings him joy and fulfillment that he is contributing to society by providing fresh vegetables. He also thinks it’s important for his children to know where food comes from. Naton has been a proud member of Hmong American Farmers Association since 2014. Through positive outcomes and support from HAFA, he strongly believes farming can be a way of life for Hmong American woman and men as well.

Naton would like to share these words of wisdom with you: “Don’t be afraid of creating a new plan if something is not working. The future is up to you. You are your own manager.”

We can do it right here

Fall, HAFA Farmers

87e232c0-b6e5-4e69-8913-d97726c8a56d — HAFA packing assistants Jeff Glowa and Mai Houa Thao prepare to host 75 1st graders from Saint Paul’s Linwood Monroe Arts Plus school—our last group of visitors to the HAFA farm in 2015, Thursday, October 22, inside the HAFA farmhouse in Vermillion Township, MN. (Hmong American Farmers Association/Mike Hazard)(Mike Hazard/HAFA)

This fall, Mai Houa joined the HAFA staff as a packing assistant. She helps the Hmong farmers in HAFA’s Food Hub pack their produce and sell them to schools, retailers, wholesalers and other institutions.

She never thought that she would be a farmer, but two years ago, she began helping her husband and in-laws grow produce at the HAFA Farm. She also helped her in-laws sell it at four different Twin Cities farmers markets and found that she liked talking to people. Now she’s thinking about farming her own plot at the HAFA Farm or going to school for culinary arts.

“Right now Hmong elders tell the kids that they should get an education and a higher paying job. They don’t want us to farm. The older generation farmed in Thailand and Laos. They farmed a lot but made just a small income.”

“But at the same time, the younger generation doesn’t know how happy you can be when you’re working in the fields or washing vegetables that you grew yourself. If young people don’t look into farming or food jobs, all the land will probably go into buildings, and robots will serve us plastic food…If we want to stay alive (I really recommend it), we can do it right here.”

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