about the organic farmer
Clem Swift is a first-generation organic farmer and owner of Clem’s Organic Gardens in the mountains of North Carolina. Hailing from Virginia, Clem got his start working on and managing farms in the northern part of the state. But before pursuing a career in organic farming, Clem studied music and was on enrolled in a masters program.
In 2016, Clem rented 11 acres of land in Pisgah Forest, North Carolina and launched his organic farm. In 2021, Clem bought the land. Currently, Clem farms five out of the 11 acres of land, as well as 3 acres out of the 5 acres of land he leases from his neighbor.
As the average of farmers in the United States continues to increase, Clem is part of a group of young farmers who are stepping up to fill the boots of the farmers who will age out. Clem’s innovative spirit strengthens his ability to adapt, which is an important quality for anyone who wants to pursue a career in farming. At Happy Dirt, we are determined to make farming a viable career option for younger organic farmers like Clem.
"I formed the idea in my head of the farm I would start if I had the opportunity."
What inspired you to enter the organic farm business?
Well, the music career didn’t work out.
Your a musician?
Well, I was. I wouldn’t call myself a musician anymore. I actually studied classical French horn in college. I took that really far and started a masters degree in that. When I saw there was no career there, I walked away. I was in my mid-twenties, and I was in a position to choose whatever, you know, take my life in whatever direction I felt. Along the way, I ran into some folks who were in the local farm scene in Virginia. I thought it was interesting and said, “Yeah, I’ll explore that.”
I worked at a farm in Northern Virginia for two years. And from there, I got a job managing another farm in Virginia, which is where I started selling to what was ECO at the time (now Happy Dirt). From that, I formed the idea in my head of the farm I would start if I had the opportunity. I happened to find this property on the NC Farm Link in 2016, and it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
"The biggest challenge is knowing that if you want to try something in farming, you get to try it one time per year."
Was it difficult or easy for you to get started up as a young farmer?
Both. I found myself in the right place at the right time several times in a row, I feel like, which is what allowed me to get here. But, there’s been challenges along the way. It’s tough.
What would be the biggest challenge?
Predicting the future. The biggest challenge is knowing that if you want to try something in farming, you get to try it one time per year. You see how it goes, adjust, and do it again the next year. It takes a really long time to figure it out.
Why did you choose to grow organic produce?
Organic is just what I’ve known. The scene that would hire someone like me when I was starting out was more of the local, organic scene. From that, I ventured into wholesale organic and saw the opportunities there. Happy Dirt has been a big part of my growth.
"When you’re doing something that’s not like the standard thing, you have to come up with systems."
What is something customers should know when it comes to the cost of organic produce and why it’s higher than conventional produce?
We had a new neighbor move in over here. When I met him a few weeks ago, he said, “Man, I see you all working out there and I understand why that’s so expensive!”
So yea, an image of what it’s like to grow this stuff. Like we grow a lot of organic parsnips, and there’s not a lot of people who grow parsnips. They are really labor intensive. I don’t think there’s really another way to grow them, whether they are conventional or not. You have to thin the parsnips by hand and weed them, and they take all season to grow.
Would you say that being an innovator is part of the job?
Yeah. I think for me, it is. When you’re doing something that’s not like the standard thing, you have to come up with systems. Unless you can afford to buy, like, all new equipment you have to adapt to old stuff.
I applied for that grant because I want to knock that old decrepit barn – next to our good barns – I want to knock it down and build something big, and put a big walk-in cooler in it. I’ve dreaming about having a real walk-in cooler for years. The last one we bought, I got a truck box, which is basically the same as the box that is on here. That’s our best cooler right now. And, you know, it’s just a box that’s on the ground. It’s got the same refrigeration unit. I paid $5,000 for it and did all the electrical wiring myself. And, you know, it’s always giving me trouble. When a guy comes to fix it, it’s $1,000 for him to pretty much just show up, and I think “Man, I just want a real cooler. Then I get a quote for the real cooler….$77,000. So it’s like, yeah, that’s the reason why I have that cooler that I have to fix all the time.
Whoa! That’s another reason why organic produce, especially organic produce from small farms, is so expensive!
Yea, I know! There’s another reason. Everything is just so expensive for farms in general.
"The thing with potatoes, or any plant, you have to figure out what works best in your own spot."
You’re growing Organic Appalachian Gold Potatoes this year for Happy Dirt for the first time. Tell us more about those.
So, the Appalachian Gold is a kind of a marketing brand, or whatever you call it, that I came up with at the previous farm I worked at. We were growing a variety of yellow potato that we liked a lot, and it was really good. But, the name of it was not recognized. It was really terrible variety name, so we just made up a new name. The actual variety has changed over the years, as varieties come and go. This year we’re trialing different varieties. But, it’s our niche. We’ve tried growing red potatoes and they just don’t do well. So, we stick with what we know.
Do these grow well specifically in the mountains?
The thing with potatoes, or any plant, you have to figure out what works best in your own spot. When we buy our seed stock, I get on the phone with the farmers who are actually growing the seed stock and they are generally in the northern parts of the country like New York, Wisconsin, and Colorado. They’ll tell me the characteristics of a potato and I’ll try some. What we experience will be completely different than what they experience. Colorado is totally different than here. If you look at the pictures where some of these come from, it’s this big brown plain with circles of green where they have these rotating irrigation because they are in the high desert. We are in like a high, low swamp.
what they grow
Beets
Acorn Squash
Appalachian Gold Potatoes
Carrots
Cilantro
Green Leaf Lettuce
Kale
Red Leaf Lettuce
Romaine Lettuce
Spaghetti Squash
Tetsu Squash
Tomatoes
If you’re a buyer and want to learn more about our North Carolina, organic produce availability, reach out! We’d love to hear from you. And if you’re curious about Happy Dirt, take a few minutes to watch the Happy Dirt brand story.
