MONTAGUE — Following its first week of fundraising, Red Fire Farm has raised more than $51,000 to offset recent cost increases in an attempt to stay in business.
Sarah Voiland and partner Ryan Voiland posted their “big ask” of $200,000 to GoFundMe a week ago. In an accompanying YouTube video, Ryan Voiland explained that world crises such as the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic and this summer’s drought have caused “dramatic increases” to the costs of “virtually every supply.” This, the couple wrote on the fundraising page, has resulted in a “significant shortfall of well over $200,000.”
“(Farming) has never made much money,” Sarah Voiland said in the video. “It’s always a really tight market, so we’re basically going into it each year with just a little bit from the last year to make everything work, and this year, we are running short.”
According to the owners, Red Fire Farm, which also operates in Granby, feeds more than 7,000 people as “one of the largest organic farms in the state.” Building on more than 30 years of operation, the farm produces more than 100 varieties of fruits and vegetables for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) system, a farm store, farmers’ markets and local grocers.
Shipping and production issues related to the war in Ukraine and pandemic have caused growing input costs to increase and fuel prices to skyrocket more than 53% from last year, the Voilands reported. Months of drought damaged crops and costs associated with irrigation mounted, they added. Meanwhile, CSA supply-related cost increases have reached 34%. “About half” of the farm’s 2021 winter storage crops were lost to “unprecedented rains and resulting field flooding” as well. Lastly, the farm needed to “purchase two used trucks and spend tens of thousands on the other trucks in order to deliver produce in 2022,” according to the GoFundMe.
While it seeks donations, Red Fire Farm has been refinancing its mortgages, according to Sarah Voiland. The farm hopes donation money can help pay back an operating loan.
In the video, Voiland told the public that “nothing is too small, nothing is too big to help out.” As of Sunday afternoon, roughly 350 people have donated to the cause, contributing in amounts ranging from $10 to $2,000.
“It’s been really amazing to see the support from everyone so quickly,” Voiland said. “We really appreciate it. There’s a lot of work that goes into farming and we hope the community realizes that.”
To view the GoFundMe page, visit bit.ly/3C0Cwmy.
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.