By Christina Ferrari - Jillian Mickens isn’t here to sing the praises of small-scale farming in North Carolina. She’s not going to tell you that farming is beautiful or easy. In her own words: “Jillian is very burnt out and very crass and apologizes in advance for what she says.”
Farming is f***ing hard.
A graduate of North Carolina State with a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina, Jillian was influenced by the “nascent era of local food access.” She and her high-school sweetheart Ross Mickens farmed together for three years at the Breeze Incubator Farm, a 270-acre research farm in Hillsborough that offers opportunities for budding farmers to They purchased their own property in 2012, wanting to be close to family in Caswell County.
Between unpredictable weather, crop loss, pests, disease, countless loans and a lack of education and support for small-to-medium scale farmers, Jillian admits it’s a risky way to make a living. There’s no health care, little savings, and little hope for retirement. On a typical day, Jillian’s are the only pair of hands working on the 43-acres of Open Door Farm in Cedar Grove, North Carolina. Hiring a crew adds another layer of stress and management, so she prefers to limit her coworkers to her three cats and Australian Shepherd, Charlie.
The social and business pieces of managing a farm didn’t immediately click. One of Jillian’s worst nightmares is the drama of the Carrboro Farmer’s Market. “For a lot of farmers, it’s how they interact and create community,” she said. “For some people, it’s invigorating. But it can be a lot when you have other life responsibilities.”
A shift occurred in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global food supply and flipped Open Door’s marketing model on its head. Demand for local produce went through the roof, and small farms couldn’t keep up. Out of this need came a partnership between Open Door, Red’s Quality Acre, Ten Mothers Farm, and In Good Heart Farm- a collaborative CSA.
Since Open Door specializes in winter storage crops like potatoes, winter squash and onions that require a lot of bed space, the new model allows for diversity and resilience to the other growers who have smaller acreage. For Jillian, it also meant more focus on farming and less on talking.
While a joint-CSA model might provide more stability, Open Door has been feeling the pressure to keep up amidst the strains of a warming climate. Less diversity means that they’re more susceptible to crop loss during extreme weather. During the summer of 2024, the hottest year on record, Open Door faced rotten potatoes and major crop loss due to historic heat and sporadic, heavy rains. In one day, the farm received 6.5” of rain after a slew of hundred-degree days. “We got our asses handed to us,” Jillian said bluntly.
Farming is nothing if not a learning experience. This summer, Jillian planted a trial of 5,600 dahlia tubers across 28 beds, which produced fluffy, vibrant multicolor flowers that were sold wholesale. Her goal is to sell the tubers to customers in 2026. As she harvests the clump of finger-like roots, two of her farm cats, Foxglove and Butterkins (affectionately Foxy and Butters), slink between the green stems and rub up against Jillian’s tattooed calves. Her face softens as they get in her way.
“It’s not all doom and gloom,” she said. “I love looking at the bugs and the birds and the sunrises and the clouds. I love learning, but I get sick of it sometimes. I wish this would work.”
On election day, between pulling up tubers and herding cats, Jillian is weighing sweet potatoes and bagging them for Vera and Gordon at Ten Mothers. She harvested around 12,000lbs this season, a happy improvement from last summer. It’s getting a little easier as Open Door becomes increasingly mechanized with equipment purchases through Farm Credit, RAFI grants, and equipment co-ops.
Just a little.
