Episode 51 – Mary’s Land Farm
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Christa Hein: Hey there, welcome to the Farm Educator’s Roadmap. I'm Christa Hein, former nonprofit girl turned farm education entrepreneur. I've spent the last 30 years creating hands-on programs that connect people to the land animals, and the traditions that nourish our daily lives.
If you're listening, you probably believe what I do, that farm education is needed now more than ever. Not just on rural farms, but in suburbs, cities, and everywhere in between. In this podcast, you'll hear real stories and practical advice from farm educators all across the country; people who are creating change through their programs in creative and inspiring ways.
Whether you're dreaming about starting your first program, are already knee deep in your own farm education work, or are just curious about how others are impacting their communities through farm education, you're in the right place. [00:01:00] Let's dig in.
Christa Hein: Hi there, welcome back to the Farm Educator's Roadmap. I'm your host, Christa Hein, and today we're heading to Ellicott City, Maryland to visit Mary's Land Farm. In just over a decade, they've built a working regenerative farm with educational field trips, an ACA-accredited summer camp, memberships, workshops, overnight lodging, a farm store, public events, and so much more.
Today we're going behind the scenes of Mary's Land Farm, not just to learn about the programs they offer, but to better understand the decisions, challenges, and lessons behind building a diversified family farm education business. Joining me today is Maria Cunningham, Director of Agritainment and Animal Education.
Maria, welcome to the podcast.
Maria Cunningham: Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited.
Christa Hein: Absolutely. So, before we talk about [00:02:00] all that's happening on the farm today, I think we need to start at the very beginning. From the outside, Mary's Land Farm looks like something that's been growing for generations, but in reality, so much of what visitors experience today has been built in just over 10 years.
So, take us back to the beginning. Can you tell us the story of Mary's Land Farm? How did it all begin and what was your family's original vision for the property?
Maria Cunningham: Sure. Originally growing up I was very involved with horses. So, I was crazy western rider. Did it all. Barrel racing, poles, spinning, drill team, parades, everything. And so, I was very passionate about that.
And my family fell into this farm. My father realized that the meat that he was eating in the store, feeding to us, is not very healthy meat. And now we're getting into lab-grown meats and stuff like that, so he wanted to know where the meat was coming from. He learned [00:03:00] that some of the companies that are in the grocery store are animals that are getting shipped from other countries, even though it says small local farms.
Those are small farms in other countries, not necessarily that it's locally sourced. So, we just weren't sure where our meat was coming from and the quality of life that the animals were given. So, my dad wanted to start understanding where meat came from, and we also thought it was very important for us to teach the community where the meat was coming from as well.
So, we got started on cows. That was the first thing that we started off with. And my dad decided to go with Devon cow. So that's a smaller cow and their stomach is able to be grass-fed, grass-finished, and they don't need to get supplemented with grain at all. Some cows, like Angus, do need to get supplemented with grain. So, we found a cow that is able to just be 100% grass-fed. So, then we got layer chickens. We got meat chickens after that.
And the first store that we opened up [00:04:00] was just on the roadside. It was our little tent that we would put up, and we sold just our eggs. And then I remember once our animals were able to harvest, we opened up another store in one of our buildings, and I sold straight from a chest freezer. And so, I had my customers come, they would open the chest freezer, and I would show them the different meats. And I started that when I was about 16 years old.
So, I was running my first store by myself at 16. And looking back I just think that it's so funny that my parents allowed me to have my own store at 16. They gave me the tools and said, "Good luck." So, I think that's just so funny just looking back. And my customers still tell me stories about those days of me running the store by myself.
So, that's really where it all ties into is we were really concerned about our health back before the farm. And now we know where our meat is coming from, and we want to teach people that.
One of things that I'm most passionate about is when we [00:05:00] have city kids coming to the farm. A lot of them come being terrified of animals. Just the other day I had a little girl who was, she started crying because she's never been around animals before. So, I was able just to hold her hand, walk her around, and show her the different animals, and she loved it so much she ended up feeding the animals.
So, I think we really need to get everybody back to knowing where their food comes from, and being in touch with the land, and being around animals.
Christa Hein: So, were your parents leaving other work or have your family always been farmers?
Maria Cunningham: So, my mom raised us. She was a stay-at-home mom. My dad was in the computer industry for many years. He grew up farming, and then once I got back into it, I roped him back into farming as well. And so, he would do the hard work for me as I had my little horse. So, my whole family became passionate about it.
And then my brother started his own egg business to have money because he was too young to have a real job. So, he [00:06:00] built his own company. So, alongside the farm where I kept my horse at, he had his chicken, and he would sell the eggs, and so that was his source of income.
Christa Hein: So, your and your brother's businesses were really the first businesses of the farm.
Maria Cunningham: Exactly. Yeah.
Christa Hein: So, then at what point did education become part of the vision?
Maria Cunningham: It started out with tours. We would do weekly tours, and we realized how much there's a lack of education in the agriculture field. A lot of people are, it's called green blind. So, when they look into a field of grass, all they see is just blades of grass. And, if I look into a field, I have to be able to observe all the different kinds of greeneries and see what green the animals are able to eat, and what they're not able to eat, how much protein's in it, how much sugar is in it. So, it's just knowing that people aren't educated in that.
I think it's really cool that, being part of the farm, there's a whole team of people, and so being able to share all of our education with the public is something that we're all super passionate [00:07:00] about. In each different field of the farm, we all have our expertise. So, it's just really cool that collectively, we're able to share that with the public.
Christa Hein: So, it sounds like you didn't really have a big master plan from the beginning, but each opportunity just led to the other. Is that correct?
Maria Cunningham: Yeah, that's absolutely correct. Yeah, we never really had a plan. We knew where we wanted to be in five years, but we really just intuitively followed our path that we were supposed to go on, and this is where we've been led to.
Everything that we have on the farm, from the summer camp program to the innkeeper program, all of it is very different, but it all ties in together. So, everything that we do is just so beautiful and unique.
Christa Hein: Yeah. So, building everything that you have, the barns, greenhouses, camp facilities, an inn, and everything else that you have on site, that's a tremendous investment. So, were you building just as you went with the revenue that was coming in from the farm, or did you [00:08:00] seek outside funders?
I'm asking because a lot of people in the early stages might see you and think, "How could I ever create something like this without big benefactors or anything like that?" So, anything that you can share as to how you found the resources to create just the infrastructure even that you have?
Maria Cunningham: So, a lot of that actually did come from my dad. He did a lot of the funding himself. I do know that we've used the government for grants as well. If you get an advocator for you in the government system, then if you play nice with them, I know that they're able to help you out a lot.
But I do know that the more you're involved with the community… Like, we have a farming community led by the government, and so the more you're involved there, the more tips and tricks [you get]. But they're always hosting different activities, events, and dinners. So, the more that you do that, invite people out to your farm to see it, and then the more awareness you have about your farm, the more people want to come out, and then the more they [00:09:00] want to support you.
Just this past weekend I had a lady who is just passionate about farming, and she's like, "I want to donate food for you guys because I'm passionate about what you guys are doing. So, what food can I get?" And I was like, "Well, why don't you get me a bale of hay?" And so, it was able to fill her cup, knowing that she was able to provide for the animals.
So, ask your community because I think your community's going to be a lot more willing to want to share, if you share the experience of what you have. Again, because a lot of people don't get to do what I do. And I kind of get used to my lifestyle, and I very easily forget that this is not a normal lifestyle that I have.
But people want to share my life. And people always tell me, "Oh, I want your job. I want to do what you do." And I just forget the reason why I can work seven days a week, 12 hours a day, 15 hours a day, is because I'm so genuinely passionate about what I do that I seriously look forward to waking up every morning and coming back to the farm.
And so, people have that same mindset, where they want to help me as well. So, tap into your [00:10:00] community, Facebook, there's a lot of communities that they want to help. But yeah, I think growing a great community is the key.
Christa Hein: So, how much of the organization is family and how much is outside staff?
Maria Cunningham: I would say about half and half. So, I'm definitely head runner around here representing the family. My dad's very active on the farm. All of the employees love when he comes out and he's on the farm. We have a lot of employees that are able to help us out on the day-to-day activities, but they've really grown into becoming our own family.
When you're doing farming and you're working lots of long, strenuous hours, they end up eating at our house all of the time. And we have some that live with us, so they're definitely family.
Christa Hein: So having a family business can come with its own challenges as well. So, how are decisions made within the family? Do you have regular leadership meetings? Is this [00:11:00] mostly decisions made around the dinner table? How do you normally think about your growth and all those important things that need to happen on a day-to-day basis?
Maria Cunningham: So, I definitely say working as a family, it does have its perks, and it also does have its negative sides. Luckily for us we do get along very well, so that's a huge plus. My sister, she's in upstate New York, so she is a huge part of this farm, like massive. And she's who runs this farm on the back end of things, and I'm the one who is physically here on the property.
So, she sets up everything for me, every phone call, every interview. She'll notify me of my schedule in the morning, so she'll say, "You have these meetings in the morning. You have a field trip here." So, it’s really nice that she does that for me. Her and I definitely view each other as equals on the farm. And then if something is important to us, both her and I have learned when to step back and when to step forward.
I'll give you one example. [00:12:00] It's so silly, but it was having a tent over our train station, So I kept saying, "We have to have a tent." And she said, "No, we don't have the funding for it. We can't have a tent over there." I said, "We need a tent over because people are sitting directly in the sun, and it's hot, and it's 100 degrees out here. We need a tent."
So, she's looking at everything from a financial perspective, she's the back-end person. And then I'm the in person, and I'm telling her, "I see the moms with the kids. They're sweating. They're hot. They're sitting in the sun." So, she was telling me no, and I was saying yes. So, we ended up coming up with a compromise, and I had to find something that was budget friendly and something that would also be good for the guests. So, I was able to find a canopy, and we were able to use that.
So, it's all about knowing what's truly important to you and having your family, your partner, see that and know when it is actually a true concern, or if it's really important to that other person.[00:13:00] You really have to have that mutual respect for each other and just have that trust.
Christa Hein: So now that we have this picture of the organization, I'd love to learn a little bit more about how you fit into this. So, did you always expect to be on a farm, or was there another career path that you had imagined for yourself?
Maria Cunningham: Yeah. So, I loved farming, I loved animals. It was something that I grew up with, so I was really passionate about it. I thought I was going to grow up and become a counselor because again, I love people, I love minds, I love psychology. That's something that I'm also really passionate about.
I love hearing people's stories, and my dad is on the board of a school of psychology, so that's something that he does on the side. And so, I've always grown up with psychology, and hearing about his program, and everything that he does. So, I kind of wanted to follow in his footsteps, but also farming is in his footsteps. So, I do have a passion for that. [00:14:00]
But then I was blessed with two little children, so I have a seven-year-old and a four-year-old, and so they're my passion, my joy, my life right now. So, I'm doing the farming for them. I see how beneficial it is for them. So, I'm happy and content with where I am in my life right now.
Christa Hein: Nice. So today you're the Director of Agritainment and Animal Education…and the farm store. So, what do those roles include, and what falls under your responsibility?
Maria Cunningham: So, animal care falls under my responsibility, so that's the biggest thing. I do a lot of staff training. I manage the store and the people in the store.
We do something on the farm that's called cross-training. Every single department is trained in each department. So, if I have to pull someone from the store and say, "Hey, you need to help out at the inn - they're really busy and they need help," or, "They had more guests than they anticipated coming in today, you need to go help out."
It's a lot of tying those loose ends. We have our summer camp [00:15:00] program as well, so they're able to help out if we need them to come by. And if we need help, they're able to be here.
Christa Hein: Yeah. Oh, that's a fantastic solution. So, when I was exploring your website, it was just amazing how many different experiences you have. So, for listeners who aren't familiar, can you give us just a general overview of the different educational opportunities that people can participate in throughout the year at the farm?
Maria Cunningham: We have field trips. That's our biggest one for education. We also do homeschool days. So, that's when we invite all the homeschoolers in our community to have a field trip together, so that's really cool. We love doing that.
We have the summer camp program. And for the inn, we have exclusive packages. So, people that live like two minutes away come stay at our inn all of the time. We even have the neighbors; they love staying at the inn.
We have a farming experience at the inn, so, you can come and be farmers with us for the day. And so, people love that a lot because they're able to [00:16:00] come, harvest their eggs, harvest their herbs, and they're able to cook it in the morning. So, people love doing that.
Christa Hein: Have any of the programs surprised you? Maybe something that became more popular than you expected, or something that was maybe harder to sustain than you expected?
Maria Cunningham: That's a good question. I think the field trips in a way were surprising to me, and it's also not surprising to me. We have a really good curriculum where the kids come in and it's guided…
Christa Hein: Do the teachers find you, or do you have to do outreach to get the schools to come?
Maria Cunningham: It's a mixture of both. We would like more field trips to come through. We were reaching out to some schools, and then we also have birthday parties here for children. So, once they get back into school, we have a lot more birthday parties. And then they'll go home, and they'll tell their moms, and then they'll look into the farm.
And so, basically, by having more people here, then they go in and they're like, "Oh, we were at Mary's Land Farm. They do field trips." So, as I spoke about getting in touch [00:17:00] with your community, it's the same thing. As we become more known, then people want to come out here and check us out more.
Christa Hein: Nice. So, one thing that really caught my attention was that your summer camp is ACA-accredited. So, what… Yeah, that's a big deal because not a lot of camps do that. And so, what made that accreditation important enough to put in the work to pursue that?
Maria Cunningham: We want to make sure that we do everything right that we do. What we do for our farm, our animals, we have very high standards for, which I think in the long run will make us succeed. So that's why it was really important for us because we wanted to just show our community that we are very passionate about what we're doing. And so, we just want to make sure that we have all of the certificates that we need and just the best education for ourselves and for our staff as well.
Christa Hein: So, how large has your camp become over the years?
Maria Cunningham: We have about 150 to, I think, 200 kids a week[00:18:00] walking through.
Christa Hein: Oh, my gosh. Wow!
Maria Cunningham: So, it's very large. So, we have a ton of staff members that do that. And so that's a whole other job on the farm. And so, it's great. When summer camp comes, it's a beautiful time because the farm really does come to life. And then when they leave, it's also a beautiful time because it becomes quiet again.[Laughter]
So, if you're a parent, you know what that's like. The best time of the day is when your kid goes down for a nap, and then the second-best time is when the kids wake up.
Christa Hein: I was looking at your website and seeing all the summer camp staff that you have, so I was guessing that it was a pretty big camp. So, what does your staff training look like before camp begins to get everybody on the same page, and not only to know how you want things to operate, but also to carry your vision, your goals, your values forward to the campers?
Maria Cunningham: So, the counselors, they live with us as well. So, every single night we have dinners with the counselors. So, we have some of the [00:19:00] counselors that are here and they do all the cooking for the staff. Again, my favorite time of year because I don't have to cook dinner.
So, we eat dinner every night, so, that's how it's very family inclusive. We have family-style dinner. And then we have two very large tables, and we sit outside on the porch every single night. So, it's just a beautiful way for us to be connected and we're just really a part of the community that we're growing on the farm as well.
The training on the farm is between one to two weeks prior to camp. We invite all the camp counselors to come to the farm, and we do training every day. So, each department gets a day with the different counselors, and we show them the ropes of what we do. So, they're able to spend the day with me, which is really cool, a lot of fun, and there's so much to teach them in just that short amount of time.
So, I teach them about the different venues that we offer, the different parties that I offer, and the different animals, how to take care of them, what the animals are like, how to put a halter on a horse, and [00:20:00] then how to pet a pig or what food the pigs eat, and how to walk a donkey. All stuff like that is stuff that we go through our training. And then we have greenhouse training, too, and they're able to see how we plant our tomatoes, and so that's really cool, and we're able to teach that to the kids as well.
One of my favorite things about our summer camp is we do a lot of imaginary play in the woods. So, my favorite thing is just seeing the kids learn how to be in the woods. That's so cool to me. I love seeing the kids learning how to walk on uneven terrain and learning that they can play with sticks and play with rocks, and it's so cool seeing the little forts and figurines that they make.
One week all of the campers were making little figurines, and so they made a village out of the clay that we have on the farm because we have a lot in our stream. And so, it's just really cool to see their imagination just take off. Because I was listening to a podcast, and they were saying that it takes about 45 minutes for the kids' brain to activate into imagination play, [00:21:00] and so we teach them how to get back into that imaginary play.
Because a lot of toys these days, they take that creativity away from them, and it fills that gap for them. Same as the parents. The parents are very forward in playing with the kids, and we're not supposed to be playing with the kids. The kids are supposed to see us as parents. And so, we can give them tools to play.
Same thing with my daughters. I love taking them to the stream. I'll show them the clay. I can show them how to make different things, and then I just take a moment for myself just to breathe and just sit by the stream. And then they're making cool little things, and they're making plates and bowls out of the clay. And I just let them do whatever they want, and that's really lost in today. So, I think that's really cool that our summer camp's able to offer that.
Christa Hein: Yeah, that's a beautiful opportunity that you're giving the kids that a lot of them may not have.
Another thing that fascinated me is that education is only one piece of Mary's Land Farm. You're also producing food, hosting the overnight [00:22:00] guests, as you mentioned, have the farm store, you're running memberships, offering workshops - that's a lot of moving pieces. So, you mentioned that it grew as you went.
When you were thinking about putting resources to the different revenue streams, how were you thinking about the businesses supporting each other? Do they share resources, or is each independent department separate from the other?
Maria Cunningham: Yeah, so the way that the farm works is we are Mary's Land Farm, as the property. The meat side of things is called Savory Farm. So, it's kind of like Costco and Kirkland. Everybody knows that Kirkland brand is Costco. So, Mary's Land Farm and Savory Farm.
Savory Farm is on our farm, but if we were to get sued for any reason our farm is safe, the actual physical Mary's Land Farm. It would be Savory Farm, if they went bankrupt for any reason or anything were to happen, Mary's Land Farm would be safe. So, that's how we do it.
And then the financing on the back end is a [00:23:00] whole other thing. So, each department is its own individual financial department. And so, for example, the inn is its own finances. The festivals is what I'm under. So festival is agritainment, field trips, parties. And then summer camp is its own finances, and the store is its own finances.
So, what we do is we have to allocate the money from each department. And depending on how much each department uses Mary's Land Farm, we have to pay Mary's Land Farm expenses. So that's a lot, like roads or tools, or we even have Mary's Land Farm employee property. The inn pays a little bit of Mary's Land Farm expenses. Even though it might not directly help the inn, it's still part of Mary's Land Farm.
So, we're really operated almost like a village or like a city. So, there's a lot that happens on the back end financially to support each other. And sometimes festivals will loan out money to summer camp if they need, and so we're [00:24:00] able to utilize that, and I think that's really cool. That's something that my sister does. She handles all of that.
Christa Hein: Yeah, that's fascinating. Thank you so much for sharing that, because it's such a unique way to look at a business and be able to really tell what each enterprise is contributing and becoming sustainable for themselves.
So, another thing I wanted to ask you about is something that people might not notice if they're just visiting the farm, and that's everything on your website feels so incredibly polished and professional. So, I'm curious, was that professionalism something that your family intentionally prioritized, or did you seek out outside help, and they made these recommendations for you? I'm just curious if someone in your family was just super skilled at marketing or if that was outside influences?
Maria Cunningham: So, it's just, as I said, it's just been years of development. Different employees come and go and give us different ideas and [00:25:00] suggestions. We want to show everyone that what we're doing, it is on a different scale level. We are on a higher end scale level. Our inn is very high-end.
We give the best care to all of our animals. And I genuinely do mean that. A lot of people don't see how much work actually goes into the animals on a day-to-day basis, but as I was saying about just the pasture rotation that we do, the changing the animals into a different field, there's so much that goes into it.
I don't just let the horses out into a paddock. I observe what grass there is in it, and then I change the animals accordingly to which pasture they're able to go into and which one has the best nutrients for them that day that they need. So, I think a lot of it is people don't understand how many hats I wear and how much time and energy goes into each job.
Since it's my family's passion and we love what we do so much, we just want to give everyone, the community and our family, just the best experience.
Christa Hein: Yeah, [00:26:00] it's really obvious from everything that you're putting out.
So, as we start wrapping up, I'd love to hear both your personal perspective and your hopes for the future. So, when you think back over everything that your family has built, what's one piece of advice you'd give to someone who's standing where your family was 10 years ago?
Maria Cunningham: I would say breathe. I always forget to breathe. I intentionally schedule times to go meditate in the field and just go sit by the river. Having daughters helps me a lot with that because I'm forced to have to just sit by the stream for a couple minutes.
And I think moments like that, we have certain boundaries, and you have to know when you have to shut off. And then you also have to respect that in your life. And there have been times, and again, this is all learning, where I should not have been working, and I knew I was working burnt out. So, it's knowing when to tap out [00:27:00] and knowing that it's okay to do.
I'm not sure if you know about the 80/20 rule in marriage where when you're feeling 20% your partner needs to step in more. So, it's like having that with your family as well, and your employees. And just being so brutally honest with your employees and just being like, "Hey, I have to tap out." And then they'll understand.
And then also when you have that understanding with your employees, and you have that for them, they'll have that for you as well. So, if I sit down, and I just talk to my employees and I say, "Hey, I have to tap out," they're like, "Great. Guys, we're doing Maria's job." And then I have that ability just to leave, and I have to go, and I have to shut off. Because if I keep running burnt out, then it's only going to harm the employees, the customers, and it's going to hurt me most of all.
Christa Hein: Yeah, that balance.
Maria Cunningham: Exactly.
Christa Hein: So, when you picture Mary's Land Farm 10 years from now, what are you most excited to continue building?
Maria Cunningham: I would say that [00:28:00] education is what I'm most looking forward to sharing with everyone and just continuing. And I'm really excited. We've had some kids that come back from field trips to apply for a job, and so that's been really cool. I love seeing the community grow up with us.
One of our top employees now raised her kids on the farm, so I think that's really cool. So, she was extremely passionate about it. She was like, "Oh, my gosh. Now my kids are off into high school and in college, so I'm able to find a job, can I work here?" She had her birthday parties here. She loves our olive oil in our store that we sell, so she's super passionate about our products. So, it's just really cool that she's been a long-term customer of ours, and she's able to be here still.
And so, I think I'm really excited about where we're going, and I love serving the community so much. So, I hope that people see that this is something that I love to do, and I just want to share it with everybody.
Christa Hein: Yeah. Well, your family has built something that so many of our listeners have dreamed about. A place where farming, [00:29:00] education, hospitality, and community can all come together. Maria, thank you so much for taking the time to join me today.
Maria Cunningham: Thank you for having me.
Christa Hein: Absolutely. If you'd like to learn more about Mary's Land Farm or explore the many experiences they offer, you can visit them at maryslandfarm.com, and you'll find that linked in today's show notes.
If today's conversation encouraged you or gave you a new idea for your own farm education journey, I'd love if you'd share this episode with another educator. It really helps more people discover the show and strengthens this growing community of farm educators.
Until next time, keep sharing your knowledge, keep inspiring curiosity, and keep connecting people to the land. Thanks for listening, and I'll see you in the next episode.
Christa Hein: Hey farm educators, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Before you go, I have a question for you. If you could build your own version of farm education [00:30:00] around the way that you want to teach work and live, what would that actually look like?
Because there are a whole lot of ways to do this work and the version that sounds exciting for someone else, well, it might be completely wrong for you because your strengths are different, your resources are different, and the kind of life you want to create, is all yours.
That's why I created the free, “Discover Your Farm Education Path Quiz”. In just a few minutes, you'll get a result based on your strengths, your goals, and how you want to work. It might point you in a direction you hadn't considered, or maybe it'll confirm that you're on the right path.
So, before you move on to the next thing, open the show notes, click the link and take the quiz. I can't wait to see what you get.
