A farmer at 20: She started with a wheelbarrow, now runs her own farm

Hana, what motivated you to become a farmer?

Actually, it was Prague. For a long time I didn't know what to do with myself. First, I went to law school, but neither the field nor the big city appealed to me. I missed the daily activity I was used to from home, and I missed the normal life in the countryside. At least I started going to the gym - and that's where I met a trainer who had coincidentally been helping farmers get subsidies. He gave me the idea to return to Semice and try to work in agriculture.

But having an idea is usually not enough.

I also had the land, which made my journey much easier. My parents owned land, which at that time they rented to the neighbouring Bramek, where they both worked. While still in Prague, I learned about the possibility of a subsidy for a young farmer - two million is offered to buy fields, machinery or seeds without having to document everything. I thought that such an initial investment would be enough. I was wrong. Without the family fields, I would never have set up a farm. In the end I didn't get the subsidy anyway - the bureaucracy is not very friendly to small farmers.

So what path did you take to reach your goal?

My parents gave me a wheelbarrow and a hoe. And the contact details of the seedsman. But I negotiated the purchase of the seed myself. I was 20 years old, and when I asked my dad for a piece of field, he just smiled softly. I wasn't sure I could do it myself. After returning from Prague, I worked for a while in Bramek, where I was in charge of the operation in Hradištek. In the company canteen I met Aleš Karpíšek, who encouraged me to become independent and guaranteed me my first sales in his project Food and Time. It gave me courage.

Shortly afterwards, my dad gave notice of about half a hectare of land and let me farm it. He didn't think I could stick with it, and he didn't like the way I was growing it. I decided to go organic, which my parents had no experience with. I remember my first chard plants - I listened to how difficult it was to grow leafy greens without spraying, and continued to plant marigolds and sage around the rows, believing that this would discourage pests. It worked. I harvested five times a season.

Why did you choose vegetables?

I wanted to attract customers to the yard. Vegetables are quite a challenge, but I suspected there would be interest in the neighborhood - and my assumption was correct. The pickles and shredded cabbage helped me make my presence known at markets and reach out to restaurants where I've always wanted to supply vegetables. I did a part-time job at Café Savoy while I was at school, I follow the Czech gastro scene, and although I'm not a great cook, I'm close to gastronomy.

I originally ran a couple of places in Poděbrady and Lysá nad Labem, but it was slow going. One year I had such a surplus of field cucumbers that I approached Košík - they immediately suggested a collaboration that, without me intending it, gave us the impetus to take more land out of the lease and increase the volumes of some crops. I never imagined that one day I would be hoeing fifteen hectares and employing my parents and my best friend.

On top of that, there are now more chefs who are seeking me out - every Thursday, chef Honza Všetečka from Kalends comes to the market, and it wasn't long ago that Martin Štangl picked up his first order of vegetables from us. I'm rejoicing, but at the same time, for the first time this year, I'm faced with the question of whether to continue to expand the farm.

And what answer is winning so far?

We still have capacity in the field, but it's hard to say if I could get people to join the team. There aren't that many young farmers. I recently graduated from the CFA and most of my classmates left with the prospect of a position in the Ministry of Agriculture or some other office. Few of them were thinking about an internship in the field. Thanks to Instagram, I know of a lot of enthusiasts like me, but I feel like it's more of a distorted perception in our little bubble and not a true reflection of agriculture.

You mentioned organic growing. But you're not certified, are you?

I don't. And I'm still thinking about it. Lately, I'm not sure we really understand what specific certifications mean and bring to society. I don't mean to question them at all, but for me, the authenticity of the farmer and the direct contact with customers is simply more important. That's why I entered the EWA's Women in Agriculture competition program - I want to build an experiential sale from the field to spread awareness of the vegetable growing and regimen on our farm.

On the other hand, I have to say that I'm delighted with how well Czech vegetables are doing compared to imports, and of course certification and even chains play a part in this. As buyers, they normally set the rules for growing. Lidl, for example, has even stricter conditions for residues in vegetables than those required of growers by the IPZ, the Integrated Vegetable Production System.

How would you describe the system on your farm?

I try to grow the vegetables I want to eat. So I don't use any chemicals. The reason is not only healthy production, but also the soil, which I consider a great asset. As a farmer, I feel obliged to look after it and protect it. Every now and then I get worried about how long it will remain fertile.

Large-scale growers are not interested in biodiversity or soil fatigue - many times they grow potatoes for five years in a row in the same field, which is gradually depleting. Not to mention some fertilisers that downright disinfect the soil. All life then disappears from it and it can take several years to recover. Every farmer knows that the best way to nourish the soil is with organic manure, which cannot be replaced by anything. We should take more inspiration from our ancestors.

How do you take inspiration from them?

I choose old methods that are feasible in our current conditions. For example, we grow pre-crops - I reintroduced clover incarnate, which is expensive to seed but adds a lot of nutrients to the soil. It used to be an ideal starter crop for potatoes. Most of the time, there are no complicated processes involved - you just need to use your hands instead of heavy machinery. I really don't understand why big tractors drive into fields after rain, leaving deep ruts. The ground takes a long time to recover from such an intervention or the soil erodes.

We only start the combine in dry weather, and when it rains we either don't harvest or simply dig the vegetables by hand. We've also got sheep - they give us meat, but also manure, and are a great replacement for the mowers. Once we've harvested the lettuces, we let the herd out between the rows to eat the scraps and fertilise the soil. I think farmers sometimes step out of the natural cycle and lose consideration for nature. They depend on it more than they depend on subsidies.

What do you think should change?

I wonder whether it would be better if subsidies were abolished, and that would be the case throughout the European Union. They are supposed to create a fair competitive environment, but it does not work that way at all. In addition to European subsidies, there are also state subsidies, which in Poland, for example, are much higher than in this country, and so the Polish farmer can afford to set prices that the Czech farmer cannot compete with. Subsidies are also a significant income for me - I receive subsidies for growing vegetables and this year I was able to buy a new tractor, but I still want to rely on myself. This makes me realise that what needs to change in the Czech Republic is the attitude of the consumer.

What is it specifically?

I would like people to support local goods and local production. Czech markets are full of traffickers posing as farmers, and many vegetables actually come from Lipenice, which is the largest transhipment centre in the country. The role of the resellers may be a meritorious one, but it depends a lot on what they are selling. If the stalls were manned by mainly Czech greengrocers, people would be closer to seasonality and have an idea of when what is ripening. It certainly doesn't help when local vegetables are mixed with imports.

It happens all the time that people in my country demand tomatoes at the end of April. I don't blame anyone. On the contrary! I use these enquiries as an opportunity to talk about my work and encourage customers to buy ingredients in full season. The real-life experience of taste and aroma usually convinces them that cooking seasonally makes sense ecologically, economically and culinarily, just like preserving ingredients. Maybe it's time to relearn how to preserve crops for the whole year.

Do you register the changing climate that is being discussed?

In our region, we do not experience extreme fluctuations in rainfall, thanks to irrigation from the Elbe. Since about the 1950s, farmers have been paying so-called irrigators, who use pumps to distribute water to pipes and fields. Growers' demands vary according to hectares.

At the same time, however, we are also seeing warmer temperatures and more severe droughts and heat waves, which are stressing us and some of our plants. We therefore use water sparingly - we have installed drip irrigation, for example, which goes directly to the plant stem and does not feed the fungus. In any case, experts say that the crop mix in European fields is bound to change - who knows what we will be growing in Semice in 20 years' time.

Can you imagine yourself in a field in twenty years' time?

I don't know what else I would do, even though I sometimes have too much on my plate. I don't stop in season - I get up at five in the morning and go to bed at eight in the evening. I rest only on Saturdays, after the market in Turnov. But the drudgery is balanced by variety. I enjoy being out in the fresh air and seeing the results, whether it's a piece of a weeding field or a ripening vegetable. I like a challenge - this year I'm finally going to harvest purple cauliflower, and I'm also going to harvest turnips or turnips.

It suits me to meet people at markets, but I'm equally running out into the fields to switch off my head. Running a farm also involves a heap of planning and paperwork, and alongside that I can't forget my role as boss.

Tell me, how do you act as boss for your own family?

It's not always idyllic, but we know and love each other. All problems are immediately voiced out loud, so we don't get into a heated argument in the morning and we don't know about it until the evening. Unfortunately, we don't have the memory of these exchanges like vegetables do. It supposedly remembers how to take care of it. I believe it - I've noticed myself that even plants can sense the world around us.