Pamela Ronson, a student in the Practicum of Sustainable Agriculture at Viva Farms in Woodinville, Washington, has been named a recipient of the CCOF Future Organic Farmers grant, according to a Mar. 17 announcement.
The grant supports students pursuing careers in organic agriculture by providing $5,000 scholarships to college and vocational students. This funding aims to help future farmers like Ronson gain formal training and experience needed to succeed in organic farming.
Ronson plans to lease organically certified farmland through the Viva Farms King County Incubator Program after graduation, with the long-term goal of owning and operating a small-scale, diversified organic cut-flower farm. She envisions managing three to five acres for commercial production, permaculture, native perennials, seed saving, plant nursery operations, and as habitat for wildlife and pollinators. “My future career goals don’t just relate to organic agriculture, they are organic agriculture! I want dirt under my fingernails twelve months of the year!” Ronson said.
Previously, Ronson owned Seedfolx Farm in Detroit but lost her land in 2025 when it was taken by the City of Detroit through eminent domain. “While crushing, this sharpened my farming goals into laser focus. I moved to Washington to join the Viva Farms Incubator Program so I can remain in business, lease land from a trust, and scale up for the next few years, benefiting from subsidized infrastructure costs while saving money for farmland purchase,” she said.
With 15 years of farming experience behind her but new to formal farmer training programs, Ronson is focused on using academic knowledge to improve her farm’s productivity. “I want to make a living from farming full-time. I’ve worked so hard, for so long, on someone else’s land; it’s time I work this hard for myself,” she said.
Ronson also plans innovative approaches such as creating a closed-loop fertilizer system using veganic inputs and introducing wild indigenous microorganisms into her soil food web. She intends not only to grow her own farm but also share knowledge with other farmers: “I’ll test experiments with soil inputs and fertilization methods on my organic farm,” she said. “Learning is a collaborative process, and I want to give back to all the people who helped me become a farmer by teaching those interested in farming.”
