The Griffin
Farmer Brown has come to town leaving his farm behind him Friday, April 15, 2011 By Sonia Gupta
Over the past two years, Senior Sean Brown’s farm has grown to a size that he never imagined. He owns 2000 acres, 74 sheep, 32 cattle, 13 pigs, 12 chickens and 7 horses -- in Oregon. Brown is a native of Oregon, but is in Maryland visiting family and will graduate here. As for his farming, Brown gets his inspiration from his Irish ancestors who were potato farmers. His parents actually are not in the farming business. His mother is a retired nurse and his father is a postal worker. Last fall, his parents bought a two-acre farm in Oregon. They weren’t really interested in farming so Brown started experimenting with growing corn. “I always had a knack for animals. Then I found out I had a green thumb,” says Brown. He explains that he started by growing corn. He then apprenticed with Eagles View Farm Ranch in Oregon. There he learned everything he needed to know about how to run a farm. Gradually he started buying more land with the money he made from selling his main crop - buckwheat, says Brown. He may expand his farming business to Quarryville, Md. “Here in Maryland, the weather’s really nice. You can grow a lot more things,” says he. Brown, who has visited some farms here, says Maryland differs from Oregon. “I miss the tight knit community. Everybody’s like family back there,” he says. Brown has left his beloved farm with friends he hired, but he goes back to visit his farm at least once a month. There, he has had encounters with quite a few farm accidents. The worst one was when a bull gouged Brown on his side. He used the knowledge that he gained from a veterinary apprenticeship and stitched the cut himself. Once he graduates, Brown plans on becoming a full time farmer. He also wants to go to college in Oregon for agriculture. “What most people don’t realize is that farming is a full time career that still exists.” |