Some of the most successful land access stories have started small and grown slowly. Maggie Taylor, who owns and operates Delight Flower Farm in Champaign, is no exception. And as you’ll see, her land access arrangements evolved as her business evolved.
Maggie is a first-generation farmer. She started growing flowers just for the pure pleasure of it in the backyard of a cooperative house in Urbana. In the beginning, her CSA consisted of seven members, and she delivered the flowers on her bicycle. Maggie soon realized her space was limiting how much she could grow, and there was more demand than she could meet.
Her mother was an avid gardener, so she knew how to care for plants, but learning how to grow for commercial production was a big learning curve. She took The Land Connection’s Farm Beginnings course in 2015. Maggie then connected with Prairie Fruits Farm in Champaign, where she started renting an eighth of an acre of ground and became an incubator farmer. She planted the first tulip bulbs there in 2015. In 2016, she watched her business go from being a backyard flower garden to a field of flowers on an actual farm.
She was very grateful that her Prairie Fruits Farm landlords were willing to let her learn in their space. Maggie emphasized the importance of having regular and candid conversations with your landlord to set expectations and to make sure your goals are aligned with theirs.
As she watched her flower business grow and grow, Maggie realized the next expansion of her business would be buying her own land. It would be a huge commitment, but she knew it was the right step forward. Maggie connected with Alisa DeMarco of Coldwell Homes to ask for her help in the search and purchase process. Alisa has helped numerous farmers find land in the Champaign area.
With Alisa’s help, Maggie looked at properties for about two years until she found the one that checked a lot of boxes on her list. It was in good proximity to town; had some infrastructure already; the farm layout worked well with her vision; there was adequate water available for irrigation; and she knew the history of how the land had been used. Maggie was fortunate to have financial support from her family for the down payment, allowing her to secure this land as the new home of Delight Flower Farm in 2019.
Maggie didn’t always know she wanted to own her own land. She had been open to a long-term lease or building a cooperative with other farmers that she knew. Neither of these options, however, aligned with her timeline. She needed land security as soon as possible so she could plant perennials that take a few years to establish before they begin producing revenue.
Maggie was able to invest in the infrastructure of her farms over the years with the support of the USDA EQIP High Tunnel Initiative and a Kiva loan. Kiva offers zero-interest, crowdsourced lending for various entrepreneurs across the world, including farmers investing in equipment and women starting their own businesses. Talking about high tunnels, Maggie explained, “It was a really big deal to be able to grow things in the shoulder seasons. We could start spring crops earlier than you could plant outside and grow fall crops after a frost.”
Delight Flower Farm has called many places home. With much patience and determination on Maggie’s part, it’s now putting down deep roots.
“I think the advice I would give to someone looking for land to farm,” reflects Maggie, “is to be patient and take your time. Maybe rent first and make sure you’re really in it as a lifestyle and that you want to commit to farming long term.”
Maggie has also made land available for others that are still on their land access search for growing plants or grazing animals. Maggie has known many great teachers and mentors that have been generous with knowledge, and she wants to give back as well.
“I think being generous with the lessons you’ve learned, the mistakes you’ve made, and the successes you’ve had” she says, “is really important. I want to be generous with our space and make it possible for others to farm.”