Brian Tammi wants to help NFU-O farm employers

Inspiring people to become involved in local food production and offering his expertise on how to run a successful farm or farm-adjacent business is a life-long passion for Brian Tammi.

This winter, Brian will be one of several experts offering free online training on how to hire, train, and manage staff for small and medium scale agricultural operations.

Brian says he didn’t know what he wanted to do for a living until he worked physically in agriculture. Having previously worked in the culinary industry, he grew to love working with food. After landing his first part-time farm worker job, he decided to pursue a career in agriculture.

He then gained farm experience working for seven seasons on Plan B Organic Farm before moving on to Paradise Fields, a farm he helped build from the ground-up. He spent five years at Paradise Fields, establishing a 10-acre orchard, a large processing facility, and a 1-acre greenhouse, and training a crew of 15 people seasonally. He learned the business side of farming along the way.

“The people, the environment, the systems, the interconnection with communities; it all really spoke to me. Farming definitely gave me an epiphany, moments of clarity, where I realized I really need to pursue this.’”

Brian is currently the operations manager for Humble Bee, an apiary and a honey and beekeeping equipment company. He also has staff consulting experience for farm and farm-adjacent businesses.

Brian helps clients with their business structure, staffing, and bridging the knowledge gap between modern agronomy in a more approachable, less jargony way.

“I really like seeing people’s farms, helping them understand what’s going on with their plants. I also like helping them understand staff dynamics so they can create a work environment as healthy as their soils,” he says.

Brian says when he was brand new to farming it was easy to gather basic knowledge, but as he honed his expertise, it was difficult to find answers to intermediate and advanced questions.

That’s part of why he likes to help others. He says having that guidance would have allowed him to be more efficient while learning how to communicate.

He also aims to alleviate barriers newer farmers can face.

“If they’re in any way not a white male, they can get side eye or lesser service. Y ou’re dealing with people who are encountering barriers to success…so I just help to relieve barriers that are systemic within agriculture and are really problematic for growers.”

Brian is an NFU-O farm worker member as well as the vice-president for Local 351 – Brant, Hamilton, Halton.

“The NFU-O is the home of anyone who cares about fairness and equality within the food system. It’s diverse and there’s a lot of youth energy and a solid base of older members,” says Brian.

Brian is eager to share his knowledge on growing food and sustainable agriculture businesses with anyone who is interested. Be sure to check out his NFU-O “So you want to be a successful farm employer” training sessions in early 2023.