Agriculture + Lifestyle

Frenchy’s Blues

Posted on March 1, 2022 12:00 AM

Considering his interests, 有人可能会说，前亚特兰大勇士杰夫“法国”弗朗索瓦是全面发展. 他如何从正确的领域到农场领域的故事始于他的岳父, Malcolm McCoy, and friend Winn Morgan. 

马尔科姆在乔治亚大学企业关系部为IBM工作时，与温相识. 他们有一个超局部天气预报系统，想要评估它对蓝莓种植者的影响. 

“所以，我不得不去找蓝莓种植者交谈并参与其中. I met them, and I loved them,” Malcolm said. “We introduced the program, 我遇到的农民越多，听到的生意也越多, I thought, I’d really like to be in the blueberry business.”

Malcolm’s family had about 600 acres, and after he retired, he decided to pursue the opportunity to farm. 就在那时，他找到了温恩，而温恩原来是蓝莓专家.

“我祖父在70年代末开始种植蓝莓，”温恩说. “在成长过程中，蓝莓是我最了解的作物.”

根据马尔科姆的说法，这是一个相当谦虚的故事.

“我告诉人们，杰夫和我投资了一个蓝莓农场, 但我们确实投资了这个人，因为他在世界各地种植蓝莓. He used to manage a 1,500-acre, 他是墨西哥巨大的蓝莓农场，我说他是全球五大蓝莓专家之一,” Malcolm said.

马尔科姆意识到他可以让蓝莓农场的想法成真, 他联系了他的女婿，试探他的兴趣. 那是在2015年，当时杰夫还在费城费城人队打球.

“他打电话给我说，‘嘿，你想下来看看这个农场吗? And would you want to put in 60 acres of blueberries?’ Well, I started looking at blueberries. I knew nothing about them, 但我来到这里，看到了这块地，就爱上了它,” Jeff said.

因此，蓝莓大联盟在乔治亚州的尼科尔斯诞生了.

Although they readily admit that Winn “runs the show,马尔科姆喜欢在农场的时候给人“精神上的支持”. 杰夫在亚特兰大勇士队(Atlanta Braves)的转播中平衡了自己的时间, caring for his family and driving the tractor.

“Anybody who comes down here, I’ve always told them you have to get on a tractor, and you have to drive around for a couple hours. No phone, nobody to bother you, just put the music on. There’s something peaceful about it,” Jeff said. “I love being outdoors, first off. 除了打高尔夫球、辅导孩子和跑步之外，我喜欢户外活动. 当你来到这里，你会感觉到与大地的联系. 看到这些植物一开始很小，收获时长到8英尺高，体重达到7到8磅, it makes your heart get going. And I love every second of it.”

但要收获它需要大量的辛勤工作和奉献.

“It’s a lot of work. 我们必须手工完成所有的事情，但我们还是设法完成了。. “I think my favorite part of farming is the crop. 和这种作物一起长大，目睹了这些年来基因的进步, smelling it, 这是一种与大地相连的感觉, 和食物联系在一起——让你的感官和食物联系在一起. So that gets me going in the morning.”

Even though it’s a feast for the senses, 马尔科姆说做农民需要自力更生和奉献精神.

“I think the biggest surprise is the reality of, if you’re a farmer, 你要对农场里发生的一切负责. And there’s nobody you can really call to help. You have to be self-reliant. If its broken, you’ve got to fix it,” Malcolm said. “So, 农民们在明媚的阳光下开着拖拉机的照片——真正让这一切发生的人正在办公室里打所有的电话, paying all the bills. 拖拉机上的那个人干得最好.”

如果你问温，他会说马尔科姆太喜欢开拖拉机了.

“是啊，马尔科姆会回来的，只是浑身都是土. He’s been out dragging the rows or whatever, 我很嫉妒，因为我真的很想成为那样的人. 所以，我邀请他回到电子表格，”温笑着说.

“And then I have to come back in,” Malcolm added. “But then I think, ‘I can’t sit here anymore. I’ve got three hours of sunlight. 在我们回到电子表格前，我至少得坐上拖拉机好好享受一下!’ And the thing about farming is that it is a business, 但这是一项你要负责的事业，你必须与之共存. So, there’s pressure. You’ve got to have a good crop. 你必须确保你的成本在控制之中，并且在一天结束的时候, 你要向银行还钱，赚到维持生活的钱. So, is it a cake walk? No! It’s one of the hardest things you’ll do in your life.”

认识到务农是一项严肃的事业是马尔科姆学到的最重要的一课.

“The reality is, 你每天所做的决定都在经营着价值数百万美元的生意,” he said. “And those decisions can be good and bad. 它们会影响你生产水果和赚取收入的能力.”

这是一种他们认为年轻一代与之格格不入的生活方式.

“我们国家的很多农场都倒闭了, 而那些没有破产的父母则把孩子送到其他行业. 我担心的是我们的后代，而不是农业，”温说. “People have disconnected with food all together. You go to the store and you see blueberries, you see strawberries, you see raspberries, and you put them in your buggy. 你很少会看标签看它们来自哪里. 因此，人们和他们的食物来源之间存在着脱节.”

Now that he’s been in the business for seven years, 农民的辛勤劳动和与消费者的脱节是杰夫永远不会认为理所当然的事情.

“当你去杂货店，看到人们买你的蓝莓，买你做的东西时，你会感到非常满足, putting in the hard work. 但就像任何事情一样，归根结底，这是一门生意，”杰夫说. “I think the one cool thing, or the big satisfaction, 挑战在于你每天来到这里，农场里都可能有新的东西. But I feel like by 7:30 that night, we’ve conquered it. 我们摘了浆果，可以坐在门廊上了, 看着太阳在这片美丽的土地上落下，然后意识到, it’s been a heck of a day.”