Farmers name: Kendra Ragland
Acreage: collectively, about a ¼ acre
Location: Silver Spring, MD
Method of Access: Ownership
Year Founded: 2022
Affordability Tools: Purchase
Farm Operation: Purchase
Instagram: @practicalbotanicals
Long-time Grower
Kendra Ragland is an experienced grower with 30 years of experience cultivating fresh vegetables and herbs. Like many trained growers and start-up farm businesses, she wants to scale up her operation but faces challenges finding land.
Kendra is a second-generation farmer who participated in EcoCity’s beginning farmers’ training program and served as a Level 3 mentee with Future Harvest. She founded her farm business, Practical Botanicals LLC, in 2022. Practical Botanicals is a Black woman, herbalist-owned farm business based in Maryland, specializing in sustainably grown plants and herbs. Her operations include a greenhouse, a large plot in a local community garden, and .18 acres on her Maryland residential property. She has a USDA Farm and tract number. Practical Botanicals offers a curated selection of herbs for teas, handcrafted incense, and seasonal fresh vegetables like Malabar Spinach, Longevity Spinach, Purple and White Sweet potatoes, and sweet and red onions.
Challenges Finding Farmable Land
Kendra, like many other small farmers, faces significant challenges finding and affording cleared land ready for on-farm operations. The average price of agricultural land is at its peak, surging from a record-breaking year in 2022 to another in 2023. Farmland is increasingly scarce due to urban development, climate change, and corporate investment in land. Kendra has explored resources such as farmer-land seeker matching programs, often called ‘LandLink.’ However, the high cost of land eliminates many of the listed properties for small farmers, underscoring the need for support in this uphill battle.
Kendra says “finding access to land is so hard – if you don’t have family land, like significant acreage, it’s the toughest thing I have witnessed, acquiring land.”
Supporting New Farmers
Kendra is resolute in her commitment to her farm and providing quality ingredients to her community. She explains that people seek simplicity in their herbs, a demand she strives to meet. The farmers in her community are trying to feed themselves and make a living simultaneously, but it is not easy. She advocates for more education on finding land and encouraging landowners to release land not in production. Initiatives like farm incubators, which provide plots of land to beginning farmers, are crucial in supporting farmers establishing a farm business and gaining growing experience. Kendra’s vision includes purchasing up to 3 acres in her area to run her micro farm business.
