Local Food Leaders You Need to Know: Rodrigo Cala
“Consumers don’t even think about farmers, or the source of their food until the type of produce they want isn’t available.”
Meet Rodrigo Cala: farmer, member of the Shared Ground and Agua Gorda farm cooperatives, farm consultant for the Latino Economic Development Center, and Mexican immigrant. He discusses his move to the United States, going organic, COVID-19, climate change, and food justice.
Amanda Mosborg: Welcome Rodrigo! Would you mind introducing yourself, and telling me a little about your journey to becoming an organic farmer in western Wisconsin?
Rodrigo Cala: My name is Rodrigo Cala. When I arrived in this country from Mexico in 1998, my first job was working in a shoe factory—I did that for 10 years. It was loud, dusty, and every day was the same; I pushed buttons all day long. But I am grateful for that opportunity, because it was the start of my journey to achieve my dreams.
My interest in farming began when I started looking for produce to making Mexican dishes. When I traveled to St. Paul and Minneapolis, I would stop into the Mexican grocery stores. When I saw that the quality of the produce was very poor, I knew that I wanted to make healthy food. My family in Mexico owns a farm, so I had some knowledge and skills, but I knew I needed to learn more to start my own.
“My interest in farming began when I started looking for produce to making Mexican dishes. When I traveled to St. Paul and Minneapolis, I would stop into the Mexican grocery stores. When I saw that the quality of the produce was very poor, I knew that I wanted to make healthy food. ”
AM: Tell me more about your farm. How did you acquire it, and what do you grow?
RC: Quite a few years after my brother arrived—he had joined me in 2001—we decided that we wanted to buy a house. We thought: why not buy a house with a farm?
In 2005 I had attended sustainable agriculture training through the New Immigrant Agriculture Program. So when we purchased Cala Farm in 2008, we were equipped with the knowledge to make our farm at least partially organic. By 2011, we were able to make our farm 100% certified organic.
Today, we grow many vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, garlic, and spicy peppers. I source produce to those very same Mexican grocery stores I wanted to improve in 1998. While this is gratifying, what is even more important is that the Latino community has grown considerably in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area over the years; there are more successful Latino businesses overall.
“I source produce to those very same Mexican grocery stores I wanted to improve in 1998. ”
AM: How has COVID-19, and the political turmoil of 2020, affected your farm and your family?
RC: I am very blessed to say that COVID-19 has not affected me too much. I can do most of my work over the phone or Zoom, and the farm is OK.
Politically, it has been an interesting few months. Living in a small community in Wisconsin, 95% of the population here leans to the right politically. But once I explain to them what I do, that I am a good person, and that I work hard, I have been able to develop good relationships with my close neighbors, so much so that they have introduced me to the whole community.
Because I am Latino, and I don’t speak English very well, I don’t always feel safe with the police. I think that will always be challenging to a certain degree, but right now, because of the respect I have earned in the community, I feel safe.
AM: Can you describe the mission of Shared Ground Farmers’ Cooperative, and your involvement in it?
RC: The mission of Shared Ground is to connect farmers with limited resources to and local food markets as a way for them to gain a more stable income and build their leadership skills. As a founding member, I teach farmers how to be business people. When I lived in Mexico, I never even had a bank account. When I got to the United States, I first had to learn what credit was, then build enough of it to buy my farm.
Over the years, I have come to understand that it is fairly easy to buy land, tractors, seeds, and labor. But what is not so easy are the markets; if you don’t have the ability to sell what you produce, you cannot be successful. This is why it is essential to train farmers in market and investment practices, find them loans, and partner with other organizations and universities promoting immigrants in business. There just isn’t enough time in the day for any farmer to learn this all alone, so the six farms in our cooperative help people get there.
“It is essential to train farmers in market and investment practices, find them loans, and partner with other organizations and universities promoting immigrants in business. There just isn’t enough time in the day for any farmer to learn this all alone, so the six farms in our cooperative help people get there.”
AM: Will you explain how your work at Cala Farm and as part of the Shared Ground Cooperative relates to food justice?
RC: With climate change, if people want to continue to eat three times a day, farming practices will need to change. We can’t control the weather, but we can control everything else. We need to start working with new technologies, plant trees, use less water, and buy local produce. Unfortunately, consumers don’t even think about farmers, or the source of their food until the type of produce they want isn’t available; they tend to take us for granted. When the price of food goes up (and they will), I hope that consumers will commit to helping reduce the effects of climate change by wasting less and buying local food. The reality is that farmers can’t fix everything themselves. I believe that if consumers and farmers work together, the world would look less bleak because there would be enough high-quality food for everyone.
“I hope that consumers will commit to helping reduce the effects of climate change by wasting less and buying local food. The reality is that farmers can’t fix everything themselves.”
AM: It sounds like for you, food justice is deeply tied to climate change. May I ask, what are the adaptive goals of Cala Farm?
RC: I want to completely transform my farm to reverse climate change – something called “regenerative agriculture.” With the goal of restoring degraded soil biodiversity and improving the water cycle. On my farm regenerative agriculture might look like raising chickens, planting trees and flowers, maintaining greenhouses, and growing cover crops. We are currently a certified organic farm, but we still use many mechanical tools to manage the crops; because of this, I would like to switch to more natural mechanisms.
AM: Do you have kids? What do you hope for their future?
RC: I do – a son and a daughter. I would love for my kids to continue my business if that is something they want to do. My kind of work is very physical, but it is also mentally tiring. You need to be really, really smart to choose the right markets and investments. I will have to be honest about those things, and show them the reality. If they are still interested, of course, I would love for them to follow in my footsteps on Cala Farm.
AM: Thank you so much for your time, Rodrigo. Good luck to you and your family in your transition from organic to regenerative agriculture!
About Rodrigo Cala
Rodrigo Cala is a farmer at Cala Farms with his brother Juan Carlos Cala, he is a member of the Shared Ground and Agua Gorda farm cooperatives, a farm consultant for the Latino Economic Development Center, and a Mexican immigrant. He is also a keynote speaker and has presented at the National Farm Viability Conference, the annual Immigrant & Minority Farmers Conference (watch his keynote here), Grow North Food | Ag | Ideas Week, and the Cultivating Cooperative Roots Conference.
