Instead of selling her farm or giving it to a family member, Norma Burns has decided to give away her USDA-certified organic property in an unusual fashion—through an essay contest.
Burns bought what is now Bluebird Hill Farms in Bennett in 1998. Burns has run Bluebird for 18 years, growing herbs, specialty vegetables, cut flowers, native plants, farm crafts and food products, but she has decided to move on and retire to Carol Woods in Chapel Hill.
“Rather than staying here and letting everything deteriorate around me, I want to hopefully pass it on to a young couple who would love to have a farm and who would never be able to afford to get one,” Burns said.
The rules for the essay contest are rather simple—the topic for the 200 word essay is: “Why We Want to Own and Operate Bluebird Hill Farm.” The entry fee is $300, and the deadline is June 1. The winners will be announced on the farm’s Facebook page June 30.
When reading the essays, Norma won’t know who the contestants are, but she does have a dream for whom the future owners of her farm will be.
“[I want] someone who’s possibly gone to the community college and gotten a degree in agriculture and really has the kind of passion you need to be a successful owner of a farm,” Burns said.
Although excited to give away her farm in such a unique way, Burns will miss the community and the proximity to nature.
“The community of people that are around me, my neighbors, friends that I have come to know here, they are folks that if you ever need anything you can call, and that’s not the way it is in most places,” Burns said, “That’s something I will truly miss, as well as the process with being so connected with the seasons; when the spring comes and the flowers start coming up and you start planting things… and in the early summer the gardens just explode with color and plants of all sizes. There’s nothing else like it.”
Burns offered advice to all young farmers looking to break out on their own.
“I just saw a quote from Will Rogers recently, who’s an old country humorist from many years ago, and he says, ‘A farmer would have to be an optimist, otherwise he wouldn’t be farmer,’ and that’s basically what it comes down to,” Burns said. “You have to dream big, struggle hard and accept what comes to you.”
More information about the essay contest can be found at http://www.bluebirdhillfarmessaycontest.com/.
– By Ava Johnson
