Growth is often treated as the natural next step in farming. More acres. More markets. More production. But for many small- and mid-sized farmers, expansion is not a straight path forward. It is a complicated threshold where opportunity and risk meet, and where growth demands new skills, stronger systems, and clearer purpose.
When your farm experiences consistent growth you begin to notice that scaling is rarely about just producing more. It requires rethinking labor, land access, infrastructure, and personal capacity. It also asks farmers to make difficult choices about what to continue, what to change, and what to leave behind.
Across our region, farmers are navigating this expansion in their business and community relationships. They see scaling as a means of securing land that allows the farm to stabilize and expand. Their business models show the benefits of investing in tools and workflows that allow the farm to grow without exhausting the people who sustain it. These farmers are redefining success beyond sales totals to include workforce stability, community food access, and long-standing impact.
Below are two farmers who have moved through critical growth thresholds while maintaining strong connections to their values and the communities they serve. Their experiences reveal that scaling is not a single model but a series of intentional decisions shaped by resources, relationships, and long-term vision.
Deep Roots CPS Farm: Growing Food, Growing Infrastructure, Growing Legacy
When Cherie Jzar talks about scaling Deep Roots CPS Farm, she rarely begins with acreage or production numbers. Instead, she talks about responsibility — to community, to history, and to the long-term stability of local food systems.
Deep Roots began as a homestead-based operation where Jzar and her family produced food on a small footprint while building relationships with neighbors and community partners. Early success quickly revealed a limitation familiar to many small-scale growers: strong demand paired with limited production capacity.
“When you have a limited amount of land, you’re only going to be able to grow so much produce,” Jzar said. “We realized very quickly … we would not be able to get to the point where we actually can be a source of produce for the community.”
That realization marked the beginning of Deep Roots’ expansion journey. The farm gradually transitioned from an eighth-acre homestead to multiple urban plots before securing larger production space, now totaling seven acres in Charlotte, NC. Consolidating production helped reduce inefficiencies caused by managing scattered plots, and strengthened long-term stability.
Jzar describes scaling not as an effort to become larger, but as an effort to become more intentional.
“Scaling up is not about just growing bigger for growth’s sake,” she said. “It’s about growing smarter so that we can produce more food for the community. … Food is the center of it, but people are the most important.”
Location plays a critical role in Deep Roots’ growth strategy. The farm operates near Charlotte’s Beatties Ford Road corridor, an area that has historically experienced limited access to fresh food. Establishing production in Charlotte’s West End allows Deep Roots to remain in close proximity to the community members who need fresh produce, removing transportation as a food access barrier.
For Jzar, land access represents more than production potential. Through a partnership with The Conservation Fund’s Working Farms Fund, Deep Roots secured a 44-acre property with a long-term pathway to ownership. The transition introduced infrastructure challenges, including lack of water infrastructure, but it also created stability that supports future expansion.
Jzar sees the farm as part of a larger effort to rebuild agricultural infrastructure within Black communities.
“We need institutions that can outlive the person who started them,” she said. “That’s what we want Deep Roots to be … something we steward now while growing it for the future.”
Operational systems serve as the foundation supporting that vision. Deep Roots integrates project management software, production tracking, and strategic planning tools into daily operations. These systems allow the farm to evaluate enterprise performance annually and make adjustments based on data rather than guesswork.
“If you looked at our project management tracker, you could know everything you need to know about Deep Roots,” Jzar said.
As opportunities have expanded, Jzar has also learned that growth requires boundaries. She encourages farmers to resist external pressure to expand in directions that do not align with long-term goals.
“People think about scaling up as just doing more,” she said. “But scaling up is doing enough on purpose.”
Today, Deep Roots balances production, education, hosting youth programs, training emerging farmers, and strengthening community food access. Jzar measures success not only by yield totals, but by the farm’s ability to serve as a stable, intergenerational resource.
Farmer Takeaways: Deep Roots CPS Farm
- Define long-term vision before pursuing expansion.
- Choose land and infrastructure that support community access.
- Use data and planning tools to guide decision-making.
- Protect the mission by setting clear boundaries around growth.
- Scaling can strengthen communities, not just farm output.
Faithfull Farms: Building Systems That Support People and Production
Growth is often romanticized as abundance: fuller fields, heavier harvests, longer market lines. But at Faithfull Farms, Howard Allen learned that true expansion begins long before the crops fill the soil. It begins with preparation, planning, and the courage to build a farm capable of sustaining its own success.
“From day one, everything was about scale in terms of production,” Allen said. “We got into the farmers market … and immediately saw there was a lot of opportunity for growth.”
Faithfull Farms launched in 2018 and built a strong customer base through direct markets. As production increased, Allen shifted his focus from expanding acreage to strengthening operational systems that could support consistent growth.
“We focus on techniques that we can replicate and rinse and repeat going forward,” he said.
Allen credits business education with helping him understand how farm growth requires leadership evolution. Influenced by The E-Myth Revisited, he began to view his role as a balance of entrepreneurship, management, and technical production.
“I had to be less of a technician and become more of a manager,” Allen said. “If I stayed in the field all the time, the business wouldn’t grow.”
Technology has played a major role in that transition. Equipment such as paper pot transplanters and mechanical harvesters allows Faithfull Farms to increase efficiency while reducing physical strain on staff.
“With a paper pot transplanter … one person can do in 15 to 20 minutes what used to take two hours,” Allen said.
Allen believes efficiency gains allow farms to grow sustainably without overwhelming staff or compromising quality. Workforce development remains central to that approach. Faithfull Farms prioritizes building long-term employment opportunities rather than relying solely on seasonal labor.
“We want to build a culture where we create job opportunities that are long-term, sustainable,” Allen said.
Mentorship also plays a role in hiring practices. Allen encourages employees to view their time at Faithfull Farms as part of their broader professional development.
“We see you as a partner … and we want to sow into your growth,” he said.
Financial strategy has supported Faithfull Farms’ steady expansion. Allen describes reinvestment as a compounding process that allows infrastructure improvements to build over time.
“Scaling is replicating operations to increase production,” Allen said. “Growth is how we grow as a team, how we grow our culture, and how we evolve while maintaining our values.”
Today, Faithfull Farms continues expanding production while prioritizing team stability, efficiency, and quality of life for farm leadership and staff. Allen encourages farmers approaching growth plateaus to focus first on strengthening systems before pursuing aggressive expansion.
Farmer Takeaways: Faithfull Farms
- Develop repeatable production systems before expanding acreage.
- Transition from hands-on labor to management / leadership.
- Strategic equipment investments improve efficiency and worker safety.
- Workforce stability strengthens production consistency.
- Reinvestment supports long-term infrastructure growth.
Hope Ostane-Baucom has been with RAFI since July 2024, serving as its Farmers of Color Network Communications Project Manager. Hope is passionate about local food systems and integrated pest management. She volunteers at farmers markets, tends her garden, and performs spoken word poetry.