The Future of Harmony Valley Farm: Introducing Rafael Morales Peralta!

Interviewed by:  Andrea Yoder

Rafael Morales Peralta

This week we’d like to introduce you to Rafael Morales Peralta, the most recent addition to the Harmony Valley Farm, LLC partnership along with me and Richard.  Rafael set out to write this article himself, and while his English is quite good, we knew he had more to share with all of you than his knowledge of English words would allow.  So, Rafael and I sat down and had a long chat about who he is and what he’d like to share with you about his life’s journey.  I’ll do my best to convey his thoughts and hope that one day in the future you will have the opportunity to talk with Rafael yourself!  Before we go any further, Richard has a few introductory thoughts he’d like to share.

Rafael operating the ASA lift root crop harvestor, October 2019

“Harmony Valley Farm is my life’s work and it is my desire to see it continue indefinitely into the future.  My own biological son, Ari, was raised on the farm and understands the challenges, but is pursuing a career as an environmental lawyer and does not wish to be “stuck with having to manage the farm” when I retire.  Thus, I’ve sought out individuals to bring into the business as co-owners and partners to carry Harmony Valley Farm into the future.  Andrea has definitely proven her mastery of organization, food safety, sales, greenhouse and packing shed management, and so much more.  With help from Simon, Kelly, Gwen and Amy, they are a team that is managing the details well through very challenging times.  But then there is the additional challenge of field planning, machine maintenance, planting crops, managing irrigation, weed control, coordinating the harvests, cover crops, fertility, and so much more.  It is too much for Andrea or any one person to manage it all.  Thus, for the last 15 years, I have been looking for an individual who has the potential to fill this role.  There have been a few promising people, but for a variety of reasons it was clear that our need was not in alignment with their path in life.  

When Rafael started working here, it was clear he had an intense interest and desire to learn.  He was always there to help whenever there was a need.  He rose in the rank of possibility as he mastered every task presented to him and continued to look for more responsibilities and thrived on learning new skills.  He also started to contribute in greater ways by starting to suggest improvements to the way we do things.  So that led me to make the decision to sponsor Rafael for a permanent visa to facilitate the opportunity for him to become an owner in the business.  After a long process spanning nearly four years, Rafael finally received his permanent residency status last year and is in the process of getting visas for his family so they may join him.  We are hopeful that we’ll see them before school starts this fall.  

Despite Rafael’s limited formal education, he has demonstrated a desire to continue to learn and he is a very intelligent individual.  He has mastered the internet and uses it to research new cultivating methods on You Tube, locates parts diagrams for old and specialty equipment and orders parts that are difficult to find.  He has been well-received by our local suppliers and is earning their respect.  I continue to help out with the difficult agronomy, fertility, pest scouting, setting priorities, etc, but Rafael now handles the majority of the daily questions, problems and needs that come up.  The crew now calls Rafael and Andrea first because they don’t want to risk waking me from my mid-day nap!  I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with Rafael and feel confident he’ll carry the farm into the future.”—Richard de Wilde, Harmony Valley Farm’s Founding Farmer

August 2012, Rafael Harvesting Sweet Corn

Rafael comes to us from a small community in Mexico called San Miguel de Allende which is located in the state of Guanajato.  He was born and raised in this community, and this is where his family still lives.   He comes from a very loving, tightly-knit family.  There are 8 children, four boys and four girls.  Rafael is the youngest of the boys.  His brothers, Manuel, Alvaro and Alejandro also work at HVF and it is clear that they were raised by very good parents!  I asked Rafael if he respects his parents and he answered immediately with a very strong “Yes, absolutely.”  His parents struggled to overcome during very challenging economic times while he was growing up.  While they may not have had an abundance of financial resources to buy them “things,” they always pushed their children to do the right thing and continue to strive to be good people and have a better future.  From his humble beginnings, Rafael was taught the value of working hard from an early age.  He shared with me that his grandfather had 1 hectare (2.2 acres) of land that he grew corn, beans and squash on.  Rafael and his brothers remember helping his grandfather work the land and care for the crops.  Most of the food they grew went to their large extended family, but the squash was a cash crop.  Actually, he didn’t sell the squash but rather the seeds.  Rafael remembers having to scrape the squash seeds out of the squash.  He also remembers how sore his fingers were after doing this all day!  Once the seeds were extracted his grandfather would lay them out to dry before putting them in big bags to take to town and sell.  On the days Rafael and his brothers helped him he would send a little extra food home with them.  Even before they could bring home a paycheck, this was their way of contributing to their family’s needs. 

Rafael doing precision cultivating of 5-row cilantro crop

Rafael and his brothers went to school, but Alvaro and Alejandro were the only ones who completed high school.  Manuel, the oldest son, left school after the third grade so he could work with his father to provide for the family.  His father was a hard worker, but the problem was that things were not good in Mexico at that time and people worked hard but received very little pay in return.  With eight mouths to feed, it was hard to make ends meet.  As Rafael got older and began to understand his family’s situation more clearly, he really wanted to help his parents.  He made the decision to quit school after his second year of high school so he could work.  While Rafael doesn’t regret leaving school to help his family, he always had a desire to continue learning.  He worked for awhile on a large broccoli farm and later had the opportunity to come to the United States on a H2A visa to work with race horses in Kentucky.  He did this work for about three years and then the opportunity fell through due to some unfortunate circumstances.  While the pay was better, working with horses was not something he really enjoyed, especially after one bit him on the arm!

Spending time with guests in the sweet potato
field, Harvest Party 2019

In 2004 Rafael married his beautiful wife, Adriana.  It is very clear that Rafael and Adriana have a very strong relationship.  Rafael describes his wife as “a great woman.”  I asked him to tell me what makes her “great.”  She is a strong woman who has always stood by his side as they have created goals and dreams together for their family.  They function as a team and she has committed to working just as hard as Rafael to create a better future for their family.  They both understand this means making sacrifices sometimes.  While they would like for their family to be together, they realize the opportunities for working in the United States afford their family more resources to build their future.  So, while Rafael is working here, Adriana has done her part to manage their household, raise their children, take care of her parents and continue to help others in their community who are in need.  She also started a small business selling kitchen supplies in order to earn some extra money.  Rafael has a tremendous amount of respect for his wife and further describes her as a very caring individual who is willing to help anyone.  Together they have three children.  Jimena, is 14 years old.  She does very well in school and wants to study medicine and become a doctor.  She is a tremendous help to her mother.  His oldest son, Adrian, is 13 years old.  He’s a quiet child and is interested in becoming a mechanic.  Their baby is Mateo.  He is 4 years old and is totally different from their two older children!  He is very outgoing and isn’t afraid to talk to anyone.  He keeps everyone entertained and laughing!

Rafael is happiest on a tractor!
 October, 2010

Rafael’s brother, Manuel, came to work at HVF in 2009.  After his first year, Rafael asked him if there might be an opportunity for him to work here as well.  Manuel asked us and we said “yes!”  At that time, Rafael and Adriana were looking for an opportunity that would move them closer towards their dreams for a better life.  They were working very hard seven days a week.  Rafael was working construction Monday through Friday and on Saturday and Sunday he would work with Adriana at their own little business.  They rented a grill and sold taquitos from their own little food cart.  Rafael describes the opportunity to come and work at HVF as the first step on his journey to achieving his dreams.  He didn’t know it at the time, but the opportunities would continue to stack up over time and the fact that he was present and willing to take risks and step outside of his comfort zone put him in a good position for a better life.  Rafael remembers calling Richard on the radio on only his second day of work!  He didn’t even know how to speak English, but he heard how others were talking on the radio.  He was working with Manuel doing irrigation and they had a problem with a hose and needed Richard’s help.  He called to Richard using the limited words he had, and the end result?  “It worked!  He understood me and showed up in the field to help us!”  Little by little over time, Rafael’s confidence was built.

One time he was clearing brush with Vicente. Vicente, an experienced equipment operator, was running the skidsteer with the brush puller on it.  Rafael asked him if he could try.  Vicente wasn’t so sure it was a good idea because Richard hadn’t given him permission, but he let Rafael have a chance at it.  No more than three minutes after Rafael got in the skidsteer, Richard pulled up in his truck.  “Oh man, I’m in trouble” was the thought that rolled through Rafael’s mind.

Making guajillo salsa to serve with goat
carnitas at our crew harvest party!

He stopped the machine and started to get out.  Richard motioned for him to get back in the skidsteer and continue.  He wanted to see what Rafael could do!  There was another similar incident where Rafael, Vicente and Manuel were clearing a wooded area with the bulldozer.  Rafael did not have any experience operating the bulldozer, but he had been carefully watching Vicente, Manuel and Richard.  They had a tricky situation where they were trying to move a large stump to a pile to be burned.  Vicente, Manuel and Richard all gave it their best shot, but none of them could make it happen.  Richard left and Vicente and Manuel resigned themselves to the fact that it couldn’t be done.  Rafael on the other hand had been watching all the tactics that were not working and devised a different plan for how to move the stump.  After Richard left he asked Vicente if he could try.  While very hesitant, Vicente agreed to let him try after saying “Come on Man, you’ve watched all of us try and it can’t be done.”  Rafael tried his plan and within five minutes he was able to move the stump to the desired location.  When Richard returned and saw what had been done he asked “Who moved that stump to the pile?”  Rafael was very nervous.  He knew they had to tell him, but he also knew he might get in trouble since Richard had not given him direct permission to operate the bulldozer.  They told Richard Rafael did it and to Rafael’s surprise, Richard looked at him and gave him a big “Thumbs Up” and a smile.  Yes, this was certainly another huge boost in confidence for Rafael!

Rafael preparing to kill weeds with the Flame Weeder

Over time Rafael continued to seek out more “missions” and willingly accepted more responsibilities.  He continued to align himself with opportunities to learn more from Richard and other experienced crew members.  He reached out to Vicente who spoke very good English.  Vicente became his teacher helping him learn more English so he could better communicate with us independently.  Now, Rafael recognizes how his hard work and perseverance are paying off.  He loves his job and wants to continue to work here into the future.  He also loves his family and wants them to be together.  Going back and forth to Mexico year after year is hard.  It’s hard having to leave his family every year.  They all want to be together and hopefully, they are close to realizing that part of the dream.  As Rafael continues to build his career here, he realizes how much his work has become a big part of his life.  He knew very little about organic agriculture when he first came here, but over time he’s come to value this method of farming and the benefits it has to the people growing and eating the food as well as the environment.

Always optimistic, Strawberry Day, 2019

We continue to learn from each other.  Farming is not easy and we get a lot of curveballs thrown at us every year, but the three of us continue to push forward.  While we all come from slightly different backgrounds, Richard, Rafael and I all come from humble beginnings.  We all understand the value of working hard and have a desire and passion to carry this farm into the future.  Richard and I appreciate Rafael’s energy, enthusiasm, positive outlook and drive.  We are happy to have him as our partner and want you to know we are doing the best job we can to grow vegetables for you and your family.  We also look forward to meeting Rafael’s family.  Even though they are in Mexico, they too have greatly contributed to the future of Harmony Valley Farm with through their love and support.