Senior Marketing & Communications Specialist, UNR College of Agriculture, Biotechnology & Natural Resources
Monica Mori is obviously an optimist. An aspiring farmer, she relishes learning about growing things outside in Nevada's challenging climate.
"I like doing desert farming outside using what Nevada has to offer in the outdoor space," she said. "I just want to utilize the space and grow with the sun shining down. I like the challenge of that. I think it's really cool to see how garlic, pumpkins, and corn grow really well here."
Mori spent the last year learning about growing through the Nevada Farm Apprenticeship Program, a University of Nevada, Reno program based at Valley Road Field Lab in Reno. Part of the university's Desert Farming Initiative (DFI), the program provides a stipend to aspiring farmers for a year filled with classroom education from faculty, mentoring from university faculty, and staff and local farmers, and hands-on experience.
The program aims to promote long-term viability of Nevada's agricultural industry and resiliency of the state's food system. It was made possible by a grant from the USDA Regional Food Systems Partnership Program and support from the Nevada Agricultural Foundation.
After discovering her passion is open-field farming, Mori applied to stay on for another year to run her own "incubator space," a one-acre plot at a local farm where she could start and develop her own business, Pumped Up Porches, a porch-decorating business using produce.
"Going into a farming apprenticeship, you could be nervous, especially as a female," she said, "but, Garrett, Jill and everybody at DFI, are like a dream team to work with. I learned more than I had originally planned, but in the best ways. It has been an eye-opening and honest experience."
Along with DFI farm production manager Garrett Menghini, and Jill Moe, the director, Mori also credited Todd Rissone, a local farmer with decades of experience, for keeping her motivated.
"Todd really lifted my spirits when he came here in May," she said. "The winter was really hard, and he just brightened my world. He showed me how to run a larger scale irrigation system, I was almost too scared to do the incubator program due to the irrigation aspect but he showed me how."
During the last six months of the program, Mori spent one day a week at partner farm Lattin Farms, working alongside Lisa Lattin Voiglaender and her husband Ryan. Mori decided to do her incubator program at Lattin Farms, leasing an acre of their property to run as her own business.
"I chose Lattin Farms because I live in Fallon, and I want to farm there," she said. "It ended up being the best decision I ever made."
With help from Kelli Kelly, advisor at Small Business Development Center, Mori has developed a business plan and launched her Pumped Up Porches business. She has even signed up customers, including the Fallon Chamber of Commerce. Pumped Up Porches is a service offering seasonal decorating services to dress up a resident’s outdoor space like the porch, deck or veranda. Her business and crop plan calls for a variety of corn and pumpkins, as well as onion and garlic, since part of the program calls for 25 percent of her product going to local food banks.
"Monica has formulated a clear path for success and has the capacity to substantively contribute to Nevada's food system," Moe said. "We are so excited to see her business take off."
Mori's path to pursuing a career in agriculture in Nevada took the unlikely route of a stint in Maui, farming dragon fruit.
"I grew up in northern Nevada, with ranching in my blood," she said. "But, I really cut my teeth in farming in Hawaii. And yeah, farming in Hawaii and farming in Nevada couldn't be more different," she chuckled.
Mori's grandfather had a ranch and dairy in Yerington. After graduating from Reno High, she eventually landed in Hawaii through "WOOFing" – working at "Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms."
"WOOFing is really what got me hooked on farming. It was on a dragon fruit farm, that also had pineapples, bananas and other tropical fruit."
After eight months of WOOFing and eight more years in Hawaii, Mori returned to Nevada. Her husband, Louie, grew up in Fallon and they've lived there for three years. While developing her agricultural knowledge, she also runs Tumbleweeds Boba, selling coffee, tea, and boba at local events.
"Farming is not easy. It's really hard. You really have to want to do it, or you're not going to last," she said.
For more information on Pumped Up Porches, please visit pumped-up-porches.square.site/services.
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