Aiming to be a farmer who proposes the best of the season | Shibakai Farm Corporation

Shibakai Farm is an organic farmer that grows seasonal vegetables. We cultivate a wide variety of about 60 types of vegetables throughout the year without using pesticides or chemical fertilizers, and we deliver them at the best timing when they can be enjoyed at their tastiest.

For example, when leafy greens are in season, we create a salad set filled with just leafy greens and deliver it to our customers, who are pleased with it. Another feature of Shibakai Farm is that we sell vegetables directly. Our customers include not only individuals but also restaurants.

The reason I aspired to be an organic farmer was because I studied organic cultivation at university. I always wanted to put what I learned into practice. To do that, I stayed with farmers to gain practical experience and went to university to resolve any questions that arose. After graduating from university, I worked for three years at a national farm’s restaurant called “Farmer’s Kitchen,” where I learned about vegetable procurement, customer service, and management. Then, in 2009, I started organic farming in Inzai City, Chiba Prefecture.

I started organic farming in 2009, but it was not in the form of taking over the agriculture that my parents were doing. However, I adopted my parents’ method of selling, which was direct sales. Originally, my parents were tomato farmers, and I had always seen them struggling because they couldn’t get a fair price for their tomatoes in the market. When they started direct selling, tomatoes that were 600 yen per box in the market could be sold for 3,000 yen per box. Furthermore, they had built a relationship of trust with the customers, so when I started farming, I decided to adopt that selling method.

Organic farming without pesticides is an unstable production and is challenging every day, but what moves me is that it’s not just me, but the staff together who have built up the farm to what it is today. There can be gaps between what I think as the owner and what gets communicated to the staff. There have been significant misunderstandings with the staff in the past, but now I’m working with a team of trustworthy colleagues, which gives me a great sense of fulfillment.

Results are important, but I believe the process is even more crucial. Results in agriculture don’t come immediately. We’ve gradually increased what we can do and have built up small profits over time. It’s more important to consider ‘who are the team members?’ and ‘how do we build our daily relationships?’ I value each day and believe that by having good days, the results will follow.

They are people who find organic farming ‘interesting’ and are passionate about it!!

Agriculture is a minor occupation, so not many are experienced, and there are also those who have no experience in farming.

For the first five years after starting organic farming, I was seen as an oddity and was not even approached by locals. They probably thought I was a bright and good-looking young man but that what I was doing was off the wall.

The fields were not as neatly managed as they are now, and it looked like only weeds were growing, not vegetables. The community probably thought I would quit in about three years. But I had determination, worked through the nights, and was even mistaken for a wild boar once. There was a time when I was rustling in the fields and they were convinced it was a wild boar, but it turned out to be me.

Personally, I was desperate. Gradually, the fields improved, and I became recognized by the community, and now they talk to me normally. Continuing is the best way to build trust.

No, the fields are not owned by our company. We rent the land from landlords who used to farm but can no longer do so due to aging and other reasons. In essence, I’m entrusted with land that has the landlords’ sentiments, and I always keep in mind to manage it cleanly and hand it over to the next generation.

Shibakai Farm is a challenging farm among organic farmers. I have a curious nature, so there are many things in organic farming that catch my interest. I have a strong desire to ‘try various things,’ ‘learn what I don’t know,’ and ‘become able to do even a little of what I couldn’t do before.’ To others, it may seem like we’re having a lot of fun, with many staff members and a business that’s financially viable. Other farmers have told us that they ‘get energy’ from seeing us, which is very gratifying to hear. They must think our farm shines. It’s really nice to be told, ‘We get energy from you and are able to keep going because of it,’ so I feel that we’re doing the right thing. I’m delighted that there’s at least one person who appreciates our approach, even though we do things our own way.

The Reiwa first-year typhoon. It wasn’t just our company, but all of Chiba Prefecture that was greatly affected. It was the strongest typhoon I’ve ever seen in my life. Many farmers’ greenhouses were destroyed, and some decided to quit farming. Right after the typhoon, there was no electricity, so we couldn’t ship out any produce for about two weeks.

The impact of the typhoon wasn’t just immediate; it had long-term effects on the vegetables to be harvested 2-3 months later. Our company has many customers with annual contracts, so if we can’t harvest vegetables, our regular delivery service can’t operate. It was tough, but somehow we managed to get through it.

We do it every year. Specifically, we have a planting schedule that can withstand typhoons. We’ve tweaked it to avoid the timing of typhoons. The planting schedule is a chart that we share with the staff, detailing when and at what timing to sow the seeds.

We sow seeds about 400 times a year, which is a major difference from other farmers. At our farm, the process varies depending on the type of vegetable, but we do it either manually or with machines.

That’s right.
The axis of our business is to produce only what the customers need and to sell it directly.

Yes, it happens.
You can only sow once a year, so it’s really disappointing when it happens…

When the first state of emergency was declared due to COVID, our shipments to restaurants dropped to zero, and we were left with a surplus of vegetables. However, even in that situation, there were people who helped us.

We managed to get through the tough times thanks to such people. This led to a significant increase in our sales. I deeply realized how important human connections are. Truly, relationships are an asset.

Personally, I find organic farming fascinating because it satisfies my curiosity. I want to increase the number of people who can share this interesting job with me. Through this work, I want to increase the number of people who take responsibility and challenge themselves with difficult tasks. I also frequently visit other farms to embody this myself, absorbing their methods and applying them to my field. It would be great if my activities could increase the number of people who are willing to take on challenges!

Yes, I do get questions. You can tell what someone is thinking by looking into their eyes when they ask a serious question. It shows they are struggling, just like I was. I used to ask questions over and over again, so absorbed that I couldn’t see anything else. For such people, I share everything I know without holding back.

I’ve been teaching at Innovation University for about four years. In addition, I give lectures once a year at my alma mater, which has helped me. I do it with the desire to provide options for those who have a strong passion for engaging in organic farming.

The goal of Shibakai Farm is to “share a life with seasons.” In modern times, where summer vegetables are available even in winter, it’s hard to feel the “seasons.” That’s why I think it’s good to have farmers who propose seasons. Like saying, “Please eat these vegetables in this season.” It would be good to have more farmers who stubbornly stick to their guns like this. There was a time when it was more profitable to deviate from the seasons in the market. Many vegetables are now available year-round, which seems convenient but also leads to the circulation of less tasty vegetables.

Therefore, Shibakai Farm wants to be a farmer that can confidently propose returning to the seasons. I want to strive to be known as Shibakai Farm when people talk about multi-crop organic farming that is also sustainable as a business.

Because our goal is to deliver seasonal vegetables, we may deliver the same vegetables consecutively and do not include non-seasonal vegetables just to vary the deliveries. So, there might be times when the same vegetables are delivered twice in a row. The concept of “seasonal vegetable subscription” is straightforward for customers, but it takes some time for them to get used to it. Like, “I got sweet potatoes two times in a row”. If it’s always sweet potatoes, then you have to eat them in various ways, which naturally enriches the dinner table.