Farmer Donee Boykin says ‘From The Ground Up’ is elevating farmers voices
On a quiet patch of land in Trotwood, Ohio, sunlight filters through rows of vegetables and herbs at Endigo’s Herbals & Organics, LLC. The air carries the scent of fresh soil. It is a sign that the land is alive, cared for, and deeply loved by farmer Donee Boykin, who has built her small specialty crop farm from the ground up, based on decades of gardening experience.
Donee began growing vegetables more than 20 years ago, inspired by her grandmother, aunt, and mother-in-law who passed down their love of cultivating the land. Her journey toward commercial farming began when she noticed the disparity between the food served in her children’s public school and that offered in private schools. Motivated to make a change, she decided to expand her operation with the goal of launching a farm-to-school program for the local public school district.
Today, Donee grows a variety of specialty crops on her one-acre farm, including tomatoes, okra, yellow squash, zucchini, Georgia collards, and herbs. In keeping with her commitment to community, she donates 10% of her harvest to local food banks.
Beyond farming, Donee is a respected community leader. As the founder and president of Seven Seed Sowers Co-op, she’s devoted to creating space for small-scale farmers to take part in the making of decisions that shape the future of food.
That’s why when she learned about the From The Ground Up (FTGUp) project, a farmer-led research and collaboration initiative, Donee knew she had to be involved. “I decided to get involved with FTGUp because I love the idea that there is actual research that is being conducted on the farm by farmers,” she explains.
Research rooted in real farms
With support from FTGUp researchers, Donee and her team of five participating farmers are studying how winter cover crops influence weeds, soil health, and crop yields. It’s a hands-on, farmer-designed study taking place in Southwest Ohio, with fields ranging from small garden plots to three-quarters of an acre. These specialty crop farmers are experimenting with seeding a cover-crop mix in the early fall. Every trial field is grown organically, with tillage and pest management practices varying from farm to farm.
Together, they will examine how well these conservation practices perform by measuring vegetable crop yield, cover crop biomass, canopy cover, weed presence, soil health, and economic impact. They’re also working to understand what causes performance differences between farms, looking closely at factors such as weather patterns, soil characteristics, and management decisions.
A platform that elevates farmer voices
For Donee, this research isn’t just about growing food. It’s about farmers having a place to speak, be heard, and lead. “Too often, the people making agricultural policy decisions aren’t the ones dealing with the consequences of those decisions. And when that happens, the voices of the people who actually work the land get pushed aside,” Donee observes. “That’s why FTGUp matters. It’s farmer-driven and farmer-specific, and that gives us a real seat at the table. Instead of being told what the research will be, we get to shape it,” she explains.
That clear voice is something Donee feels has been missing for far too long in agricultural research. Farmers, especially small-scale growers, often find themselves on the receiving end of research rather than being co-creators of it. FTGUp is changing that dynamic.
Through collaborative design meetings, Donee and the other farmers crafted their own study protocol, decided what questions mattered most, what methods were practical, and what results could truly help them improve their farms. “In FTGUp, through design meetings, we built our own study protocol. We decided what questions actually matter, what methods make sense, and what information would help us improve our practices,” Donee adds.
Knowledge from the ground
In Donee’s words, FTGUp is elevating the voice of farmers whose experience and insight too often go unheard in the decision-making rooms that shape agricultural policy and practice. “To me, FTGUp is lifting up the farmers voices. Farmer-led research is going to shift how the agriculture community sees us and how they value our knowledge. Farmers are the hands-on deck. We’re the feet in the dirt,” she says.
“And it’s not just one type of farmer. We have a wide range of backgrounds—legacy farmers, beginning farmers, small-scale farmers, acreage farms, crop farmer, and livestock farmers. Every perspective was considered and included,” she adds. Donee says when research starts with farmers, the results are more accurate and more useful. “You get real solutions.”
By Joseph Opoku Gakpo & Lauren Spirk
