Why I am running
For the last eight years I have been working to affect positive change from the farm level to the federal level. Agriculture is inherently political. While developing our own farm we have had to fight every step of the way to overcome the morass of bureaucracy, hostile regulations, distorted market conditions, and all the bullshit that passed for governance in this county, this state, and this country. I am running for State Representative to continue catalyzing change, to bring local issues back to the forefront of political discourse, and to create a government that works for everyone in our community.
Where I come from
I was born and raised in the East Mountains. I spent my early childhood on my grandparents horse ranch just east of San Antonito, and moved up the road into Sandia Park when I was ten. I graduated from East Mountain High School in 2007, then spent eight years in Vermont where I attended and graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in International Studies with a focus on political science and the middle east/northAfrica. I spent another four years in Vermont making craft alcohol and learning to farm.
What I do now
In 2015 I moved home shortly after my Grandpa Gene Polk passed away. I joined my two brothers on the family farm and began building a regenerative farm business. Today my brother Ethan and I raise heritage breed hogs on food waste. Microbes in our compost piles, and a mix of goats, sheep and laying hens graze our forty acres to improve soil health. We operate a small butcher shop and local food store in Cedar Crest where we process our hogs and goats and sell our meat as well as locally and sustainably produced food from dozens of local farms and ranches.