Farming in the City: Andrew’s Story

Hello, my name is Andrew Seegars, and I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Believe it or not, my career interest wasn’t always farming. I just saw it as a hobby growing up. My hobby in farming started when I was in elementary school – I just hadn’t noticed yet. In elementary school, we grew beans in a cup and I was just so fascinated at how a single small bean could produce so many more beans. Then, a few years down the road I started growing flowers, herbs, and cantaloupes. My parents always said I had a green thumb, so I took those words to heart and gardening became my new hobby.

I would grow food here and there over time, but when it came to a career, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was kind of pressured into going to college. I was basically told if I didn’t go to college and get a degree, I wouldn’t be very successful in life. I then thought very hard and decided that I wanted to be a civil engineer. I started my courses, and as the days grew longer, so did my boredom, so I changed my major to school of business. (Spoiler alert: I am not the type of person to sit down at a job all day -I always need to be moving.)

Business school was also not for me. Then one day I finally came to the realization that college is not for me, so I stopped going. I enrolled in trade school and said to myself this is where the money is. I did welding, construction work, restoration and had many jobs in between before I would start growing my interest in farming. I was a jack of all trades! Though I had tons of diverse working experience, nothing piqued my interest. It just didn’t feel like me.

After years of trying to figure this career thing out myself, one day God gave me the inspiration to turn my hobby into a career. I love working with animals, being outside, and growing food, so I gave it a shot. I was finally doing something that I was passionate about and loved so much. Though I was still working a full time job, it was refreshing to know that I had an alternative career that I would now be focusing on.

Soon after I was getting into the swing of things with farming, the pandemic happened. I didn’t let that stop me though. With the extra time off, I fully invested my time in growing food and learning everything I can to be a successful farmer. Growing my own food was amazing, I could taste the difference in what I grew versus what I got at the grocery store. Homegrown food tastes one million times better than store-bought food. I was growing food and started calling myself a farmer with a concrete 6 feet by 10 feet backyard full of growing pots and in the winter I would use my basement. Now I have a house with a pretty huge backyard, especially for the city that I am able to grow my food in. I even have chickens now. Having chickens is the best thing I ever did. Now I have farm fresh eggs, I am in the beginning process of raising meat birds, and the chickens are my little helpers around the garden. I have now been farming and consistently posting to my YouTube channel ‘CityBoyFarming’ for close to 3 years now, and I can say without a doubt that this is the lifestyle that I want to live for the rest of my life.

Even though it took me many years and quite a few career changes to get here, and I still have a ways to go before I am living the dream on my farmhouse as a poultry farmer, I never gave up or settled. Even though I started with a tiny concrete backyard and barely any knowledge on farming, I kept going. What I want to say to you is, if you have a dream, pursue it. Don’t let anything stop you, because the only thing that can stop you is you.