Kylynne Sheffield created Sheffield House and Farm Sitting
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
A 22-year-old Nova Scotia woman’s business gives other local producers the chance to take some well-deserved down time.
Sheffield House and Farm Sitting’s concept is quite simple. If you’re a farmer and want some time away, you call Kylynne Sheffield.
A graduate of the business management program at Dalhousie University’s agricultural campus, Sheffield manages every aspect of the farm so you can enjoy your vacation.
“(Farmers) love it,” Sheffield told Farms.com in a phone interview Wednesday morning.
“They hand me the reigns and I take over the farm so they don’t have to worry about anything. I’ll give them a call at night and tell them how the day went.”
Sheffield’s family owns a cow/calf and horse farm near Stanley in East Hants County, but not all the farms she cares for are similar operations.
Kylynne Sheffield
Photo: Facebook
And that can create unique challenges.
“Some farms aren’t really set up for someone who doesn’t know the whole routine,” she said.
“Some people might leave notes around but those can be really spread out. Or sometimes, at older farms, things don’t work like they should.”
Another challenge for Sheffield is determining a fair price for her services.
“It’s hard to judge each farm and come up with a quote for each one because everything is different,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield began farm sitting while in high school. She recently left her job at a feed store to pursue her business full-time.
Her efforts have made her a bit of a local celebrity, as CBC also produced a piece on the farm-sitting service.
And since that piece ran, business has certainly picked up.
“I really only had a few regulars, but (since the CBC article ran on Monday), I’ve had quite a few new ones lined up,” she said. “I was already booked up steadily from May until mid-September.
“And now I’m getting bookings into 2018.”