Sports graduate/coach becomes successful farmer

Livestock rearing has been part of farmer Kyle Joseph's life from a tender age.

However, it was not his first career choice.

Joseph, 38, of Patience Hill told Newsday after graduating with a bachelor's degree in sports medicine from Clayton State University in Atlanta, he wanted to follow a career in his field of expertise.

When he returned home, a motivated Joseph said he had a "big sports idea" which he took to the Ministry of Sport, but it never materialised.

He decided to revert to what he knew and began taking farming seriously.

The owner of Melchi Farms Ltd in Carnbee rears over 250 animals, but still aims to do business on a bigger scale.

In an interview with Newsday on Wednesday, Joseph said he got into commercial farming around ten years ago.

“I grew up in a farming household; we used to do rabbits, cows, pigs, goats, chicken so I’ve been doing it all my life...But I took it very serious in the last five years. The business has been registered for the last ten years but functioning and operating in the last five years.”

He said food security in livestock production is his goal.

“My long-term goal is to have a bigger farm, to try to get back Tobago to where it used to be – the food basket. Try to get animals out of Tobago, feeding Trinidad and by extension the world. Once upon a time, we had the best quality beef and lamb in Tobago.”

Melchi Farms currently occupies 40 acres, rearing mainly sheep and goats, on a lease arrangement.

“I have free-range animals; I walk and graze, so it really doesn’t take me anything to see about these animals. Same way I can go out with five sheep, I can go out with 200 or 300 animals and let them just graze.

“It’s really a cost-effective business; grass is free, and I do not give my animals any grain, so it comes like 100 per cent profit, because the profit margin is a bit higher for me compared to the farmers that are doing grains. The animals benefit tremendously from the grazing and walking – every morning, they know for sure they will get a nice, good walk.”

But with the property unsecured, he has been a victim of theft in the past.

“One time they stole one of the goats, but I got it back. The first day of the (covid19) lockdown, they stole some material – 20 sheets of ply which was in front of the farm.”

He explained a day in his life.

“I wake up at 5.30am daily, get ready to go on the farm for 6am. I graze the animals for three hours, come back in, clean the pens out and take a rest until 3pm and then I am with the animals again until 6pm.”

Among his herd is his prized racing goat, Rocket, who is raring to hit the track.

Although farming is his livelihood, Joseph's passion for sport remains alive.

His sporting expertise has reaped success at the Tobago Select Sport Academy where he coaches track from 3pm to 6pm.

The club has produced a number of talents including top under-20 1500m runner Nkosi Toney, who has dominated his event at the National Association of Athletics Administration (NAAA) track and field series 2021.

Joseph said the club has about 40 members with around 20 currently active. Four athletes will be in Trinidad this weekend at the NAAA Olympic trial at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.

The club, which has three coaches, trains at the Mt Pleasant Recreation Ground and Shaw Park.

He added: “I also have five volunteers from the track team that come and assist me from time to time.”

Joseph said owing to the current restrictions his athletes are utilising online training, so he has some extra time on his hands in the afternoons to focus on the animals.

His animals are usually sold to Trinidad when livestock vans come twice per year – August and December.

“I try to replenish the breeding stock in Tobago, I more sell the females to breeders but the males go more to the sheep vans.”

Although he rears animals for commercial consumption, Joseph does not eat meat.

“I am a vegan; I don’t kill anything – it goes to the butchers.

"Very rare I would sell back a ram. I don’t like to sell any rams in Tobago because there would be in-breeding, so I does just send them to the butchers and keep the females. So when it's coming from my farm, most times you would get a female sheep.”

Joseph said although the THA announced a $7.5 million incentive programme last year to boost food production, he has never received any assistance.

“I was trying to get equipment, namely a tractor. Because of the current pandemic...the (THA) department has been moving a little slower because the workers are not really there everyday as we’re accustomed to. I couldn’t afford to buy one on my own and hence I made the application.

"They came and took pictures and everything like that, but no assistance was ever given to me. This is all done from my pockets."

Joseph is undeterred and staying focused on his farming goals. He is also pursuing his master's in coaching in an online course. (with reporting by STEPHON NICHOLAS)