Meet-A-Student: Teresa Terrobo Rivera

Enjoying her new role as farmer!

From: Mexico City, Arizona and Pennsylvania

Arrived: July 1, 2026

Favorite Animal at Deck: Laying hens

Hobby: Herbalism, being outdoors

Farm education student Teresa Terrobo Rivera, 23, is at Deck testing out the theories she learned at university. And learning a lot of stuff that never could have been anticipated by a professor.

For instance, she is one of two people who found a great horned owl inside a schooner with a flock of roaster chickens. The owl had killed three chickens by the time they got there - maybe you saw the dramatic video on our social media.

Another time, there was a mystery animal killing laying hens.

“We had moved a new flock of chickens to a new field so the predators were checking them out eating chicks every night. So I had to do a stakeout and figure out where it was going through the fence. Found out it was an opossum! Once we figured it out we put cameras and made sure to possum proof the schooner with zip ties at first. Then someone installed metal clips to make sure they can’t get in.”

Teresa graduated from Arizona State University in the spring this year with a degree in Sustainable Food Systems, and headed to Junction City on July 1 to start her year-long residency.

Working at the Scandi Fest booth for Deck Family Farm

That response to the opossum and the owl is standard for regenerative farming: Find a way to exclude the predator rather than killing it. It was practices like this that were difficult to internalize in a classroom.

“I planned [my time here] that way because we talked a lot about the theory of organic and sustainable and regenerative farming and I really wanted to see the hands-on part of it and see what farmers are actually dealing with, not just theory,” she said.

She is seeing the theoretical playing out all around her.

“It’s interesting! For one, the rotation of our animals. I think that’s something that's taught in books but I didn’t think logistically it would work out. How much space would be needed. But it does work!

“Also they taught that by having more diversity in your business, the farm would be more stable and adaptable to changes. For example, if all of a sudden our chickens get sick for some random reason, our whole business doesn’t fall because we still have pigs and cows and other animals to support our business. That’s something I've seen here that looks like it’s working pretty well for Deck Family Farm. So that was another gap that was bridged from book to practice.”

By working in the food industry, Teresa is following in the footsteps of her father, though in a slightly different way. He works as a systems engineer for food production.

“He’s a food engineer. He engineers the industrial systems that make Takis and chips. All those little processed foods,” she explained. “I really like and respect what my dad does and everything, but I do see the other side of the coin of processed food vs nonprocessed food. That’s why I did want to go into the food industry, but I wanted to make sure to support a sustainable way of growing food and eating food.”

Rather than designing food production, Teresa sees herself helping farmers design sustainable businesses, particularly if they are transitioning from conventional to regenerative farming. She would also like her own farm in the future.

Learning about sheep shearing this summer.

Teresa says living in the student bunkhouse is great and reminds her of college. She gets a lot of alone time when working and on days off. Soon, she will begin updating one of the student cabins that needs attention, and after that she can move into it.

“It has some issues that need renovating, but I really like it, so we’re gonna see if we can fix it up so I can live there. I really like projects and I like fixing things.”

One of the biggest non-agricultural lessons she’s learned here is a philosophical shift demonstrated by Christine's and John's approach to life, but also by the animals.

“I’ve learned to kind of go more with the flow. Especially with chickens. Chickens will do what chickens will do,” she laughed.

For instance, “In the brooder, the first week that I was here I accidentally left the door open and 5 chicks instantly ran out of the door and I had to catch them. It was lots of fun. One of them decided to go into a ground squirrel hole so I had to reach down in the hole. I grabbed it by its feet and the poor thing was like “My god I’m going to get eaten!” But it was nice because I kind of learned that it’s not the end of the world. Before I would be so apologetic and take it too seriously. It’s important to keep them safe but it’s not the end of the world to make mistakes.”

She also enjoys the variety of farming.

“It repeats itself a lot - you do the same things each day - but there’s always a little surprise. Like, actually in schooner 3 there’s no water. Now I have to figure out the water problem before I’m late to collect eggs. Or, while at egg collecting you discover the electronet is not working. So there’s always little things you have to figure out on your feet. I really like that.”

She said she feels very thankful for this opportunity with Christine and John. They have created a way to enrich her education deeply.

“If you are into farming or want to learn more about farming and the farming life, I do recommend you come and learn as much as possible,” she said.