Dave Ballard was born in 1959, growing up mostly in Charlotte, N.C. His dad was in law enforcement and his mom worked for the school system but they both grew up in the farming community of Mount Ulla, where New Moon Farm was located for the last decade. Though his parents moved to Charlotte in the late 1950's, their family ties remained strong and so Dave spent lots of his weekends and most of his summers coming back to the family's farm. He spent much of that time helping his grandad around the farm.

Even though he grew up in Charlotte, his family lived outside the city limits, in a rural area where there were still several working farms. When he was around 12, he had a job, before school, at the dairy farm behind their house, feeding the cows as they were being milked. He had a great big bucket that he had to keep refilling at the silo and hauling back to the barn to keep the cows happy and calm. I think he might have also done some milking when he was a teenager but he never elaborated much on that part of the job.

Dave also spent a lot of time outdoors as a kid, wandering the fields and woods near his home and out at the farm. His childhood obsession with being outside is where he developed his great love and understanding of the natural world. He was much like Thoreau in that he felt most comfortable and content when he was outside in the open spaces. Dave found nature fascinating and even as a child he studied and contemplated its mysteries. One of the primary reasons he got into organic farming was because of his connection to and great love for all things in nature. He often said that the natural world is the only truth there really is and that he felt closer to God when he was outside, under the trees and sky, than he had ever felt in a church.

Always active in sports, he played both baseball and soccer in high school and in college. After graduating high school, he attended college in North Carolina, earning a degree in Industrial Design and Engineering. He then spent 15 years or so working as an engineer for a design firm that made precision and micro instruments for industrial uses. Things like drill bits the size of a human hair and stuff like that, as well as projects for the auto and computer industry. But it never felt right to him and he was not happy in that career. He also married someone else but, like his career, it was never a really good fit for him and it ended. Eventually, he left the field of engineering and headed west to pursue another life...the one he had always felt destined to live. That is when we met.

All of his life, Dave gravitated toward to the water - rivers, lakes or the ocean- which led him to take up sailing at a young age. He remained a proficient big boat sailor all his life. Back in the early 80's, his love of wind, water and waves sparked his interest in a fledgling sport called "windsurfing". Quickly mastering this sport, he spent several years with a corporate sponsorship, promoting the sport. He eventually opened his own windsurfing shop. Kite boarding came along in the late 90's and his progression into that sport just naturally followed. He continued to pursure these sports, whenever he could could get time away from the farm. Eventually his illness progressed to the point where he was no longer physically able to do so but his love of the sport never waned.

Gifted with an incredibly bright,curious mind and infinite patience, Dave was a true Renaissance man. He had many wide and varied interests that didn't involve water. He was a licensed falconer and knew much about raptors. He played guitar, Dobro, banjo and percussion. He practiced yoga and he painted. He could build just about anything from the ground up and often did so at the farm. He learned to make fire with a couple of sticks and a strip of leather. He could coax seeds out ofthe ground where no one else could get anything much to grow.

One area of particular interest to the Farmer was the study of Native American spiritualism and culture, particularly the Hopi. He hoped to complete his spiritual healing studies someday and was on a serious spiritual journey all the time I knew him. And he always told the truth, even if it stung a little.

Dave's interest in organic farming piqued in the mid-1990's and together we came up with a 5 year plan to establish an working organic farm. That dream was realized in 2000 and we successfully operated New Moon Farm, a certified organic farm, for the decade between 2000 and 2010. Dave held a firm belief that it was possible to work within the framework of nature to achieve his goals and never waivered from that principle. He cared very deeply about the environment and worked to promote the concepts of ethical and responsible stewardship whereever he went. Mother Nature never had a better son.

I met Dave while he was on journey of self discovery, in a place where I was on a similar path. We discovered very quickly that we were like two halves of the same person, looking for the same things from life. For over 16 years, we were bound to each other by our deep love of and mutual respect for the natural world and for each other. Dave showed me how much could be accomplished with an idea, a plan and a whole lot of love. I am proud to have called him husband. He was a very special man and he will be missed by many.

"Love you, Tractorman"