I still see it as a mixed bag. Most farmers in this country still don’t break even. They are living off the income of outside work, subsidies, insurance payments, inherited land, and free family labor. Yes, there are increasing numbers of farmers’ markets, so-called farm to table restaurants, grocery stores with a locally-grown section.
But, yet the vast majority of farmers are small-scale and not making more than $10,000 a year. I can’t wait to see what the next USDA Ag Census data shows us. It seems that a lot of moneyed players are entering the niche foods market–folks like hedge-fund billionaires, ag-land investment firms, as well as post dot-com millionaires. They start their operations with huge capital resources, slick branding campaigns, vertical integration, and the like. How will family-farms compete with that?
I am not sure. I really hope consumers will see through the glitz and go for authenticity. I remain committed to telling the stories of real family-farmers who are personally invested in the stewardship of their land and communities. This is what I attempted to do with my book.
Do you think that industrial-scale marketing of “local” and “sustainable” foods is impacting farm-direct markets? How can small farms be more competitive than the chain stores that now tout seasonal, local, and small-scale wares?
I do think it’s a real challenge, but a farmer who stays true to telling their story authentically will rise above much of the fluff and outright lies. Using third-party certifiers can also help tell your story because it demonstrates your commitment to certain values rather than meaningless words like natural or sustainable. Heck, even Monsanto uses that word! I also think that more writers and bloggers like ourselves need to start asking hard questions of the stores, restaurants, manufacturers that are using these words without any certification or metrics behind them. Farmers have a harder time calling the bluff of their local food trade for fear of repercussions, but those of us not farming for a living should be more willing to roll-up our sleeves. It helps keep people honest.
Each chapter could be it’s own book in delving into the nitty-gritty details and nuances of farming. Where do you go for practical farming information like determining which feeder to buy, how to lay your irrigation and other answers to the day-to-day farming puzzles that come up? Where did you look for this information when you were first starting out?
Both my husband and I started with a good educational foundation of biology and ecology. That helped us look at each challenge from a holistic perspective and also use biology as the foundation for anything. After that, it was classic books by Eliot Coleman, Joel Salatin, and John Jeavons where I learned farming techniques. My husband apprenticed with an elderly farming couple in the foothills of California, learning to grow enormous onions, garlic, tomatoes, and other quality veggies. I apprenticed with farmers in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California. So gaining practical, hands-on education without the risk of owning the farm is a good way to go.
Once we started farming, we tried using a few different list-servs, talking to other farmers, but I would say we got the most help from salespeople, believe it or not. Just writing this makes me question my sanity! But, we had an excellent feedman who answered any questions we had about animal feed. We had a couple great seedsmen who would find any crop variety we were looking for, tell us seeding rates, and type of innoculant. We had good graphic and Web designers who would give us all kinds of free advice about marketing. Our fencing supplier always gave us copious advice on setting up the best electric fence.
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