Re: Social and Political Aspects

Megan Terebus (mterebus@csc.noaa.gov)
Wed, 07 Jul 1999 12:21:35 -0400

I think the larger issue in this whole discussion is the definition of
sustainability. I also think that people seem to forget that
sustainability can be attained millions of different ways and the key to
the whole universe is creativity and diversity... and open-mindedness.
While it may be sad when a farmer gets put out of business, that happens
everyday and the way not to let that happen is for he/she to stay on top of
things and be willing to change things around from time to time. If he/she
won't do this, then maybe he/she deserves to be knocked on the head a
little bit and shown that he/she isn't always right.

As for the larger vs. smaller farm issue, whoever mentioned efficiency
nailed it. A large farm that runs things tightly is going to last. Also
it will be a good educational tool and example for others to study and
follow. The same goes for a small farm that is run efficiently. As long
as the individual farm operators have sustainability in their minds, what
is the benefit of having a larger or smaller farm? I, personally, am
partial to smaller farms simply because I like the atmosphere around them,
but that doesn't mean that everyone has to like smaller farms and it also
doesn't mean that I think that all large farms should be run out of town.
It seems to me that this list sometimes forgets that there is another
opinion out there that may be just as right as the first. We sometimes
think that just because someone runs a large farm they must be "bad" while
the person down the stream from them drinks clean water everyday. We get
lost in the categories and forget that more than one type of system can
still fit right inside the foundations that we all seem to believe in. But,
I guess that is what makes for interesting reading.

-megan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Megan Terebus
Farm Program Developer
Agricultural Conservation Innovation Center
2234 South Hobson Avenue
Charleston, SC 29405
Ph. (843) 740-1326
Fx. (843) 740-1331
email: megan.terebus@agconserv.com
www.agconserv.com

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