for other reports of demonstrated, tested systems, see
Whatley, Booker T.
Booker T. Whatley's handbook on how to make $100,000 farming 25 acres : with
special plans for prospering on 10 to 200 acres
by Booker T. Whatley and the editors of the New farm
edited by George DeVault ... [et al.].
Publisher = Emmaus, Pa. : Regenerative Agriculture Association
Distributed to the trade and libraries by Rodale Press, c1987
craig k harris
department of sociology
center for integrated plant systems
michigan state university
429b berkey hall
east lansing michigan 48824-1111
tel: 517-355-5048
fax: 517-432-2856
-----Original Message-----
From: Alex McGregor [mailto:waldenfarm@sprintmail.com]
Sent: Thursday 23 March 2000 9:59 AM
To: sanet-mg@shasta.ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: Re: How can micro farming possibly be as productive as claimed?
Dale,
I don't know about Lion, but I farm this way- 30 member CSA from 1/4
acre.
It's not theoretical, People are doing it all over. I also teach this
system
to others through on-farm workshops and at a state college.
I use all hand labor, no machinery. This is 100 times more energy
efficient
than using fossil fuels. (See John Jeavons at Ecology Action for
numbers.
He's a former system analyst and has quantified this type of
agriculture.)
Using proper soil management techniques, I have been able to increase
the
fertility of my soil while producing far more per unit of land than any
other
systems. And shit DOES happen- no matter what system you use. The
secret is
to diversify crops. In years that are bad for salad greens, we produce
a
bounty of other things. I will admit that these small, intensive farms
can't
produce commodities as efficiently, but they can produce fresh, highly
nutritious vegetables and fruit for local markets.
IMHO we need to promote all types of agriculture. From large commodity
farms
to micro-farms producing for niche markets. This makes more sense to me
than
trying to produce vegetables and shipping them all over the world or
trying to
raise corn on a quarter acre with hand labor.
We need to have an agricultural system that is all encompassing- that
doesn't
discount farms because they're too small to be of any significance.
Farms are
now, pretty much, defined by size, leaving out the small operations.
These
small operations are an important part of the total picture.
Alas, you can't sell much product to a micro-farm and our agricultural
system
(and our whole culture) is based on consumption (or over consumption).
That's
the source of prejudice against micro-farms. Large corporations and
consolidation of the food industry (and all industries) is seen as the
wave of
the future. All this is is concentration of wealth and resources- an
unhealthy
and unsustainable trend.
Bottom line- diversification on the farms and within our agricultural
systems
is the key to a healthy farm economy. Consolidation is the key to a
healthy
corporate bank account. Which do we want?
Alex McGregor
Walden Farm
Walden Ridge, TN
"Wilson, Dale" wrote:
> Dear Lion Kuntz,
>
> > productivity of 4 to 12 times the NET productivity...
> > worker obtains a wide variety of skills...
> > After the living systems have been matured to stabilizing
> > micro-ecologies of whole food-chain webs...
> > 3120 chickens, 3120 rabbits and 3120 big fish....
> > Feeding the fish takes even less time...
> > Weeding never has to be done as a separate chore...
> > Watering...takes literally seconds per day...
>
> > A list of about seventy webpages I maintain can be located...
> > An essay about Ecological Synergy...
> > An essay about Introduction to Ecological Synergy...
> > An essay about additional details of Ecological Synergy...
>
> Do you actually farm this way, or do you just write about it? Isn't
this
> all theoretical? In real life, shit happens. Plans go awry. With
such
> complex, tightly managed systems, the potential for catastrophic
failure is
> extremely high.
>
> Dale
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