----- Original Message -----
From: Michaele Blakely <mjb@premier1.net>
To: Lion Kuntz <lionkuntz@email.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2000 8:36 AM
Subject: Re: How can micro-farming possibly be as productive as claimed?
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Lion Kuntz <lionkuntz@email.com>
> To: <sanet-mg@ces.ncsu.edu>
> Sent: Wednesday, March 22, 2000 8:16 PM
> Subject: How can micro-farming possibly be as productive as claimed?
>
>
> > How can micro-farming possibly be as productive as claimed?
> > Essay by Lion Kuntz, March 22, 2000
> >
> I must say, both of your essays have called to me. I farm on less than
five
> acres (on a total of 47) simply because I feel it wasteful to use so much
> land to achieve what I feel is necessary to make a living. I share this
> world with many individuals and feel that just because I have the power to
> do so I should not take away their livelihood.
> My work week is planned to be no more than 40 hours a week and I make a
> great net income from my production fields. I use no heavy machinery. I
> differ from your plan in that, I have a 50 member CSA, and do three
markets
> a week.
> I have done this myself, but prefer to have people working with me, (at
> least one). It shortens the work week, the enthusiasm of an intern is
> catchy (it gets old after a decade) and I remember each year why I wanted
to
> do this in the first place. Plus I am passing on a method that I feel is
> sadly neglected and looked upon as almost impossible to achieve.
> I have a laying flock of around 400, and raise pastured broilers as well.
> The laying flock is free-range, the broilers are in movable pens that
start
> out in the vegetable fields and then are moved to the boundaries of the
> fields on pasture grass as the season progresses and I can no longer have
> them in the fields. They become somewhat free-range towards the end of
their
> life as their need for more room becomes necessary. I am raising pigs
this
> season as well, and am looking into the beginnings of an aquaculture
system.
> I applied my principles to yours and find many differences in time,labor,
> management etc. I'm wondering if this is because our end result we
> determined is different, or because what you have proposed is a theory and
> you have yet to experience practical application yet?
> No matter, I would be interested in a dialogue, although at the moment I
am
> fast getting short of time, because after the work week is done, I'm a mom
a
> wife and a friend, so I probably would not get too involved with anything
if
> this was just surmise and theoretical discussion. But I would listen.
> Michaele Blakely
> Growing Things
> Carnation Wa
>
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