From: "Roberto Verzola":
> I notice you equate feeding your family with earning a profit.
What's wrong with that?? Farming families do more than eat. I grow alot of
our own food, but I do not grow flax to beat into thread to weave into
fabric to clothe my family. I doctor them as much as I can, but they draw
the line when I offer to sew them up ; )). And college these days isn't
free. I must make a profit for things not provided on my farm. I grew up
on farms. My grandparents all had them, and so did my father. All the
farms were 6-10 acres, and totally supported the families. What they
couldn't make on the farm, they sold excess crops to provide (read--earned a
profit).
I'm quite weary of the dirty connotation the word "profit" has come to mean
in "politically correct" circles. I'm a farmer, but also a business
person who knows I won't be in business long if I don't turn a profit. I
don't accept govt. subsidies, and at the end of the year if my bank balance
is low--the buck stops right here--I only have myself to blame. But I also
happen to be concerned with my land---yes, I want to leave it healthy for my
kids or whoever inherits it, and I farm it likewise. I eat the food I grow
on it. Thus I balance my ability to turn a dime on the dirt with the land's
ability to supply that dime within reason.
> I think raising (most of) your basic food needs is one key to better
> economic viability for organic farms. Another key is to avoid debt.
Economic viability for ANY farm entails more than just growing basic food
needs. Organic growers must learn to market & be business people before they
fog up their rose colored glasses with the romance of farming. Yes farming
is romantic--at times--but it's a romance with a harsh reality. Earning a
profit & staying in business is part of that reality.
Liz Pike
Morningstar Gardens
Pollocksville NC
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