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Date: Wed Nov 16 09:11:34 1994
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>From: Troy Bogdan <tbogdan@envirolink.org>
To: sanet-mg@twosock.ces.ncsu.edu
Subject: Re: 40,000 U.S. farmers
Bob Wilson writes:
>
>James - in reply:
>
>> However, your wild plant might be my weed, and your wild animal
>> might be the deer that regularly eat the outside several rows of my
>> corn. I like a few deer, too, but I'm not going to pay for you to drive
>> by the road once a year and see one in the fall. There are other ways
>> that both you and I can enjoy the deer. So the point here is how do the
>> various parties see an issue from a common perspective.
>
>Three ways to go about this.
>
>First, as a "civilian", I need to better
>understand the ways in which weeds and deer and other pests affect
>your ability as a farmer to stay on the land farming. I need you to
>communicate more effectively with me. I (the public) need you (the farmer)
>to do a better job of communicating the economic value system under
>which you operate.
>
As an organic farmer, I feel that it is my duty to inform and educate the
consumer as much as possible. I will gladly answer any question about farm
related practices, pricing or anything you want to know. It is my job not
only to grow what you want, but to also get you to buy it, and that is where
good public relations come in.
>Secondly, you can try a little harder to learn what elements of rural
>life are valuable to me. I value clean water, I don't want pesticide
>residues on my food, I value a diverse landscape over a monocrop
>of corn, I value a diversity of people in a rural community. You
>(the farmer) need us (the public) to do a better job of communicating
>the non-economic values we hold.
I too value all of those things, and that is why I decided to become an
organic farmer. I would gladly encourage a trip to my farm to see for
yourself the "non-economic" values of an organic farm.
>
>Third, you and I (farmer and non-farmer) need to create and campaign
>for those farming policies that allow both of us to achieve the
>goals of the value systems we hold.
>
>> I just don't believe that 98% of the American public are intolerant of
>> agriculture.
That number, in my experience, is probably closer to 45%-60% of the people I
deal with don't know much about how food is produced. Even more don't know
about organically grown produce. But it is my goal to close that gap through
consumer education. Also, more and more people, I noticed, are becoming aware
of the way things are being produced, as well as other critical environmental
issues.
>
>That's not what I said. The public is becoming increasingly sensitive
>to environmental degredation. Agriculture is not the only agent
>degrading the environment, but it is prominently in the news.
>Oil spills, EPA Superfund sites, Non-point source pollution, depleted
>fisheries, clearcut forests, acid rain, etc., etc., etc.
>...... and now Alar on Apples from Washington State, and bst-labled milk.
>
>
>That is what I prefer. I hope that is why you and I (farmer and nonfarmer)
>are participating on this listserver discussion group.
Yes, all of the above reasons, are why I participate on this list. I am
always trying to educate myself more and more, and these lists come in handy
for that.
I think some of those other responses were quite rude and very dis-respectful
to your concerns. I think that if you, the consumer, were to be treated like
that at a farmer's market, they would probably lose a customer, and I would
hopefully gain one.
Thanks for your input.
Sincerely, Troy Bogdan, Pure Earth Organic Farm
>
>_________________________________________________________________
>Bob Wilson
>Fayetteville, Arkansas USA
>bobw@ncatfyv.uark.edu
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
--- ******************************************************************** * Troy Bogdan - Bridgeville, PA * * tbogdan@envirolink.org * troybogdan@aol.com * ******************************************************************** * "Never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most * * important labor of man. When tillage begins, other arts follow. * * The farmers therefore, are the founders of civilization." * * -David Webster- * ********************************************************************
--- ******************************************************************** * Troy Bogdan - Bridgeville, PA * * tbogdan@envirolink.org * troybogdan@aol.com * ******************************************************************** * "Never forget that the cultivation of the earth is the most * * important labor of man. When tillage begins, other arts follow. * * The farmers therefore, are the founders of civilization." * * -David Webster- * ********************************************************************