>
> I think farming is like the grocery store industry. In the fifties,
> My point is that as farms get larger, there are places left for small,
> specialized farmers just as there are small, specialized groceries. I'm
> not particularly worried about huge farms unless the government
> deliberately sponsors them or hurts small farms. Given an indifferent
> competitive environment, the place where the action is is where the small
> or medium sized farmer is trying to decide on the crop mix or practices
> that will give him/her an advantage. This might be organic, sustainable,
> or even conventional in practice, but I'd guess will have to be
> unconventional in marketing. We have to figure out what value we offer
> that we can charge more for.
>
> Jim - Farmer - Iowa City, IA,
Amen.... Not so much to worry about, if you establish a
good ecological relationship with the land (spatial heterogeneity) and its
moods (temporal heterogeneity) _and_ a good relationship with your consumers
(essentially enter into community with them), then small scale
farming is pretty easy (except for all of the work) This model, however,
isn't for everyone. For example, we still depend on off-farm income and
probably will for the next 5 years.
Jamie Wyant
farmer/marketer/consulting ecologist in Oregon --