This article in Salon:
“What nobody told me about small farming: I can’t make a living”
really puts it all together. It’s well researched, concise and informational. I hope you’ll take the time to read it and come up with some creative way to turn the market economy on it’s ear so small farms can once again be a profession that doesn’t require a day job to perform.
Yeah, it’s totally depressing. The fact that the production of food on a small scale can’t be done for a living wage Completely Sucks. How can this be? None of us can survive without food. You’d think growing and selling food would be a ‘sure thing’…
I was ever hopeful for the first two years of our foray into farming that one day we might be able to ‘make a living’ as new farmers. And while I still hope for that day to come, it seems only possible if we don’t include land or even most capital expenditures in the calculation, and hope to goodness the tractor doesn’t break down.
So I keep searching for ways to diversify our offerings, streamline our production to maximize efficiency and revenue, while not compromising our commitment to organic, sustainable agriculture. It seems obvious however, that at least one of us is going to have to remain ‘gainfully employed’ to keep the wheels turning.
