Agriculture, though still the precious kernel of The American Dream, is becoming a rarer and rarer profession. As a very small farm, we are always looking for the bright side: there are too many stories of small farms - or any size farms, really - selling out and moving on to something easier and more financially sustainable. We especially cherish narratives addressing the myriad other elements part of making local agriculture work, in the hopes that it makes what we do more relateable, more understandable, and more sympathetic to the average person.
The Sacramento Bee put out a most excellent article a couple of days ago, called "Farm to Forklift: As Sacramento hungers for local food, growers are looking elsewhere".
We see Sacramento, the self-dubbed "Farm to Fork Capital" of the nation, as an idealized market wherein the growers have nearly-perfect conditions (land is less expensive than many other parts of California , soil is alluvial, and the large customer base is very, very close), with local policies aligned such that farming is encouraged in just about every zone, and farm-based marketing exists throughout the region, in urban and rural neighborhoods alike. If things aren't good for farmers in the Sacramento market, things just aren't good for small agriculture, period.
As you'll read in the above story, things aren't good for farmers in the Sacramento market.
While the market is expanding by leaps and bounds, development continues to eat up agricultural lands: not because it is mandated, but because agriculture is hard.
- It's hard to get up early and fix two irrigation line leaks before ensuring that the plants have enough water and the trees don't have too much. Water is expensive, irrigation pipe is expensive. Plants take time to nurture and grow, and the ground they're in is an opportunity cost for something else: a different crop (almonds?), or a different economic use (such as home development!).
- It's hard to see an entire crop die because of some bad compost, or because of bird predation. We - as many small farms do - try to work synergistically and sustainably with nature. This is better for us, and better for the community of all, but is riskier. This means that partnering with customers who need greater dependability - such as restaurants - may be too much of a challenge, even given the higher potential for regular income.
- Finally, and this is hard to say for all farmers, but undoubtedly true: it's hard to see produce so hard-won from the elements go for the relatively low rate at which Americans are accustomed to paying. While it is part of the US market's relatively higher wages than the rest of the world, in real terms we pay much, much less for food as a percent of income than any other place on earth. Real food - good food - should be affordable for everyone, and should be sustainable for the provider: the farmer. The policies that subsidize mega-corporations' corn, soy, wheat, sugar-beets, and many, many other "commodities" do so at the peril of Americans' health, and the health of the industry supplying the real, good food that strengthens bodies and minds.
Economics suggests that we act as rational beings, and do what is in our own best interest at every point in our lives. We can all state, in no uncertain terms, that the "rational being" concept is most certainly not true. Despite the odds, there are still farmers. We are still farming. We have customers who believe in the value of local agriculture, and understand that the peppers just really didn't do well this year and still persist with us. Cars slow down on the road outside our property: while we don't know for certain, we like to think that they're enjoying the beauty that small agriculture provides. Our family and friends metaphorically and physically eat up the eggs we bring when the hens are laying exponentially, even at $6/dozen, similar to the higher-end eggs at the store. We have neighbors who will help us. To weed. To weed! We know exceptional people.
However, what I see the Sacramento Bee article saying, and what I am saying in this post, is that all that we're doing is not enough. It's not enough for us to speak politely to our friends and neighbors - a fraction of the region's population - about the great work we're doing. It's not enough that consumers eat healthy food, but of food from Chile and Mexico. It's not enough that the federal government talks a good game about small farms and small businesses... but does very little to support them. We all need to do better at putting our money where our mouth is (maybe literally!) and acting on our values. New models, new ideas, and new partnerships are essential if we are going to continue to be able to feed ourselves as a society, in a way that respects place and recognizes current challenges. This is a matter of national security, of community health, and of local economies. But it's also a matter of pride and history: small holdings - subsistence agriculture - is part of the original American Dream, after all. Our thread in this tapestry is integral.
Here's to local food. Eat and drink up, hopefully with friends, and share the love and joy of community!
- Elizabeth