Professional organic grower here, polycrop CSA community farm. Burn-out is very real. Labor is expensive and, here in Florida, gringos don't want to do it. Rich, entitled boomers want fancy diversity, restaurants want specialty items, distributors want dirt cheap prices. Hurricanes, droughts and floods are making things challenging. And yet, business is booming--we can't meet demand. Nor can we make a profit. WTF.
This is exactly the same place that I've gotten to thinking about small local/organic farms. I would also add that de-Specialization makes the food we produce more expensive. Which limits the growth of the movement. As much as I wish it was otherwise, the fastest way to grow this movement is to get food prices comparable to conventional foods. I do think market realities limit the 6 crop small farm though. Finding 6 crops with healthy margins that you can market in large quantities presents its own challenges and limitations.
Yes definitely. The arrangements of labor and production on land can not only be designed locally. It must be tied into serious large scale land reform.
Professional organic grower here, polycrop CSA community farm. Burn-out is very real. Labor is expensive and, here in Florida, gringos don't want to do it. Rich, entitled boomers want fancy diversity, restaurants want specialty items, distributors want dirt cheap prices. Hurricanes, droughts and floods are making things challenging. And yet, business is booming--we can't meet demand. Nor can we make a profit. WTF.
“business is booming…nor can we make a profit.” I think that sums it up perfectly!
This is exactly the same place that I've gotten to thinking about small local/organic farms. I would also add that de-Specialization makes the food we produce more expensive. Which limits the growth of the movement. As much as I wish it was otherwise, the fastest way to grow this movement is to get food prices comparable to conventional foods. I do think market realities limit the 6 crop small farm though. Finding 6 crops with healthy margins that you can market in large quantities presents its own challenges and limitations.
Seems like these ideas could really benefit from being tied into a project of "land reform"
Yes definitely. The arrangements of labor and production on land can not only be designed locally. It must be tied into serious large scale land reform.