A massive $24 trillion dollar wealth transfer in the form of farmland and farming operations is currently changing hands, opening the door to farming methods we haven't seen in over 100 years.
I’ve put up a hydroponics NFT system in my backyard. Mine uses horizontal grow pipes. If one uses vertical grow pipes, one can grow all the tomatoes, green onions, lettuce, peppers, peas, beans, strawberries, melons, etc., one needs for a family in under 100 sq ft with less water than farming in dirt, no pesticides and no weeds. Add 30 sq ft of dirt for potatoes & broccoli and you’ve got the veggies & starch you need. Add a few hens for egg protein and you’re nearly self-sufficient in a small backyard. Move to aquaponics & you’re also raising fish in the same space. With either aqua- or hydroponics, all you still need are sugar,salt, flour, butter & milk. If you live in the country - a cow or goat can provide the dairy you need. No tractor. Little bending over. Organic, real food.
I never thought about combining a hoop house with hydro or aquaponics in a backyard. A few families with a few acres of greenhouses could feed a village. There are so many ways to reduce fuel, fertilizer, water, pesticide, and land use to feed the globe. Using hemp as a row crop gives enough protein to end the need for soy or corn for livestock feed. What's missing is a political network to challenge the seed-fertilizer-pesticide multi-level subsidy systems that produce so much toxic food with little nutrition.
At the founding Jefferson and Hamilton debated the future of the country. Jefferson imagined a republic of small family farms. He warned about the corruption of people living off entitlements. What would he think of modern day America? The conditioning and zombification that happens growing up in just about any town is real...go through any neighborhood and try to find even a vegetable garden anymore. It's like no we're above that. Congratulations on making the leap into farming w/out experience. It's rare but I do see more people quitting tech and buying farms..a good sign.
I’ve always wanted to do this Alex and you inspired me to push forward. I fall into the 60+ solo category. Every night my body is exhausted and HAPPY! Reflecting on the day’s work accomplished while washing the dirt off is cathartic.
I think you are spot-on with this assessment. Some 60+ years ago when I was a kid, all of the fresh food in the grocery store was from local farms. Everybody was a lot healthier.
Though it is one that never goes away, but just changes character at/in different times/eras.
In the 1990s, when I was working heavily on intergenerational farm transfer, the topic was always at the top of the list of concerns for all farmer surveys and listening sessions.
The economic element was a big piece, also the lifestyle piece, but low commodity prices coupled with high farm debt/interest meant that young people refused--rightly--to become slaves to debt load/loan service.
On top of that, younger farmers with higher debt load had to compete with farmers who had less debt. Tax structure was another often cited problem, as acreage was heavily taxed, and with farm transfers valuations for the newer/younger farmers frequently skyrocketed (and with it, taxes). Which fed back into debt load. Which affected profitability. Which was more vulnerable with downturns in commodity prices/increase in energy prices etc.
And that's just the economic structure piece. There were also lifestyle, skills, training, and many other pieces.
I worked with groups that tried to help young farmers identify and develop entrepreneurial niches and innovative business structures, and then create on-farm research programs to answer crucial questions that the Heavy Metal boys with their Big Ag research programs at the Land Grant ag colleges couldn't or wouldn't answer.
These days I think there should be separate tax and business law structures for Big Ag commodity farmers and for small farmers. The research piece--I don't know, a lot of the "appropriate technology" and "scale sensitive" projects got taken over by the Permastate (university and government) workers' desire to keep funding rolling in, and that generally tends to regress to a mean of "what do the funders want to pay for." For instance, one of the public groups I worked with was founded as a source of small seed grants for farmers with outstanding ideas...but the grants pool got turned over to paying for permastaff salaries within about 6-7 years.
Excellent article! Tomorrow’s farmers may well be a bunch of “unplugged hippies” who love good tiled land and growing things” - unfortunately, in America, farming is not admired nor respected- people want free healthcare while continually eating bad foods, are too sedentary, overly addicted to their screens, and angry that “healthy food “ is too expensive while financially supporting tech billionaires for mindless drivel.
I would posit that wanting a rational healthcare system and affordable medicine shouldn't have anything to do with eating habits & work ethic. What a strange logical leap. There are structural & practical barriers stopping people from "just growing all their own food in their yard" because most people have to work insane hours just to pay bills. Now we have chronic disease with Covid causing ME/CFS and autoimmune issues. I would love to put in the few hours of work per day I have to give into a permaculture farm. I came to this comment section to pitch a "Permanent Back to the Land Movement" that can connect individuals & families to farms & financing. Connect potential farm workers to local farms. Promote farm goods from farms that participate in the network. No one can do this alone. We need each other. Which is why healthcare was always not-for-profit until demons took it over.
I think you're probably right, to an extent. Very large farms, probably corporate in nature, will be around for a long time. As long as we have urban/suburban areas, filled with millions of people that put convenience above, well, pretty much everything else, large farms producing massive amounts of food will be necessary. Even out here in the sticks, most choose to buy their food from the grocery store instead of producing it themselves. We chalk it up to convenience here, too. Working the ground and producing the food one eats takes a lot of work. Why do it when you can buy a package of the "same thing" for a low price?
Our neighbor raises and sells beef from his farm. It's really good, too, but it costs quite a bit more than what you could buy at the store. Consequently, I don't see many poorer people pulling up to his place to buy hamburger. He caters to a wealthier clientele. He charges what he charges because he needs to if he wants to make money. And he gets his price. Most people around here can't afford to shop there, though. It's mostly city folks driving out.
We grow and preserve a lot of the food we eat. And, to be quite honest, it costs us considerably more to do so than if we just bought food from the store. Many of the higher costs can be amortized, spread over the years, but it will probably never be cheaper to grow our own. We enjoy the garden, the food it produces and the time we spend in it. I've run the numbers though, and it would be really difficult to make enough profit if we were to go into the business of selling our produce. We'd have to get bigger to do it and we're too old to want to put that much effort into it.
We do small farming because it's the life we love. If a person can find a way to make a buck or two doing it, that's awesome. Small farming was never a way to make a living for most. It was a way to make part of a living and to subsidize the rest with another job. I suspect that will be true forever, especially if the majority of people were to return to living this way. The communities that build up around the small farmers are the important thing. Between the access to technology and the ability to work a city job from the countryside, and a desire to return to small town life that seems to be growing, I think that we might just be moving towards a better way of life and that small farm life will be at the center of it.
Have you read Wendell Berry? His "Unsettling of America" was written in the 70s and I felt like at every turn it was predicting exactly what had happened to us in the 50 years since. His fiction and poetry is beautiful too. I think you'd enjoy it.
I’ve put up a hydroponics NFT system in my backyard. Mine uses horizontal grow pipes. If one uses vertical grow pipes, one can grow all the tomatoes, green onions, lettuce, peppers, peas, beans, strawberries, melons, etc., one needs for a family in under 100 sq ft with less water than farming in dirt, no pesticides and no weeds. Add 30 sq ft of dirt for potatoes & broccoli and you’ve got the veggies & starch you need. Add a few hens for egg protein and you’re nearly self-sufficient in a small backyard. Move to aquaponics & you’re also raising fish in the same space. With either aqua- or hydroponics, all you still need are sugar,salt, flour, butter & milk. If you live in the country - a cow or goat can provide the dairy you need. No tractor. Little bending over. Organic, real food.
I never thought about combining a hoop house with hydro or aquaponics in a backyard. A few families with a few acres of greenhouses could feed a village. There are so many ways to reduce fuel, fertilizer, water, pesticide, and land use to feed the globe. Using hemp as a row crop gives enough protein to end the need for soy or corn for livestock feed. What's missing is a political network to challenge the seed-fertilizer-pesticide multi-level subsidy systems that produce so much toxic food with little nutrition.
At the founding Jefferson and Hamilton debated the future of the country. Jefferson imagined a republic of small family farms. He warned about the corruption of people living off entitlements. What would he think of modern day America? The conditioning and zombification that happens growing up in just about any town is real...go through any neighborhood and try to find even a vegetable garden anymore. It's like no we're above that. Congratulations on making the leap into farming w/out experience. It's rare but I do see more people quitting tech and buying farms..a good sign.
It is definitely a good sign and I see it becoming more popular!
I love all of it and we’re all better off for it. We’re all better off for you and your dedication as well.
Amen Sharon!
I’ve always wanted to do this Alex and you inspired me to push forward. I fall into the 60+ solo category. Every night my body is exhausted and HAPPY! Reflecting on the day’s work accomplished while washing the dirt off is cathartic.
It really is ♥️🙏 love this
I think you are spot-on with this assessment. Some 60+ years ago when I was a kid, all of the fresh food in the grocery store was from local farms. Everybody was a lot healthier.
If your leading the next generation of farmers I have no doubt it will be a success.
Aw thank you Ken
https://substack.com/@justindeschamps/note/c-118068389?r=1oo6j6
Extremely important topic, A.
Though it is one that never goes away, but just changes character at/in different times/eras.
In the 1990s, when I was working heavily on intergenerational farm transfer, the topic was always at the top of the list of concerns for all farmer surveys and listening sessions.
The economic element was a big piece, also the lifestyle piece, but low commodity prices coupled with high farm debt/interest meant that young people refused--rightly--to become slaves to debt load/loan service.
On top of that, younger farmers with higher debt load had to compete with farmers who had less debt. Tax structure was another often cited problem, as acreage was heavily taxed, and with farm transfers valuations for the newer/younger farmers frequently skyrocketed (and with it, taxes). Which fed back into debt load. Which affected profitability. Which was more vulnerable with downturns in commodity prices/increase in energy prices etc.
And that's just the economic structure piece. There were also lifestyle, skills, training, and many other pieces.
I worked with groups that tried to help young farmers identify and develop entrepreneurial niches and innovative business structures, and then create on-farm research programs to answer crucial questions that the Heavy Metal boys with their Big Ag research programs at the Land Grant ag colleges couldn't or wouldn't answer.
These days I think there should be separate tax and business law structures for Big Ag commodity farmers and for small farmers. The research piece--I don't know, a lot of the "appropriate technology" and "scale sensitive" projects got taken over by the Permastate (university and government) workers' desire to keep funding rolling in, and that generally tends to regress to a mean of "what do the funders want to pay for." For instance, one of the public groups I worked with was founded as a source of small seed grants for farmers with outstanding ideas...but the grants pool got turned over to paying for permastaff salaries within about 6-7 years.
Excellent article! Tomorrow’s farmers may well be a bunch of “unplugged hippies” who love good tiled land and growing things” - unfortunately, in America, farming is not admired nor respected- people want free healthcare while continually eating bad foods, are too sedentary, overly addicted to their screens, and angry that “healthy food “ is too expensive while financially supporting tech billionaires for mindless drivel.
Yes! And I think people are about to respect it more.
I would posit that wanting a rational healthcare system and affordable medicine shouldn't have anything to do with eating habits & work ethic. What a strange logical leap. There are structural & practical barriers stopping people from "just growing all their own food in their yard" because most people have to work insane hours just to pay bills. Now we have chronic disease with Covid causing ME/CFS and autoimmune issues. I would love to put in the few hours of work per day I have to give into a permaculture farm. I came to this comment section to pitch a "Permanent Back to the Land Movement" that can connect individuals & families to farms & financing. Connect potential farm workers to local farms. Promote farm goods from farms that participate in the network. No one can do this alone. We need each other. Which is why healthcare was always not-for-profit until demons took it over.
I think you're probably right, to an extent. Very large farms, probably corporate in nature, will be around for a long time. As long as we have urban/suburban areas, filled with millions of people that put convenience above, well, pretty much everything else, large farms producing massive amounts of food will be necessary. Even out here in the sticks, most choose to buy their food from the grocery store instead of producing it themselves. We chalk it up to convenience here, too. Working the ground and producing the food one eats takes a lot of work. Why do it when you can buy a package of the "same thing" for a low price?
Our neighbor raises and sells beef from his farm. It's really good, too, but it costs quite a bit more than what you could buy at the store. Consequently, I don't see many poorer people pulling up to his place to buy hamburger. He caters to a wealthier clientele. He charges what he charges because he needs to if he wants to make money. And he gets his price. Most people around here can't afford to shop there, though. It's mostly city folks driving out.
We grow and preserve a lot of the food we eat. And, to be quite honest, it costs us considerably more to do so than if we just bought food from the store. Many of the higher costs can be amortized, spread over the years, but it will probably never be cheaper to grow our own. We enjoy the garden, the food it produces and the time we spend in it. I've run the numbers though, and it would be really difficult to make enough profit if we were to go into the business of selling our produce. We'd have to get bigger to do it and we're too old to want to put that much effort into it.
We do small farming because it's the life we love. If a person can find a way to make a buck or two doing it, that's awesome. Small farming was never a way to make a living for most. It was a way to make part of a living and to subsidize the rest with another job. I suspect that will be true forever, especially if the majority of people were to return to living this way. The communities that build up around the small farmers are the important thing. Between the access to technology and the ability to work a city job from the countryside, and a desire to return to small town life that seems to be growing, I think that we might just be moving towards a better way of life and that small farm life will be at the center of it.
But we are a long way off from that.
Have you read Wendell Berry? His "Unsettling of America" was written in the 70s and I felt like at every turn it was predicting exactly what had happened to us in the 50 years since. His fiction and poetry is beautiful too. I think you'd enjoy it.
It’s on my reading list for the fall!
Please check notes, I have a request