On Small Farms and the Importance of Small Farmers.
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We've been influenced and inspired by the writing and speeches of Alan Guebert. If you haven't yet heard or read his work, this video is one of our favorites. Honestly, if we're ever feeling overwhelmed or uninspired, we read his work and immediately remember why we're here--why we continue to farm.
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I'm linking this fascinating (yet, equally terrifying) read, which I cannot seem to shake from my thoughts. In it, Alan Guebert wrote, "...contrary to what is often projected by rural America itself, our food doesn’t come from farms with red barns, contented cows, and straw-hatted farmers holding a pitchfork in the sun’s golden glow."
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I think I'm most startled by these words because as I watch Jesse work, day-after-day, in our red barn, I actually see this picture. Happy cows, eager to please and serve, in a red barn, while he uses an old pitchfork to move hay to each waiting lady in her tie-stall as the sun sets each night during chores. It's nostalgic, but it's also enlightening. Because this idyllic picture is one we created, without even realizing it! And if I'm imagining correctly, I bet you're creating a very similar one on your farm, too.
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Alan goes on to write of the huge ag bills and commercialized food system, all of which I honestly know very little: mostly because it frightens me, really. But also because I've no interest in taking part. Of commercial food production and USDA funds, nope. I'd rather stay small and lean, and make it work on our own. Because I think the ag bill has proven itself entirely useless for the small American farmer, especially those selling direct-to-consumer.
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But let's look even deeper. Jesse's family had a first-generation dairy farmer bought by his parents before he was born. It was about 200 acres and they milked from 60-100 cows at any time during their 38-years in commodity dairy farming. But what Jesse recalls is the stories of why they decided to dairy. You see, when Jesse's Dad was a teen, he worked on dairy farms locally where the dairy farmer was also a local County Commissioner, a baseball coach, a local school-board member, a volunteer a the local church--in addition to being a dairy farmer. And so, his Dad thought, there is more than just farming in commodity dairy in the 1970's, so it ought to be for his family, too. But unfortunately, commodity dairy took a turn for the worse in the 1980's until today. Prices hit staggering lows and farmers were encouraged to "go big or go home". So big they tried, and as prices continued to drop or hover near those from the 1970's in the commodity dairy market, farmers worked harder. They gave up any community involvement and worked longer, harder hours to keep afloat. They stopped coaching their kid's sports teams, couldn't find the time to go to the local school board meetings or county meetings. They worked so hard, they didn't even seen the beginning of the commodity dairy collapse around them.
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No one can question the work ethic of a farmer, especially a dairy farmer. Willing to outwork any other person on this planet, I presume. But at what cost?
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You've all probably heard the story of Jesse's parents dairy farm: sold in 2017 after his Mom's injury and too little income on the commodity scale. The saddest story of the hardest working people we know, doing honest, good work but constantly struggling because of a failed American commodity dairy market. It's sickening, truly. But alas: we're here with the mentality and resourcefulness of the American dairy farmer: ready to make things right.
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And because we've proven that with a lot of hard work and just under a $30k investment, we can bring back this art of farming. The art where the farmer works in the sunset, holding a pitchfork to bring hay to his contented cows. Cows ready to produce and a farmer ready to serve his community with real, local food. And because we've proven this model works, we're invested on spreading its success story to as many aspiring American farmers as possible. So that together, we can bring back American small farms and small food, even if on a small scale. And we can resurge the true culture of ag: allowing the farmer to make a real income farming while granting him the time to be a part of his local community. A time to coach and govern locally. To volunteer an help carve the culture of his local community.
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We know it's possible, and we're so excited for you to join in, too! Let's be the new food movement in America. Let's be the new wave of agriculture: where the farmer makes a real living and the community gets a chance to eat real food, from the farm.