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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] New Farmers

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Subject: Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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  • From: "TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>
  • To: emitch@att.net, livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] New Farmers
  • Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:21:01 -0700


Trying to keep this brief, personally I wouldn't buy a new truck under any
circumstances. I don't buy anything new if I can avoid it. I hope your
health allows you to stay with us as long as we're around. You've got a
point about health insurance with a small business, but the millions who
don't have it anyway, or millions more with paper thin coverage won't have
good health insurance no matter what they do. As you pointed out it would
help for someone in the family to have good insurance. I'd also argue that
there are millions of people out there who don't have or can't get "secure"
jobs or anything like it, and many have small acreage and could learn the
business of growing and retailing food crops. Let's look at that need for
about a million small farmers age 25 - 30 to make a real future. Actually
they don't need to feed 200+ people. Most of those 200+ need to be growing
their own to some extent. One grower feeding 20 or 30 others might make a
very good living - using intelligent, sustainable growing techniques. So
that's my take on this. This is a highly relevant exchange, even critical
to our future. Thanks for the exchange.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********

On 11/30/2007 at 5:09 PM E. E. Mitchamore Jr wrote:

>I think some of your replies could use some enlargement.
>
>1) Debt is a real drag on a new enterprise. True, almost everyone has
>some debt, but it MUST be minimized, or it will drag you down, both
>emotionally and fiscally. Debt is probably the biggest cause of farm (or
>business), failures, and it's not just due to fertilizer. One new truck
>can put you in the red.
>
>2) Health insurance is MORE important to a small business than it is to an
>individual. I was diagnosed with leukemia this summer, so it's much on my
>mind. If you are injured or get sick, you not only have the illness and
>the bills to deal with, you also lose your business.
>
>3) "Secure" job - I should have said a capability that people will pay
>for, rather than the traditional usage of the word "job". Lots of temp
>jobs would be good experience and networking for a would-be farmer.
>
>4) Lots of people are doing it, true, but we need about a million small
>farmers age 25 - 30 to make a real future. Each needs to feed 200+
>people. I can't feed 2, much less 200.
>
>E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
>www.hillcountrynatives.biz
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: TradingPostPaul
> To: emitch@att.net ; livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
> Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 1:58 PM
> Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] Farmers, NMSU Discuss Growth
>
>
>
> Thanks, I'll answer that.
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
>
> On 11/30/2007 at 12:53 PM E. E. Mitchamore Jr wrote:
>
> >The only way I can imagine that transition, is:
> >
> >1) You OWN enough land for a home and basic garden/farm. This can be
>just
> >a few acres, and can be supplemented later with leased land if you
grow.
>
> Hundreds of thousands own enough land and live on it. Millions more can
> grow for their own use.
>
> >2) No debt.
>
> Almost all farmers of every description have some debt, along with
almost
> all families.
>
> >3) At least on person in the family has a secure job with health
>insurance
> >or a home-based profession with flexibility (like a writer). Outside
> >income is important during the early years.
>
> Millions don't have any health insurance now. Hardly a requirement for
> going into business. And what job is secure anymore?
>
> >4) At least one person in the family has computer and/or business
skills
> >and the willingness to "keep the books".
>
> Same for any business.
>
> >5) You're all healthy and fit.
>
> Or at least the person doing the work.
>
> >6) You've got some knowledge of what you're getting into. In my view,
> >this takes a few years of gardening and research.
>
> Now this is a good point. Of course with any business startup, you need
>to
> learn the ropes first before committing time and resources.There are
>plenty
> of people with some garden or farming experience who at least know which
> end of a shovel goes in the dirt. Many advise starting small with home
> growing, not quitting your day job till you know you can run with it. I
> agree. At least it can be started on a shoestring if need be. In my case
> I've substituted labor for hard cash in several ways. And recouped my
>cash
> investment in the first four months of market. Then you can expand as
>time
> and profits permit. You make mistakes while you're still small so you
>don't
> make them later. And you learn.
>
> The research part: no one should have to do all their own research and
> reinvent the wheel. My partner Barb tells how she saw her father's
garden
> and neighbor's gardens as a kid, and they all shared the knowhow and
> stories about their produce. It was an immigrant neighborhood, Italian,
> Greek, and so forth. And they all grew pretty much the same way with
>little
> money invested and even less work. Their own garden was only dug up at
>the
> beginning but never afterward. They weren't obsessed with weeding. Her
> father manured it each year and kept permanent paths to walk on without
> compacting the growing areas. No neat rows, no chemicals, no tillers.
And
> always, they cooked from the garden. They grew the varieties handed down
> through generations, that stood the test of time. The interesting part
>is,
> that system is identical to the way we're growing now - tho I had to
slug
> through a lot of reading and experimentation to get around to it. In the
> end it's not rocket science. Having someone nearby to show you how is
the
> magic short cut.
>
>
> >Sounds unlikely...................
>
> What's unlikely is a lot of folks like me doing it anyway.
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
> -------------------------------------
>
> >E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
> >www.hillcountrynatives.biz
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: TradingPostPaul
> > To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
> > Sent: Friday, November 30, 2007 9:21 AM
> > Subject: [Livingontheland] Farmers, NMSU Discuss Growth
> >
> >
> >








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