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livingontheland - Re: [Livingontheland] An Experiment in Country Living by Peter Goodchild

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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Livingontheland] An Experiment in Country Living by Peter Goodchild
  • Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2010 20:49:13 -0600



Trust me, I understand about not being a frustrated timecard puncher in the
system. I stayed with it for the kids health coverage and got a minimum
retirement out of it. I worked in the union also. Now I'm trying to
contribute in some way to the local food security movement. So I'm fishing
for details on how home and market growers can make food production more
worthwhile.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

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

On 8/30/2010 at 7:27 PM paul@oneseedling.com wrote:

>That was profit not gross. However, you are right, if you count every
>hour spent then hourly wage was fairly low. On the other hand I wasn't
>some mindless minion in a factory somewhere either.
>
>Sent from my iPhone
>
>On Aug 30, 2010, at 11:08 AM, "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net> wrote:
>
>>
>> You know that raises more questions about the dirt farming ;-). I'm
>curious what costs may not be deducted to figure what profit was left -
>land, water, tiller, transportation & vehicles, structures, containers,
>seed & bulbs etc.? And more to the point, how many people put in time and
>energy during the year, and figuring from the gross sales minus expenses
>and capital investment, how much was the labor worth per hour? I don't
>mind saying mine is too low when it's all figured in, even with severe
>cost cutting.
>>
>> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>>
>>
>> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
>>
>> On 8/30/2010 at 7:12 AM paul@oneseedling.com wrote:
>>
>>> We were able to clear over $30,000 a year during the 3 years we dirt
>>> farmed a little less than an acre in central Texas. We were able to
>clear
>>> about $38,000 a year when we switched to aquaponics in an area about
>>> 100X100. It was way easier with the aquaponics as everything was waist
>>> high, no tilling, very little weeding.
>>> We sold to two local restaurants but made out best money at a farmers
>>> market 10 miles away.
>>> It can be done but takes some planning and knowing what the market
>wants,
>>> then producing only those products. Paul the Skeptic
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Aug 29, 2010, at 10:29 PM, "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>
>wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> This little bit from Goodchild caught my eye:
>>>>
>>>> "We did not expect money making to be the principal issue in country
>>> living, but such was the case. Although we ran a one-acre market garden
>as
>>> efficiently as possible, a profit always seemed to elude us. .. My
>>> suggestions that people rediscover their rural origins didn't get very
>>> far. The young disliked country living and were rather ashamed of it.
>The
>>> middle-aged took the attitude, not that "anything worth doing is worth
>>> doing well," but that it is worth doing only with heavy machinery."
>>>>
>>>> Goodchild is a smart guy and educated and motivated, and ran up against
>>> the same problem I was talking about - the difficulty of making a living
>>> (or any profit at all) producing food for local selling. And the younger
>>> generations don't want anything to do with it. In my view this is a huge
>>> issue, the issue of the near future that rivals all others.
>>>>
>>>> We had a terrific day at our biggest market today, likely better than
>>> almost any other sellers there. But it's still not enough to justify the
>>> months of work going into it. We'll keep exploring the options, the
>>> marketing and the cost cutting. But two different problems that aren't
>>> going away: where we are the growing depends on grid irrigation, and the
>>> local selling depends on fossil fuel transportation.
>>>>
>>>> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
>>>>
>>>> On 8/29/2010 at 8:23 PM Tradingpost wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> An Experiment in Country Living
>>>>> by Peter Goodchild 01 August 2010
>>>>> http://www.culturechange.org/cms/content/view/668/1/
>>>>>
>>>>





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