Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["John D'hondt" <dhondt@eircom.net>]

I agree Paul. Our land is free hold and still we can not make a living from 
what we are doing. Reason being that food prices stable for almost a 
thousand years started plumeting since the 1940's. In 1940 the wool fleece 
of one sheep would have paid a farm laborers wages for a week. Today it will 
cost you money when you sell it.
And it is much the same all over the line unless you are going to grow 
something for which there is a huge market. I am at the moment thinking of 
Wasabi japonica that sells for $ 75 per pound at least.

If you can not specialise in something like that it makes a lot more sense 
to grow food for our family and have some of them go out and get a paying 
job. Pool all resources in other words. For if a wage earner wants good food 
his wage will barely be enough and if the farmer sells to middle men he will 
starve. All together life is not bad.
john

> Have to find one problem with that but it's a biggie. They all help to 
> learn farming but they forgot to cover the "make a living" part of it. 
> Trust me, that's the hard part. I'm suspecting those who survive do it by 
> relying on cheap labor from volunteers, grants, or family members. Or they 
> have family land paid off long ago. The cost of good farmland puts farming 
> out of reach for almost all aspiring farmers. No healthcare or retirement 
> benefits of course. My own goal is more realistic, to supplement 
> retirement with cost effective growing for great customers, on a small 
> plot that just came with the house. And millions of others can find this 
> doable too.
>
> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>
> On 11/5/2012 at 8:15 PM Tradingpost wrote:
>
> > Cultivating New Farmers
> >
> > New organic programs are teaching young people the skills they need to
> > make a living on the farm.
> > http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/2007-02-01/Cultivating-New-Farmers.aspx#ixzz2BPOc6dhA
> >
> > paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>
>
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