Market Farming

["Rick Williams" <mrfarm AT frontiernet.net>]

MeLani wrote:
>>>>>While my research is limited in comparison to others on this list, I
don't see how you can honestly evaluate these changes as  "positive" ?!

>>>>>Vacant storefronts on rural Main street, and in turn, crowded parking
lots at massive super stores 30 miles away.
Farming less able to be a singular family-supporting enterprise.
Loss of rural culture (there is one).
Loss of rural opportunities for young adults.
Small farms trying to compete with high volume factory farms and/or foreign
labor markets.
Food companies utilizing foreign sources, when quality, American sources
exist.
Government restrictions impeding the ability of small farms to produce and
sell their products.
Loss of locally owned farms which also lessens the attention to local soil
health, water quality, and environmental conditions.

=====
These may not be pleasant to those who grew up in these areas and see
changes that they would prefer would not happen, but they are not
necessarily negative in the scheme of things. Nothing is going to last
forever. Change is the one constant in the world.

Vacant storefronts may eventually mean opportunity for a younger person.
While some communities are obsolete now, they may attract others later on
for other purposes. Examples: one mile from me is the Bud Cheese Factory. It
went out of business several decades ago. Should it have been kept in
business even though it was no longer economical to do so? I suppose some of
you folks think it should, but you would get very little support from the
taxpayer.

An abandoned one room school that is on our parcel of land closed its doors
in the 1960's. Should it still be operated anyway? I say no.  We don't own
that 1.1 acres as the son of a previous owner of some recreation farmland
nearby has it now. And has partially refurbished it for a base of
operations.

If you look at a map of our area, you will often see towns or tiny
communities around 7 miles apart (give or take). This is not coincidence.
This was needed when we had horse and buggy transportation so that the most
you had to go to get basic supplies was a few miles. They are no longer
needed. Was it bad that they often have a lower population today? I say no.
They served their purpose and then things changed.

There are many rural opportunities for young people. It is still not easy to
farm. But if you want to you can. You can run a business or be an
entrepreneur of your choice. We see more and more folks moving here from
Chicago who continue to run their businesses via the internet.

Foreign food is going to expand. However, I am on record as being opposed to
unfettered trade due to the issue of national security. Same thing with
other products. I am more conservative on this than the average person. I
also, view anyone having more than 10% of a market, whether regional or
national, as being an excessive amount. I realize that monopolies are not
illegal provided that they do not hurt the consumer, but again, I take a
more conservative position on this.


>>>While not a native to this region, I came here for the rural lifestyle it
provides, as is, with no desire to make demands or alterations.  Over the
past years I have also witnessed large farms chopped into subdivisions with
the speeding cars making the mass exodus at 8am.  Older farmers auctioning
off all they own because, after all, it isn't profitable for anyone else to
try and continue.  Main Street looking more like a ghost town. etc, etc ...

>>>Shouldn't there be a means to "live" in a rural area, not just sleep
there?

=======
No, there is no right of this type in a free country. Others will do things
in their self interest that they value. That is none of your business, just
as it is none of their business to interfere in your life because you came
to the same community too.

By the way, our main street here is booming and it is nearly impossible to
buy a vacant store front.


>>>Perhaps you just forgot to take off those rose-colored glasses.

=======
Or perhaps am more realistic about the way a free society functions. Free
doesn't mean that everyone will like what others do. In fact, free means
that you have to tolerate what others do, even when you don't agree with
some exceptions. That is what the Bill of Rights does. It restricts the
majority from crushing the minority. But it does not protect the status quo
that seems to be preferred by many of the posters on this list.

Sincerely,

Rick Williams
Misty Ridge Farm
Dairy heifers and dairy beef graziers
Viroqua, WI

www.mistyridgefarm.com