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  • From: STEVE GILMAN <stevegilman AT verizon.net>
  • To: market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] the future of small farms
  • Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 17:01:40 -0500

Most likely the European model is just as non-sustainable as the U.S. one when it comes to agriculture. You can see where they're coming from, however -- there's nothing like experiencing repeated ravages of war and starvation on your own soil. The U.S. has never come close, but the European memory runs deep. A main response has been to do what it takes to support local and regional agriculture for the sake of the security of maintaining a national food supply. In many areas the farmers live in town because it would be foolhardy indeed to put houses on farmland and there are appropriate prohibitions. Of course we do that all the time here and the latest USDA stats show yet another decrease in land under cultivation. 

 Also, the U.S. has some of the largest subsidies in the world -- averaging some $20 BILLION a year for the past 5 year Farm Bill. Over 80% goes to big commodity crop farms -- corn, soy, cotton, wheat and rice. According to an incredible series in the Washington Post last fall, this dumps cheap food priced below the cost of production on economies here and around the world, putting smaller farmers out of business. Another article focused on a Houston surgeon who put a mansion on former hunk of rice land. He receives sizable annual subsidies because the subsidy runs with the land...

In this country, farm programs were initially a response to ravages on our  own soil -- the Dust Bowl days and Great Depression. A primary response to the soil squandering practices of extreme over tillage combined with chemical fertilizers was outlined in the 1936 Yearbook of Agriculture, authored by some of the preeminent soil scientists of the day. It reads like an organic manual, recommending soil organic matter building techniques, cover cropping, minimized tillage, etc. Since then, the farm programs have been captured by the industrial-scale agribusinesses that got big as the smaller farms got forced out. This year's farm bill negotiations may finally produce some beneficial changes in what eaters are willing to support, however.

Steve


On Feb 8, 2007, at 3:07 PM, market-farming-request AT lists.ibiblio.org wrote:


From: Brigette Leach <avalonfarmshomegrown AT earthlink.net>

Subject: Re: [Market-farming] the future of small farms



Before accepting the statement pertaining to European farms at face 

value, explore the means used by their governments to support small 

farms. While not labeled as subsidies in the same manner that we think 

of them here in the States, payments of many types are made directly to 

farmers. For example, my husband visited a British wheat producer 3 

years ago who was paid the equivalent of $12,000 to put in a hedgerow 

and another $12,000 not to remove an existing one. Hence the good 

living. This is merely one example. There are many. Consider the Swiss 

dairy farmer who is paid to put bells on his cows because the practice 

benefits tourism. Not a subsidy, but also not generated directly from 

production practices. French farmers are limited to produce what the 

central government allows them to grow.


European attitudes toward both land and food supplies are definitely 

different than here in the US. And they've made the connection between 

agriculture and tourism. Many European farmers live in town and not on 

their farms. If they live on the farm, changes in buildings and houses 

are closely monitored by their governments, and some types of new 

construction are restricted. The notion that each family, farm or non, 

needs a single family dwelling isn't as strongly ingrained as here.


Recognize as well that changes in the EU in recent years have impacted 

policies and practices for all of European agriculture. Access to land 

in former Iron Curtain counties and changes in the workforce, e.g 

migrant workers, have had impacts both positive and negative. What year 

was New Organic Grower published? If the quote isn't current within the 

last couple of years...is it germane?


Brigette

Avalon Farms Homegrown

www.avalonfarmshomegrown.com






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