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  • From: fuwa fuwa usagi <fuwafuwausagi@muchomail.com>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Changing jobs
  • Date: Wed, 28 May 2003 07:46:16 -0700 (PDT)

It was queried:

Today I see a crossroad coming and I am not sure of
> what to do. Do I keep this as just a hobby (and get
> buy more land) or do I make it really work for me. I
> have no formal training in horticulture. Do I go back
> to school, and if so what do I do when I get out? Will
> this be a fruit thing be just a passing fancy, or will
> I start breeding my own cultivars.
>
> I know, these are questions I need answer myself, but
> I always found it good to hear for others about their
> journeys and what they do.
>
> Anyone care to share?

My reply:

Well anyone who knows me knows I have kicked around this same thing for the
past 7-8 years myself. I have studied the issue intensely and probably
could write a small book about the topic. I have elected to respond to this
in a light hearted manner, but there is sound advice in the closing
paragraph. I would not discard it casually. TFB

The negatives:

1)Formal education, in general, sucks. End of story. I know I just ticked
off a bunch of academians out there, but oh well. You are much, much better
off spending the $ to visit talented growers and see what they do, intern
with them etc.

2)Most Master Gardeners don’t know an orifice from a hole in the ground.
Gee guys sorry, but these are the same people whom, at least in my area,
think Gerry Baker is a genius (at marketing maybe).

3)You may be the most talented grower there is, and guess what ol’ mother
nature don’t give a damn. One wind storm 2 weeks before harvest can take out
your entire peach crop, one tornado can wipe an entire block of fruit trees
the year before they first fruit, an ice storm can destroy years of pruning
on those little o’ dwarf trees, a late frost can simply mean no crops at all
that year, same with a drought, same with just about any disease. And guess
what, this is all beyond your control. If you think the bureaucrats in the
college can be unreasonable wait until your boss is mother nature. She is a
temperamental beast at best, and the biggest female-dog you’ll ever know.

4) You will have no respect except from school children and tree hugging
wackos, whom will eagerly listen to your story of crossing a Liberty apple
with a Cox Orange Pippin, right after they tell you about their UFO abduction
and gang probing incident.

5) The helpful Ag guy will most likely be a bureaucrat whom is challenged
keeping crab grass alive. But he is there to inform you. (By the by there
are some great ones out there. But what are the odds he is your Ag guy?)

6) The Government will torture you with pesticide restrictions, disposal,
application, taxes, and inspections.

7) People will instantly think your IQ is 30 points lower than it is. So get
use to people speaking loudly and slowly around you.

8) People will assume you married your sister.

9) Most likely you will not be able to obtain adequate medical coverage.

10) You will have trouble relating to most of the other members of society
(Personally I see that as a benefit).

The postitives:

1) You will never be at fault. You will always have an excuse at hand to
cover for your inadequacy (lack of rain, hail damage, insect damage,
commodity prices).

2) There simply is nothing that will bring you closer to God. End of story.
Tilling the earth, and maximizing the talents the Lord gave you through
ingenuity, thrift, and perseverance is a testament to his glory. If you
approach things from a biblical perspective I am very sure you will be much
happier for it.

3) Your overall health will improve if you are wise about pesticides and stay
away from thrashing machines.

4) You will never have trouble sleeping at night, but you will use a lot of
BenGay.

5) You will probably feel an increased sense of self worth.

6) You will be part of a noble trade,that may possibly be on its way to being
a profession (if you go organic).

7)Manure will simply smell better to you.

8) You will suddenly realize why many liberal concepts are stupid: i.e.
culling is nature’s way of strengthening a species.

9) You will actually be able to see the result of your work (as well as have
your failures made painfully obvious).

10) You will see very sunrise, every sunset, and you will understand the
fleeting nature of life, the precariousness, and how little we all truly
matter in the grand scheme of things. Your children will be more precious
than ever, and your wife will never look more beautiful.

If you look at the lists, what you will find is the negatives are simply out
of your control. If you can handle the concept of destiny or fate, you are
fine, if you think man’s hand can ultimately overcome random chance of a
permutation of bad things you are destined to be unhappy. Simply put this
is why the Amish are so darn successful.

Of the positives almost all of them are intrinsic, or “self” things. It is
that simple. I have spent years studying this type of transition and I can
assure you it is economic foolhardiness for anyone able to command over 32k
in the market place. However lifestyle, or utility value is the offsetting
factor. Only you can set the value of each unit of satisfaction or quality
of life issues in order to balance out the economic equation.

But bear in mind what I said in the preceding paragraph. You are venturing
into a multi-faceted world, where almost everything is beyond your control.
I think many people have a greatly mistaken perception that growing is
simpler, that you have more control when nothing is further from the truth.
Ask any growers whom were using Alar a decade a go, and thought they were
going to go to market with a viable crop. Once again I’ll reiterate most
people seem to transition to this lifestyle with a mistaken perception. They
believe they are entering a world of their wits guided by intelligence
against a dumb static world of known adversaries that can be overcome by
thought or established practices. What they do not “get” is that the
growers world is so complicated, with so many factors that it is impossible
to model. The happiest growers or farmers are gamblers, they are
statisticians at heart. They understand odds, and enter the game with
enough capital to play out all the hands. The use their intelligence to
tilt the odds so they in effect are the house and make their living and limit
their expenses to the houses take. They understand that the outcome of each
individual hand (growing season) matters little, what matters is the
cumulative nature of those hands. And good growers certainly do not
personalize the cards they are dealt, they understand that those cards are
random chance events, and the best they can do is adhere to the rules that
tilt the odds in their favor.

Excelsior,

the fluffy bunny



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