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A growing number of young Americans are leaving desk jobs to farm

washingtonpost.com

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Re: A growing number of young Americans are leaving desk jobs to farm

#61

Post by stevenwoo »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #34
Retric wrote: post #2

Their are no "three-acre farms," at best it's a garden. My old boss operated a 80 acre micro farm while holding down a full time job. It was a hobby that at best broke even, but he had fun. PS: They might say be operating a stall at a locally grown market, but it's the stall not the farm that's generating income.

Only in the land of North American industrial mega-corp agriculture would 80 acres be "micro" anything. The farms next to me (I live rural) are 20-30 acres and are farmed by professional subcontractors that employ dozens of (immigrant seasonal) labour for picking etc. and use heavy machinery that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars and are shared between multiple farms. Likely if your old boss operated a 'micro' f…

I imagine it's because there are tax advantages but anecdotally in the Silicon Valley suburbs (Los Altos Hills/Portola Valley/Atherton) there are a high number of one to three acre farms and vineyards.

Re: A growing number of young Americans are leaving desk jobs to farm

#62

Post by nabla9 »

ratacat wrote: post #50
nabla9 wrote: post #39

Some commentators here have difficulty of understanding how small farming can be profitable. It's relatively easy to explain. They are not selling just the product. Just like microbreweries, small farms sell for people who want more than just a beer or lettuce. They want to distinguish themselves and buy the feeling of authentic life and values. Consumer pays more for "small farm" even if the product is not any diffe…

I pay ten dollars a gallon for fresh non pasteurized milk from a local family that has seven cows. I don't buy a lifestyle from them, I buy fucking good milk from animals that are loved like family, and I'm proud to be helping them make a living doing something that is good for everyone(including the cows). It's not a lifestyle, it's just supporting people who aren't shitting on everyone's future.

Lifestyle is your interests, opinions, and behaviour.

Words you are using: proud , helping, doing good, supporting. These are all values that form the basis for your lifestyle.

ps. non-pasteurized milk aka raw milk is not healthier and it's less safe. It's organic-natural consumer fad.

Re: A growing number of young Americans are leaving desk jobs to farm

#63

Post by pcurve »

wyager wrote: post #44
planteen wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you mean by quality? Fruits and vegetables in the US tend to have much higher visual quality than elsewhere.

You are absolutely right, but that visual quality comes at a huge cost in other areas. For example, I find tomatoes in the US disgusting (and don’t tell me “oh, you need to try fresh/cherry/whatever tomatoes”, I have). They look good but taste horrible. They’ve been bred for looks and weight, not flavor. In many places outside the US, the tomato breeds there are bred for flavor, not looks. They’re uglier, but they ha…

"They’ve been bred for looks and weight, not flavor."

Yes, and cost-effective long-haul transport-ability and long shelf-life.

Re: A growing number of young Americans are leaving desk jobs to farm

#64

Post by hkmurakami »

nabla9 wrote: post #39

Some commentators here have difficulty of understanding how small farming can be profitable. It's relatively easy to explain. They are not selling just the product. Just like microbreweries, small farms sell for people who want more than just a beer or lettuce. They want to distinguish themselves and buy the feeling of authentic life and values. Consumer pays more for "small farm" even if the product is not any diffe…

This reminds me of what an operator of a small, high end, boutique winery told me: "we sell a lifestyle"

Re: A growing number of young Americans are leaving desk jobs to farm

#65

Post by nilkn »

shiven wrote: post #58
nilkn wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's just supporting people who aren't shitting on everyone's future. If all dairy cows were treated exactly the same as the cows you're getting milk from, would milk be sufficiently plentiful and affordable for everyone to be able to get milk? If you really want something that's better for cows and the environment, why not just drink soy milk (or any of a pretty big variety of milk that doesn't come from cows)?

And what happens to cows, as a species, a few decades from now?

I don't fully understand what you're asking. Could you clarify? Are you suggesting they might go extinct? Or something else?

Re: A growing number of young Americans are leaving desk jobs to farm

#66

Post by hashkb »

nilkn wrote: post #55
ratacat wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pay ten dollars a gallon for fresh non pasteurized milk from a local family that has seven cows. I don't buy a lifestyle from them, I buy fucking good milk from animals that are loved like family, and I'm proud to be helping them make a living doing something that is good for everyone(including the cows). It's not a lifestyle, it's just supporting people who aren't shitting on everyone's future.

> it's just supporting people who aren't shitting on everyone's future. If all dairy cows were treated exactly the same as the cows you're getting milk from, would milk be sufficiently plentiful and affordable for everyone to be able to get milk? If you really want something that's better for cows and the environment, why not just drink soy milk (or any of a pretty big variety of milk that doesn't come from cows)?

Is everyone supposed to be able to buy gallons of milk and pounds of meat with the money they ear from less than a day's work? What's right? Who decides?

Re: A growing number of young Americans are leaving desk jobs to farm

#67

Post by wil421 »

vanjoe wrote: post #57
ratacat wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I pay ten dollars a gallon for fresh non pasteurized milk from a local family that has seven cows. I don't buy a lifestyle from them, I buy fucking good milk from animals that are loved like family, and I'm proud to be helping them make a living doing something that is good for everyone(including the cows). It's not a lifestyle, it's just supporting people who aren't shitting on everyone's future.

Is that legal? In Canada I'm not sure your allowed to sell unpasteurised milk.

Similar laws in the US, some places in my state label it as something not to be consumed by humans to get around the laws. I forget what the labels say exactly.

People forget we pasteurize for a reason.

Re: A growing number of young Americans are leaving desk jobs to farm

#70

Post by astura »

ratacat wrote: post #50
nabla9 wrote: post #39

Some commentators here have difficulty of understanding how small farming can be profitable. It's relatively easy to explain. They are not selling just the product. Just like microbreweries, small farms sell for people who want more than just a beer or lettuce. They want to distinguish themselves and buy the feeling of authentic life and values. Consumer pays more for "small farm" even if the product is not any diffe…

I pay ten dollars a gallon for fresh non pasteurized milk from a local family that has seven cows. I don't buy a lifestyle from them, I buy fucking good milk from animals that are loved like family, and I'm proud to be helping them make a living doing something that is good for everyone(including the cows). It's not a lifestyle, it's just supporting people who aren't shitting on everyone's future.

You say you don't buy for lifestyle reasons but then go on to describe lifestyle reasons for your purchase:

"animals that are loved like family"

"helping [small farmers] make a living doing something that is good for everyone"

"supporting people who aren't shitting on everyone's future."

These are all lifestyle choices. You make your purchase not just because of the product but because of your identity, feelings, and values. If there were an identical product produced by a big company using factory farming methods it would be less appealing to you. That's not a bad thing and I don't make a judgment about it, everyone has lifestyle reasons for some of their purchases, it's just a fact.

Just like how probably half (or more) of the beer I consume is from the brewery down the street. If they are releasing a new beer I'm going to be there, either on release day or the day after if I'm busy. This is not only because the beer is good, the prices are on par with similar beers, and the location convenient but:

-I like supporting local independently owned business. I believe that to be virtuous in and of itself.

-The owners and staff are really nice and they all know me by name.

-The owners and brewer take time to come up front and say hi and chat when they see me. We talk about what's new in life.

-Their presence helps keep my property value high and my neighborhood characteristic.

My purchase makes me feel good and feel like I'm helping a friend out rather than just consuming a product I enjoy.

If those lifestyle factors weren't there I'd probably vary my purchases more and buy their beer only a couple times a year.

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