Live data from Hacker News

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

washingtonpost.com

181–190 of 441 posts

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

#181
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…

For those who are interested in the topic, i just finished reading this: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3109.The_Omnivore_s_Dile.... The author follows the ingredients of a meal he makes all the way back to the farms. He seems to romanticize certain notions of naturally grown foods and at other times, is given to polemic against the agriculturally industrial complex (quite justifiably at times). The book itself was a lesson in the history of agriculture, nutrition, politics, policy, cooking, animal husbandry and the organic food industry. There is a part of the book where he talks about the huge industrial setup behind organic food and tries to distinguish it from the vicissitudes of the small scale farmers life. He even turns into a hunter gatherer for a little to experience life as it was before agriculture. It was a totally fascinating read and i recommend it.

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

#182
post #73
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.

As someone who grew up on a farm: yes, there is a real difference in taste between fresh milk and processed milk. IIRC My dad told me it was more about the homogenization part than a the pasteurization part (which is good because it means you can get milk that tastes well totally without risk.) That said: I'd drink fresh unprocessed milk again without hesitation as long as I know the farmer.

As someone who spent his summers getting fresh milk (often still warm) from a nearby farm, and pasteurized milk the rest of the year, I can't say I ever tasted much of a difference.

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

#183
post #18

I am doing pretty much the same. I am currently an engineering student, working part-time as a programmer. Although the job market for programmers is excellent in Europe, I bought an apple orchard (via loan) pretty close to the capital of the country where I live. Due to the proximity of the capital city, I can sell my product at a decent price and earn more than an average senior dev here. I also enjoy being outside…

Do you have a blog or something with more details? I have a dream of doing something similar, although growing vegetables, and would like to know more. My email address is in my profile if you don’t want to make it public.

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

#184
post #120

I thought this was going to be about MMO currency. Very disappointed. Really though, I'm not very surprised this is happening. Desk jobs can be pretty soul crushing. Sometimes I wonder how long it would take for me to learn Pennsylvania Dutch and join the Amish.

>>learn Pennsylvania Dutch and join the Amish.

I know Amish people and have grown up Mennonite. There is a significant way of thinking that is very hard (though not impossible) to overcome coming in. This is true even if you have a supporting Amish community and find language learning easy.

I am very interested in this process and how it feels to those on the outside coming in. Let me know if you attempt this.

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

#185
post #148

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You seem to be implying all eggs taste the same, which is not true.

Eh, at least one test seemed to show that there wasn't a noticeable difference: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/08/what-are-the-best-eggs-ca...

There is a huge difference in taste between different types of chicken feed. The same chicken will produce thick, dark orange, bitter yolks with one type and lighter yolks with another, in both cases free to roam and eat bugs and grass.

So any taste test that doesn't find a difference between eggs isn't testing the right eggs.

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

#186
post #141
post #112

We did this. My wife has a masters in microbio, and I worked at IBM on their C++ and for Fortran compilers for about 8 years (yay std::atomics). I still do remote contract work to help pay for upgrades to the farm. Would be nice to get one of my side-projects finished and start pumping out some income streams, but it's not a big rush anymore. I have a point of sale system built with React and Haskell that integrates…

Here's a question about adjustment to rural life, because I have been daydreaming about this for a long time: Are you now isolated from existing friends and family? That's really my one big worry. I'm super burned out on software, and currently facing all the same concerns it sounds like you did before, it just frightens me the idea of being further removed (geographically) from the few family and friends we have lef…

my guess is that it depends on what kind of person you are and how good you are about keeping in touch. your mileage will vary. if you live like you essentially died instead of simply moved, then you'll have no friends. but if you invite friends over and actually make it a priority to meet up at least once every X weeks/months, then i'm sure you'll be fine

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

#187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can taste the difference.

Did you do a double blind study?

You don't have to blind a study when the effect size is big enough (the classic example is the ridiculousness of a double-blind test of the use of parachutes). See my other comment for how easily egg flavor can be altered.

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

#188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Put it this way - if you bought your apples from the grocery store and sold them in your stall, it would probably sell just as well. It's the experience of going to a market and buying from a stall that people like, NOT the produce.

If that were true, than how is it even possible for a farmer to get a spot at the stall? Why aren't they crowded out by grocery arbitragers?

Because there's certainly skill involved in the successful managing of a stall. It's not that anyone could buy from the grocery store and sell at the stall and make a profit; just the people who successfully make profit on a small farm.

The suggestion is that the customer knowledge/access is what is providing value, not the farming.

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

#189
post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Eggs are insanely cheap. I’m not sure why anyone would bother to fake them.

To economize other costs on the supply chain and to standardize quality

This plus spoilage, durability & logistics costs. (which you might be already including).

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

#190
post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

you don't have the eqvielent of green top milk like we have in the UK ie a herd that has much stricter regulation and testing?

In the UK you can only buy unpasteurised milk direct from a farm, not from a shop.
Post reply on HN