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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

#91

Post by astura »

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…

It's well known that tomatoes you buy in the store in the US are pure garbage, even among Americans.

I live in the Northeast. Around here practically every single person plants tomatoes if they have a backyard, even if they never plant any other vegetables ever. Chatting about how your tomatoes are doing and what type of tomatoes you are growing is a classic pasttime around these parts.

Of course the reason is there's nothing you can buy in the store that tastes like what you plant in your yard. I know quite a few people who don't like store tomatoes but like home-grown tomatoes.

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

#92

Post by wott »

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.

> a 80 acre micro farm

Not sure how you can call that 'micro'...

That is more than the median surface area of farms in my country, and that was the average surface area 20 years ago before some capitalistic movement to build big 'company' farms that skew the mean. It can support a family. And I am not talking about a developing country, but about the country with probably the highest agricultural productivity in the world.

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

#93

Post by scruple »

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.

The answer is it depends and it's complicated, as raw milk is actually fairly highly regulated. The FDA has laws that prohibit the sale of raw milk across state borders. State laws vary, obviously. In some states it is legal and can be found in stores on shelves, in some states it is legal and can only be sold on the farm, and in some states it is illegal to sell. And, of course, those state laws can be superseded by local laws. You really have to put a little effort in to reading the local and state regulations in each area to sort it out.

I feel that if I was going to buy raw milk from a very small scale operation that I would want to personally see their operation. You have to ensure that the farmers milking are really paying attention to what they're doing. I've had some particularly nasty food poisoning in my life, one instance of which landed me in the ER and had me on a quasi quarantine watch by the county CDC, in fact, and so I don't really play around with my food too much. Milk is a tough one because a healthy cow can become a sick cow overnight. It's also made more challenging by the daily goings-ons with the milking process.

Having said all of that, my wife and I buy raw milk from a mid-scale creamery in Los Angeles, near where my wife grew up, whenever we are in the area. I've never really had much concern over it, because this creamery has been in operation for many decades and is quite reputable, but we are also well aware of the risk.

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

#94

Post by cderwin »

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.

It's not legal to sell it in a store but there's no problem buying directly from the source.

At least that's how it worked in new Hampshire about 10 years ago.

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

#95

Post by shitgoose »

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.

In Canada you go to jail for selling unpasteurized milk.

http://torontosun.com/news/provincial/raw-milk-dairy-farmer-...

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

#96

Post by afpx »

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…

Hmm. To this unfashionable middle-aged guy, that sounds too complicated. I buy local produce simply because it often tastes better. And, I can afford to pay 50% more for better taste.

I guess you could spin it to describe it as a lifestyle choice - my boring, middle-aged lifestyle. Like, my ‘I buy costco toilet paper’ lifestyle. That seems like a stretch. Or, maybe not.

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

#97

Post by kyleblarson »

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…

So if I switch from drinking Racer 5 to drinking Budweiser I won't be able to tell the difference?

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

#98

Post by shitgoose »

cderwin wrote: post #94
vanjoe wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

It's not legal to sell it in a store but there's no problem buying directly from the source. At least that's how it worked in new Hampshire about 10 years ago.

It is a problem buying it directly from the source:

http://torontosun.com/news/provincial/raw-milk-dairy-farmer-...

Source goes to jail.

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

#100

Post by Spooky23 »

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.

Amen, brother. I pay $5/gallon for a family farm to deliver milk to my house, and have been since 2006. People think that we're nuts for doing this, then they have the milk or the yogurt I make with it.

It's helped my in my efforts to lose weight an improve my family's health. When you pay more for better product, whether it be milk or chicken or beef or vegetables, you eat less and utilize it more. Instead of seeking bulk, we chase flavor and quality.

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