"On a small farm, agriculture wasn't a business. It was what you did from before breakfast until suppertime. Food was local--store-bought was the exception. You knew where everything came from: the corn, the lettuce, the berries (from bushes down around the abandoned corn crib), the maple syrup, the beef, the green beans, and the potatoes, that last stored in large plastic buckets on an unheated porch. But we didn't study food, or compare it, or set out to find the best this or the best that. It was just our food, the stuff that we cooked and ate.
It's hard to explain that to someone used to the aisles of Whole Foods. Choices give life possibilities but also complications. Sometimes it's nice to know what's for dinner simply be peeking into the root cellar, the garden, or the freezer..."
I love this passage. Not just for the images and feelings it evokes, but also for the way it makes me kind of glad things are different today. The first line is especially appropriate because am currently in the process of finalizing our business plan. Before I took this business course, agriculture was simply what I did from breakfast until suppertime. However, if you want to grow food for other people, it is a business. It is a regulated, market-driven, consumer enterprise. I will admit, business to me used to be a four letter word. But now I have a special appreciation for business, especially small business, especially local business. The people who I am taking this course with are extraordinary people, extraordinary farmers, with extraordinary visions.
Perhaps the most extraordinary is that most of them, as far as I can tell, do not have visions to become huge operations. Profitable, of course, but still local, sustainable, and community oriented. I include ourselves in this group. What I also realize is that if these businesses are not profitable, they will not continue, and we will actually have less choices. The passage is true, choices complicate matters. But if all or most of your choices involve a high-quality product you can truly feel connected to and good about buying, then complication is a blessing. I feel this is especially true when it comes to making choices about the foods we feed ourselves and our family.
Finally, I also feel it is becoming easier to explain this to someone used to the aisles of any grocery store, and perhaps a little easier to those who shop at Whole Foods. Although we may have to explain to people the principles of eating seasonally, using sustainable methods for the health of our family and planet, and the cost of doing so, people are listening. The fact that I am able to wake up every day, look forward to working in the garden to grow the best food for my family and yours, is a testament to this.
So to you, my customers and community members-I thank you for continuing to demand and support excellence and for perusing the aisles of our garden as well (if not better) as the aisles of the grocery store. And this, coming from your local farmer...and businesswoman.
