Warning: This is perhaps the most controversial post I have ever done, and I must say I have hesitated for weeks on how to present this idea. As you read through, please keep an open mind and consider the points raised. What finally prompted me to post this is a recent blog post from another small family farm that didnt survive. this one hits close to home. A family that started a small far, committed all their savings, time, and energy into making the best food possible, but in the end failed to make a living. they were forced to sell and move back into obscurity in town, leaving their customers with no where to turn. With that tragedy in mind, please consider my comments.
There are 3 types of farms in America today :
- Hobby farms
- Family owned for profit farms
- Corporate owned big ag
A common question is... What's the difference between the hobby farm and the family farm? This is both a great question and the essence of this posting.
Hobby farm is (my own definition) any farm not intended to make a profit. It is not the size that defines hobby, but the motivation. A farmer that does not have a goal of making a living wage off the farm is a hobby farmer. A hobby farm is one that assume the need for off farm income to survive. The main goal of most hobby farms is to produce high quality nutritionally superior food for a small group of people at the lowest cost possible.
Contrast this with a for profit family farm. This is the farmer that does not work off farm to support the family, but depends on the farm income. Sure sometimes things go wrong and outside income is necessary, but the goal is to live off the farm exclusively. It is not what the family does for fun, it is what they do for food, clothing, and shelter. the main goal of a small family farm is to produce high quality nutritionally superior food for the largest number of people possible without sacrificing quality, while making a living in the process.
The corporate farm is of course dedicated to maximum profit at all costs, raising production and dropping quality while consuming government handouts. Size is a factor here, because bring efficiency at the cost of quality and longevity. the main goal of the corporate farm is profit, at all costs.
The question of this post is this... what is the greatest competition to small family for profit farms? the conclusion I have come to is surprising, even shocking. But I believe it is real. The most harmful competitor is in fact NOT big ag, not large conventional farms. It is the hobby farm... it is those good intentioned individuals with honor and high ideals. Hobby farms are what is enabling big ag to dominate.
Before you get upset, and throw this post away, please hear me out.
Big Ag -- primarily sold through grocery stores, is easy for small farms to compete with. They lack quality. They lack integrity. They lack personal bond with customers. They lack principles of healing the earth, being kind to nature. there are dozens of things that big ag can not do, and has no interest in doing, because of their size and focus. They are , in essence an easy target. the only thing they offer the public is convenience and low price, at the cost of health, nutrition, environment, etc. Those that shop for food by price, at walmart, will not even consider buying eggs for $7 per dozen. those willing to pay $7 per dozen for decent eggs are not willing to grace the door of walmart for food.
But, that leaves two sources to consider for the individual who cares about nutrition and environment: hobby farms and for profit family farms. They both offer a superior product to anything available from the grocery store. BUT there is a fundamental difference. Hobby farms often operate at a loss or break even. I have often heard the comment" if i can just cover my feed cost with these egg prices I will be happy". You can substitute any product in that phrase and it fits. hobby farms just want to cover costs, and usually employ little to no labor. Therefore their prices, for excellent food, are artificially low. It is food sold "at cost".
This sets the bar of pricing low, so that when a small family farm tries to make a profit, their pricing must remain higher than corresponding local hobby farms. The difference is that hte for profit farm has no other income, so must make at least minimum wage on its products to exist. the hobby farm can sell literally at cost to produce without labor. therefore, the biggest competitor to family farms is the hobby farm.
Why is this a problem? well.. obviously the hobby farm must have a second income to exist. the food itself does not provide income. it must be subsidized by other non farm labor. That necessarily splits the focus of the hobby farm, and limits its production abilities. There can not be an individual dedicated to producing as much good food as possible because time and energy must be left to do things that actually make money. therefore, quality and quantity can not be what it could be. hobby farms, by definition, are part time farmers.
For example... Pasteurized non-organic milk from stressed unhealthy coos for $4 per gallon in the store does not compete with milk we produce. BUT milk from local hobby farms sold for $15 per gallon does. Yet, any dairy person will tell you that $15 per gallon at best will only cover costs of producing it. They dont make a profit, they do it because they love to, or because they want to help the world. yet, setting the price bar this low, at cost, prevents many more dairies from going into operation to provide milk to even more people at $20 per gallon at a profit. You see, selling good food at cost of production HURTS everyone in the long run.
Now I ask you.. how does this model scale? while I certainly agree that food should be reasonably prices, the reality is.. if you dont have small for profit farms you are left to only part time hobby farms and big ag. will that feed the world? how are we to change the health of our nation if we are limited to part time farmers and big ag? we NEED small family farms to produce the bulk of the food, and they need to make a living doing it.
Where am i going with this? I am not entirely sure. one thing I know is this.. if hobby farms would price their food high enough to make minimum wage while producing it, instead of making food at cost, there would be LOTS more food available to more people of high quality. many more families would venture into the farming world full time, producing much more food at reasonable true prices.
Am i against coops , food sharing, bartering, etc etc? no. not against. but I throw out for a discussion a warning that if we continue to produce good food at cost, we will someday ONLY be able to find good food from people willing to do it at a loss, part time, in dwindling quantities. And that is a sad day indeed.
So, bottom line is.. good food production is not in jeopardy from big ag, they are not the enemy. the Monsantos of the world will never take out small family farms. but, the sad reality is, hobby farms might. Just as the previous owners of farms that have gone out of business without a second income to support it. hear their stories. feel their heartbreak. then go support a full time local family farm.
