My Farm Field Trip + Ways to Support Our Local Farmers

When a new friend suggested I attend a local agriculture conference, my first thought was “why?”  I assumed that there would only be talk of seed yield, pest management, and large-scale plant-growing techniques – things that don’t affect my small, organic, backyard garden.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Instead, there were sessions on the challenges and rewards of farming in the city, creating opportunities for tourists to visit farms and food centers so they can learn about the source of their food, fostering food community in which farmers sell directly to people and restaurants, crafting stories about small-scale and heritage farms that invoke romance and invite memory, and of new-found passion by corporate refugees who now make cheese or sell organic tomatoes.

And there was also a field trip – one of my favorite parts of the conference.  The trip took us to 3 locations: a 5-generation family farm that is attempting to stay vibrant by using green houses to extend its growing season, a tree farm whose fields are interspersed with the numerous housing developments that have cropped up in recent years, and a beautiful farm on the edge of a wetlands conservancy area whose fields may be plowed down by the state in order to build a road.

It was educational and eye-opening.  And I walked away with some new insight and greater conviction that supporting local farms – the small, often family-owned farms that struggle to compete and survive – is more important than ever.

Farm land is disappearing

Rapidly.  The American Farmland Trust estimates that farmland is disappearing at a rate of 2 acres per minute. Farm land is not protected.  It is often viewed as more valuable for roads and houses.  And, if there is no one to pass the land on to, family farms  are often broken up and sold.  These factors are what lead to orchards being developed and to streets being named Cherry or Peach to remind us of the tress that once grew there   Once fertile, productive farmland is developed, there is no going back.

Food security is at risk

With farm lands disappearing, not just locally but also internationally, we run the risk of food demand outstripping supply.  The agricultural system we have today is centralized; it allows for more affordable food, but also results in farms that grow a single type of plant or which, if a drought hits for example, can severely impact food supply on a broad scale.  Small farms are local food anchors that help buffer us against supply risk, offer food diversity, but also help make sure that if one farm faces drought or pest, there are others that will be safe.

Time is of the essence and flavor is queen

Did you know that in some cases, a locally-grown apple will be shipped to another state to be labeled and then sent right back to your local grocer?  During the days it takes to transport that apple, it loses flavor, crispness, and nutrients.  The system was developed to make things more affordable and efficient, but a lot is sacrificed in the process.  Buying directly from local farmers allows you to get the freshest food possible, while supporting your community’s economy and food producers.

So what can you do about this?

• Support your local farmers and food producers by participating in community-supported agriculture (CSA), eating at locally-owned restaurants that use local meats and produce, shopping at farmers’ markets, and asking your grocery stores to stock locally-grown and produced foods.
• Find out how local farmers and food producers grow and make the foods they sell.  What are their farming practices?  How do they raise their animals? Do they have a philosophy about organic and sustainable food production – what is it and how is it put into practice?
• Learn how local food production affects your community.  What is grown in your region?  What farms and food producers sell produce in your area?  Where are things sold?
• Consider organic or local or, preferably, both.  This is a choice rife with controversy and view points,  and requires learning about the ways specific food is produced, it’s flavor and quality, and the impacts it has on health and planet.  You need to decide what food production options are right for you.
• Know your budget and vote with your fork.  What can you afford?  What foods are you willing and able to spend a little more on – if necessary – in order to get local?

I do realize that the problems (and the efficiencies) of our agricultural system are complex, that price or flavor often drives what we buy, and that the questions of what to do to protect our health, manage our budgets, and support local farming are not easy ones to answer, let alone balance.  I also know that, as someone who grew up in one of those towns whose orchards were lost to development, I am biased.

But, regardless of how we feel about these issues, the choices we make can make a difference in the future of food – for better or worse.

What are your thoughts on buying locally produced foods?  How do local goods fit into your shopping, if at all?

Also shared on Fight Back Friday 

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