Can the small farmer survive?

Question

Can the small farmer survive?

Answer 1

My husband and I ARE small farmers.  The short answer to your question is, "No, the vast majority of small farmers will not survive (as farmers)."

I'm going to address something Tonya R stated first.  She said something that completely infuriates me, because of the publics serrious misconceptions and lack on knowledge.  She stated, "Yes, the government will pay him to stop producing."  

NO small farmer recieves Government subsidies!  The Government will not pay small farmers not to produce!  Subsidies put out by the Government are all sucked up by the mega rich agri businessman.  How many of you know that they are trying to pass a law right now, that will "quote" make it fairer for the small family farmer.  This new law is a complete and utter joke, yet the fact that they are trying to get it passed gives you an idea just "who" is sucking up the Government subsidies.  The new law will define a "small family farmer" as someone who does not make more than ONE MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR PROFIT.

What this means is currently the majority of Government subsidies are sucked up by agra businessmen who make MORE than four million dollars a year profit.

Remember that is PROFIT, not total income.  I'm talking about having one million dollars in your pocket after you pay all of your farming expences.

The idea that a "small family farm" has more than a million dollars profit in their pocket at the end of the year is COMPLETELY laughable.  All the Government is trying to do by getting this law passed is to take the Government subsidies out of the pocket of the companies that are making billions (with a "B"), instead of the smaller agra businesses that are mearly making millions (with an "M").

The only farmers who consitantly recieve Government subsidy checks are the dairy farmers, and corn farmers.  The Government welfare system for both of those types of farmers, because they are so closely tied in with the Stock Market and success of the Government.

Small farmers are being driven out of business right and left.  A lot of it has to do with fear based laws being passed by the majority of the people (that means people who live in cities since that is where the "majority" live).  The media driven fear based campaigns are sponsered by the mega big Agra Businesses, like Monsanto, Cargil, ConAgra, ect.

These businesses are trying to gain control of the worlds food production, not just food production in the U.S.A.   This is being QUICKLY achieved via G.M. foods, patens on seeds, AND some livestock, terminator genes, ect.

Another effective messure for "them" to gain control is with laws/programs, like the NAIS....National Animal Identification System.  "They" got the NAIS passed with loopeholes for them, so they could register entire herds, and flocks under just one number, but the small farmer must register each and every animal and bear the cost himself.  Of course we all know all the problems with our food supply (Ecoli, Salmonia, BSE) are caused at the giant agra business level, NOT the small farmer level.  It's just a means of driving even more small farmers out of business.

Small farmer face unfairness from the public (their customers) as well.  I hear it all the time at farmers markets.  Someone will be looking over some real high quality produce, filled with nutrition, vitamins, trace minerals, and no pesticides, and other chemicals, and the potentional customer will say, "Why should I pay $2 a pound for these tomatoes, when I can go to WalMart, and get them for $1.29 a pound?"

People simply do not understand the difference in quality of a product grown in traditional ways, with good soil, manure, water and sunshine, vs. a product grown in soil stripped of all trace minerals, chemical fertilizers, often contaminated water (chemicals), and with the product itself being disigned with thick skins and long shelf life to withstand harvest, trasport, and multiple handlings.  It is not a heriloom variety designed for outstand taste, a thin skin, often bruising easily, and designed to grow well in that particular environment.

Any idea how frustrating it is for a small farmer who has been busting their rear end growing a fabulous garden, and getting up early, harvesting, and setting up at the farmers market to hear this whine, "But I can get this cheaper at the grocery store."  The answer is, no actually you cannot.  You can get food that is grown for long shelf life, is filled with chemicals, and has not nearly the amount of vitamins, and trace minerals that mine does.  

People complain that "organics" sold in the grocery store are the same as the other stuff.  For the most part, they are correct....it's exactly the same.  It just has less chemicals, be it vegtable, or meat....that's the only difference.  However organics grown by a small farmer...well that's a whole 'nother ball of wax!  The difference between a true small farmer's organics, and the mass produced by agri business organics is night and day.

People need to be willing to pay a fair price for a true quality product.

Small farmers need to not fall into the "keeping up with the Jones" trap.  It's very nice that your neighbors who purchased the farmette, who both work outside jobs, and don't serriously farm for a living, can afford the brand new tractor they are making payments on.

The small farmer who is actually trying to make a living needs to stay away from ANYTHING they need to make payments on.  They also need to pay off their mortgage as fast as possible.  If you have to make payments, you need a reliable income, which in turn means you need to work for slave wages (that means work for someone else).  

Small farmers need to be as completely independant as possible.  I've also come to believe that small farmers need to be permaculture farmers.  As far as I can see that is the only way to be truely successful for the small farmer.  Permaculture means perminant agriculture.  In turn that means everything is a closed loop on the farm.

Let's say someone has found a wonderful niche market making really good goat cheese.  It sells very well at the farmers market.  At their farm, they have their goats, but import (purchase from someone else) all of their hay to feed their goats.

All of the manure their gets to be a problem too.  On most small farms that do not have closed loops it just piles up (and up and up).

Now let's just say this goat cheese maker has a wonderful product and sells at a fair profit.  Then she has a year like last year.  In 2006, local alfalfa hay sold for $80 a ton.  In 2007, local alfalfa hay sold for $200 a ton.  A $120 increase in the price of the hay.  It's not costing the farmer that much more to produce the hay, even though fuel prices did go up.  Demand, and shortages are driving the price of hay sky high.

Suddenly that goat cheese farmer now finds SHE is actually at the mercy of forces outside her control.  If she had had enough land to produce her own hay, she would have seen a modest increase in the price of production, due to increased fuel costs.  However that could have been easily offset with a very modest increase in the price of her cheese.  The market however will not support her if she needs to triple, or quadruple the price of her cheese.  So she is yet another small farmer who finds themselves driven out of business through their own folly.

We produce for sale to our customers meat rabbits, and meat goats on our farm.  We also grow alfalfa, and rapeseed (canola).  The rapeseed is turned into biofuel to run our trucks and tractors.  The alfalfa feeds the animals.  The animals produce manure which fertilizes our fields.  Our farm is a closed loop, permaculture farm.

Our tractors are John Deere's from the 1930-1950's.  They run on "all fuel."  That means we can put gas, diesel, kerosine, alchohol, or biofuel in our tractors and they will run on it.  Growing our own fuel means we are little affected by the fuel prices.

Small farmers also need to grow a product that is suited for their environment, and that they have a local market for.  My main products are meat goats.  Who would think in the middle of Idaho, in the very heart of potato country I would have a market for meat goats?!  Yet with the local University, I do.  

Small farmers also need to raise something that has a real and true market, and not something they need to try and talk people into eating.  Goat meat is the most eaten meat in the world.  There is a real and true market for it, if one has the ethnic customers nearby to support it.  See ostrich farming though, if you want to see something that farmers tried to create a market for.  I don't know of a single ostrich farm in the U.S.A. that is still in business.  Stay away from fads, trends, and debt like the plague if you want to be a successful small farmer.  Be fierely independant, and a gifted mechanic.  Don't listen to people who tell you, "but you should do this."  If it's working for you, you are doing something right.

My own father-in-law (bless his heart) grew up a farm boy, farming with draft horses.  He could not fathom why on earth I had goats.  He told me to, "milk them goats, and raise calves on the goats milk."  I just smiled and said, "not much money in cattle right now."

He now brags to everyone about his smart daughter-in-law who sells goats.  He still laughs about the fact that people actually buy them.  

Small farmers who are smart and can avoid the pitfalls of some of the new laws, and avoid debt CAN survive.  Most however will fail.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

Answer 2

I agree with most of what the answerer above me said. In my opinion, the small, family farm can possibly survive if circumstances are right. One person needs to work outside the home to provide a steady income. The small farmer who finds a niche market will be more successful than the one who sells at auctions, etc. Another way to possibly be successful is to diversify, but you can't spread yourself to thin. It really depends on your definition of "survive", however; do you mean to make a profit or do you mean to not lose your shirt?

Answer 3

honestly i hate to say it, but i have to agree with the guy above me.

Answer 4

I don't see the point.  You wouldn't buy a car built in some guy's garage would you?   You don't think people's home printers can compete with real publishers do you?   Farming benefits from economy of scale.  The only ones who will survive will be the ones who make exotic crops.  When do I get to see marionberries at the grocery store?

Answer 5

Yes and no! Depending on how you use market demand to production relationship. If you are  wise enough to grow high paying items you will survive but grow what world grows you will fail.

Take good care and do your home work properly.

Answer 6

Yes, the government will pay him to stop producing.

Answer 7

it depends on what you are calling small i farm in west ky most small farms in my area that support the living are at least 500 acres of crops and maybe some livestock or dairy anything less than this is being supported by someone working a job off the farm to pay the monthly living expenses in my opinion the small farmer if he wants to survive is going to have to expand and take on more acres as the cost of machinery fertilizer and land goes up the profit margin per acre has been pretty slim for the past sevral years so you must grow and run more acres to stay in buissness and i am not sure that those of us who are running 3000 acres or more are going to be able to survive with the price of all the inputs