Hello Friends,
I have been spending some time researching ways to Help Save the Small Farms.
We’d love your support of our small family farm! Check out our shop. Each purchase helps keep our farm going.
Why would we need to save small farms? Great Question!
Small family run farms have reached a critical point. If there was ever a time to gather and support our local farming families , now is the time.
When we moved into our 2 acre homestead, (farmstead, property that we grow lots of food, whatever you want to call it) in 2019, we had 3 dairy farms around us. They were so close we could see all of them from our property. Within a few short years they all stopped milking. The time, energy and resources (help) was becoming too hard for them. You see they all 50+ years old, and having been on those properties since they were in diapers.
Times are changing. Kids don’t want to carry on what dad and granddad built because they have seen the wear it has on their parents bodies, physically and mentally.
Also right now the prices they are getting for selling milk is low vs the amount of money they are putting into feed, fuel, and equipment. The cost have risen faster than revenue, making it harder for smaller operations to have a profit.
These older farmers have little choice but to sell. Sell the cows, equipment, materials, even lumber and mineral rights, then they auction off the property into many sections.
To give you an idea of the scale of the situation, there were 6.8 million farms in the U.S in 1935. Now, there are only about 2 million. Farming suffered a massive drop in the 70s and it continues to slowly go down, according to the USDA.
6 simple ways to help save small family farms include:
- Eat locally grown food that’s in season
- Sign up for a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) share
- Shop local and buy in bulk
- Eat at farm-to-table restaurants
- Encourage others to buy local organic
- Get in the kitchen and cook from scratch ( I wrote a book with simple recipes to get you started book)
Remember — if we don’t have farms, we don’t have food. We must do our part to support the people in our communities who support us.
Not sure who your local farmers are?
You have a few options.
Google local farms.
Check out Facebook, most areas of homestead and farm groups that will be able to help you find small family farms in your area.
Ask people at the local coffee shops and church. They will be a great resource for you.
Finally, take a drive.
Find those county and township roads, you know the ones that are dirt, have lots of potholes and are only wide enough to fit a tractor. Find the ones with giant gardens, cows roaming the pastures and chickens in their yard. Stop and ask them for a few minutes of their time. Most (not all) would love to share what they are growing.
This is going to take a little effort. However, what else are you going to do on a weekend afternoon? Spend time watching YouTube, a show you have seen multiple times or scrolling not really interacting with anyone?
You never know what friendships you may gain, how much your health may improve and what farming family you might be saving.
Grow Something Beautiful Friends,
Julie
“Raising beef from our family to your TABLE and EDUCATING on the Simple Things.”
Romans 8:28 (NIV) states: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Don’t forget to join us for monthly Honey, We’re HOMESTEADING
Here is the LIVE Recording from April here
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