Message from the President, Larry Brewer, June, 1st 2009    

I would like to extend a warm hello and welcome to all of our members and to every individual who reads through our web site.  Thank you all for your interest.  I’ve chosen to devote a few paragraphs to present to you The Small Farms Conservancy’s (SFC) thoughts as we prioritize objectives for the early stages of this young organization’s existence.  I anticipate many quesitons about our choice of programs and objectives, such as “why are we combining efforts to provide reasonably priced health insurance to farmers with educational efforts aimed at the general public?”, or “how does a farm legacy program relate to a nation-wide apprenticeship program?”

Our direction is bound together in recognition of a complex social process that must repeat itself generation after generation in order to sustain the agricultural communities we envision.  One might liken this perpetual process to a very large wheel slowly turning as it rolls through human generations.  The spokes of this wheel are the social processes needed to sustain farm communities, an agrarian way of life, and the potential for individuals to make a living owning and operating an independent family farm.  Folks currently involved in this vocation are well aware of the changes that have taken place in our society during recent decades, changes that have tilted the economic playing field in favor of large-scale industrial agriculture, and which have made it nearly impossible to financially support a family on a small farm without an outside job.   One of the SFC priorities is to address issues that can help level this economic playing field.  If there are going to be small, independent farms and farming communities in the future, individuals and families must be able to make a living from their farms and have benefits available similar to those available to people in non-rural communities.  These include such things as affordable health insurance, a retirement program, legal assistance, marketing opportunities, community support, access to training and information, etc.

Aspiring to provide these benefits to the small farming community may appear narrow in focus; however, it is actually just a single aspect of a much larger vision.   If aspiring young farmers in each successive generation cannot make a living at small-scale agriculture, how can anyone expect there to be individuals willing to pursue this life style?  It is paramount that each generation of potential farmers understands that there is a fair living to be made by owning and operating a small farm. This is why the SFC is concerned about leveling the economic playing field.

These same individuals also need to have a sense of community support and respect.  That is, society needs to recognize the importance of small farmers, and demonstrate respect for individuals who choose to labor in this endeavor.  The SFC believes small independent farmers are destined to be this nation’s heroes.  Young farmers need to understand this potential.  They need to feel pride about what they plan to do. They need not only to expect a degree of financial security, but also the understanding that he or she can contribute something of significance to society for which they will be recognized and respected.  This is where educating the general public becomes a critical component of advocating and protecting small farms now and into the future.  People in urban communities must be continuously reminded about the critically important role small independent farms and farmers play in supporting the health and stability of urban and rural communities.   Keep in mind that the voting power in the U.S. is within the urban boundaries. The SFC plans to focus this educational effort toward people of all ages, starting with young grade school children.  Lessons about gardening and healthy farming concepts learned in the early education process, in schools and at home, can remain with individuals for a lifetime. This topic has been sorely overlooked in most primary education programs across the U.S. for several generations, a situation which must be changed.  There must also be opportunities for young people to gain farming skills and experience through hands-on training provided by experienced farmers on well-managed farms.  The SFC believes that widespread intern programs and apprenticeships can provide this training best.

If all these objectives are firmly in place we will have well-informed young people interested in, and committed to, life as small farmers. They will understand that their chosen field of work is respected and important to the well being of the community, and that they can support themselves and a family.

But even then, there is one more huge issue (the fourth spoke in this wheel) left to address. These enthusiastic young farmers need to have access to land and equipment.  This is where the SFC Legacy program comes into play.  The SFC invites farmers to consider the Conservancy as a possible recipient through wills and bequests of implements and tools, breeding livestock, library materials, as well as land and endowment funds.  The SFC is committed to ensuring bequeathed land is perpetually dedicated to appropriate agricultural use and stewardship, and to find any qualified young farmers to continue the farming legacy of the previous owners.   Capable individuals will be available because they will have had the opportunity to learn their trade participating in intern and apprenticeship programs offered by numerous small farms across the nation. And, the Legacy Program is just a starting point.   In the long run the SFC foresees a trust fund dedicated to the purchase of farms that are in danger of being sold for non-agricultural uses and seeing to it that they are placed in the ownership of aspiring farmers who will keep the farm in production.  Such trust funds may also be used to purchase large industrial farms as they become available, restructure their boundaries to create several smaller-scale farms, and make these farms available to qualified small farmers.

Thus, we see four critical spokes in the wheel that need to be strengthened: 1) broad-based educational programs about the vital importance of small farm communities, 2) informed, willing, young people in every generation that are trained and skilled in small-scale agriculture, 3) fair and balanced economic opportunities for small farmers, and 4) the availability of land  to expand the number of small scale farms.

If we succeed, who benefits?  Farmers, of course, but that’s only part of it.  The general public and the national and world economies will benefit the most.  With farm-direct fresh food available through thousands of regional markets, there is strong potential for enhancing the nation’s health and well-being.  Economic stability and national security will be enhanced, in part by the reduction in use of fossil-fuel based fertilizers and a decreased reliance on petroleum-based fuels, but even more so by the availability of locally-grown, quality food.   Diverse, ecologically stable and economically sound agriculture is the basis for a stable economy.  These are the very things most threatened by our nation’s continued reliance upon industrialized, large-scale, subsidized, monoculture agribusiness.

On the whole our vision and plans are immense in scope, but the time to implement them is upon us. We have to move forward now, and we need the support of every like-minded soul in the world.

I hope this adds clarity to what the SFC is about, and adds meaning to the following excerpt from another page on this site:

Small Farms have always been the most efficient sector of agriculture and today they constitute the system best prepared and endowed to answer the pressing need to expand the world’s food supply in sustainable, safe, healthy and flavorful ways. The Conservancy holds that the health of the planet, and the capacity of humans to feed themselves,depends upon a vast community of healthy small farms employing traditional methods and appropriate new technologies.