The Next 7 Years
Talking recently with a local dairy farmer who weathered the farm crisis of the 1980s, it was difficult to not make some comparisons between that time and our own. Kelly and I know, for instance, many small-scale producers who, feeling the pressure of market-based forces, have decided to stop farming. Others have responded in different ways, perhaps by innovating or scaling up or specializing. There are, of course, plenty of differences between now and then: those struggling now seem to be small-scale, localized, direct-market farmers, not necessarily the big dairies or crop farms.
CSA was born and began to grow at least partly in response to the farm crisis of the 80s; that it is struggling at this particular agricultural moment would seem to suggest the need for a re-visioning. Many farmers are actively engaged in this exciting task in ways specific to their own circumstances and inclinations. Here are just a few of the ideas Kelly and I have had and which we hope to explore further over the winter months.
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