"There are two dangers in not owning a farm: the belief that heat comes from the furnace and food comes from the supermarket."
-- Aldo Leopold
This nicely sums up my thoughts from yesterday's rant on Who's Gonna Grow the Food?
Speaking of farming, here's a fascinating and extremely truthful post from The Art of Manliness website called Nine Rules for Starting Your Own Farm.
I urge you to go read the entire article -- it's excellent, and the author has clearly been-there-done-that -- but meanwhile here are the bullet points:
Rule #1: Avoid Debt!
Rule #2: Allow Yourself the Opportunity to Fail
Rule #3: Identify Your Market Before You Start Farming
Rule #4: Match the Land to Its Suited Use
Rule #5: Grow Your Passion
Rule #6: Set Reasonable Goals
Rule #7: Don’t Worry About What Other People Think
Rule #8: Have a Sense of Humor
Rule #9: Read. Ask Questions. Share Your Knowledge.
This last Rule included the following priceless gem: "Have an ego? Better to lose it now, before Mother Nature loses it for you."
Amen. Believe me, this guy knows what he's talking about.
Patrice, have we told you lately how much we appreciate you and all the valuable insights and information you bring?
ReplyDeleteKeep it up.
And hug redunfeller for me please.
A.McSp
Patrice -
ReplyDeleteThe writer forgot one of the most important rules about farming
* Don't quit your day job*
The entire truth of the matter is that if the Amish can't make a "full-time living" from farming, most people aren't going to be able too either.
Amen!
Delete- Patrice
City folk 1 to city folk 2; how in the world do they grow this meat in the plastic?
ReplyDeleteTrue Story. I spent from 3 yrs to 13yrs of age in Manhattan NYC. In first grade they tried to tell me that milk came from cows. I disagreed vehemently as everybody knows that milk comes from the basement, specifically the milk machine in the basement (.35 a qt way way back then). I wasn't convinced of their veracity until I actually saw a cow being milked later in life. I thank the good lord that my folks got me out of there at the age of 14. We moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains 80 miles west south west of DC. There I was lucky enough to receive a proper education from the locals (aka Hillbillies). This was the mid 70s, back when as soon as you got outside of DC 20-30 miles you were in the REAL Virginia which was still very "southern" in its culture. I went from running water, electricity and steam radiators to using the out house, when it got dark, it got dark unless you lit a kerosene lamp, and if you didn't cut enough wood for the wood stove your behind got cold. At first I hated it, then came to love it, and now I miss it. But I digress, my point was that there are probably people out there who think no further than the store or furnace. The real problem being that if there ever is a disruption in the food / energy supply, those people are going to swarm like locusts out of the urban areas.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Patrice! Going to read that led me further and further on a very interesting trail of links!
ReplyDelete