"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.
