An Introduction to the Family Farm

I was lucky to have grown up on a farm in the fertile-rich soil of the San Joaquin Valley. My brother and I played with our cousins among the orange trees our grandfather had planted in 1913, picking juicy oranges for snacks whenever we wanted. When my parents’ friends would visit from larger urban cities, they would marvel at our pastoral lifestyle and our view of the majestic Sierra Nevada Mountains that provided the backdrop to our home. They weren’t aware of the long hours my father and uncles worked in a business that depended on the fickleness of the weather and a fluctuating market. Every year, the success of the crop was a gamble.
That was what farm life in rural California in the mid-20th century was like. Today the American family farm faces a myriad of challenges from many different sectors. Urban sprawl is claiming the most fertile and productive land for housing developments and strip malls. Cheaper imported fruits and vegetables are replacing domestically grown food in the larger grocery chains. The younger generation is choosing not to return to the farm, leaving its parents with no one to carry on the tradition of the American family farm. The U.S. government’s policies toward agriculture tend to help the huge agri-businesses while ignoring the small farmer.
But that is just one side of the story. Despite this picture of the small family farm in jeopardy, there is a growing awareness of the importance of the small farm and its contribution to the community. In the past two decades, another kind of small farmer has emerged – the organic farmer who is promoting sustainable agriculture. As the popularity of Farmers’ Markets has grown, public support of pesticide-free fruits and vegetables has encouraged more potential small farmers to return to the land to feed their families and their communities. In return, the farmers, with the help of organizations like CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) have participated in outreach programs to educate the public about sustainable agriculture.
This Web log will attempt to address the issues facing the American farm in the 21st century and some of the ways the public can form a partnership with the farmers so that we can all become stewards of our land.