A farmer we know up in the North Country wrote what you’re about to read for her customers and admirers (of which I am the latter!) recently. We Just Had To Share This With You.
I’m sharing Kristin Kimball’s words with you tonight because if it were ever possible to crack me open and have a look inside, in the deepest and darkest crevices, you would surely find this question looming large…
How does a farm like ours really even stand a chance when there are so many forces working against us? She reminded me of the answer to this question this week, and it’s a call to action for us all:
We spent last weekend at the NOFA New Hampshire conference. It was beautiful to be in a hall full of farmers again, the first time since the pandemic.
Mark [her husband] taught a weed killing workshop, which was a blast, even for someone like me who hates weeding. His room was packed, and I briefly wondered if they had misread the description and thought they were coming to a weed workshop, to learn how to make the big bucks. But no. They really were there to hear about weeds.
I taught a writing workshop on how and why to tell your farm story, which was also a blast, thanks to enthusiastic attendees. Then we gave the conference keynote, which brought into focus this idea I’ve been thinking about lately….
The biggest long-range threat to independent farms like ours is the decline and disappearance of the independent consumer.
This is Jenney, again. Right about here, I was thinking, wait, what? What exactly is an independent consumer? She explains…
Without independent consumers, there’s no reason for us [small farms] to exist. You [our customers]…are the quintessential independent consumers.
You see whole food, in season, acquired directly from a local producer, as the sturdy bottom of your personal food pyramid. Your cabinets and your refrigerator contain a bunch of naked ball jars, piles of fresh produce, and bags without labels.
You are not the norm! Your kitchen looks extremely weird to anyone who is not an independent consumer.
It’s true – the fact that you go out of your way to shop directly from a farm like ours is highly unusual to almost everyone you know! Kristin continues…
Most people’s food pyramid is built on commodity crops extruded into convenience food, processed into something quite different from its original version, or otherwise run through the giant gears of agribusiness, to be packaged, shipped, promoted and distributed by on of the few vanishingly few companies that controls our food chain.
Agribusiness hates the independent consumer. There’s no profit to be made from us. And so agribusiness has spent a shocking amount of money convincing us that normal food comes not from the ground but in packages.
They’ve been teaching us, via an advertising budget bigger than any industry save the automotive, to want what they are profitably selling. And as they gain ground with that message, we’re losing the cultural knowledge it takes to be an independent consumer…the knife skills, forethought, a working understanding of our kitchens, awareness of seasonality, a sense that making food from scratch is both pleasant and important.
Mic drop moment, am I right? She closed the newsletter with this…
I believe what we have going for us is that the independent consumer is healthier and far happier with their food, and that joy is the biggest bait. If we can convince more people to become independent consumers, we’ll be well on our way to preserving the independent farms.
You’ve told us this before, too. What you come to us for is the food, but what you ultimately gain after you’ve taken that first bite is true JOY!
Please tell your friends and family there’s a different way to experience food in this world, and invite them to join you for a trip to the Farm Store this week. We can’t wait to see you soon.
Your Farmers,
Jenney & Greg
PS – Kristin Kimball’s new book Good Husbandry is out now. We both read it last year and adored it! You can order a copy here.
PPS – You’ll notice there are (almost) no more SOLD OUT signs on the online store! This is because we just brought back a new batch of our fresh (NEVER FROZEN) organic pork. Order ahead here!
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