http://broadviewfromasmallfarm.blogspot.com/2020/04/
And that hope has by no means gone away, progress both political and practical has been made on many fronts.
There is certainly far greater recognition of the difficulties that farmers and growers face in bringing food to our plates.
From field to fork, so to speak.
We're not on quite this much of a slope btw..
The fact that the weather was pretty abysmal this spring is news to no one.
This really hampered us getting crops in, and those already growing overwinter were held back..
Or else dissolved all together. 🙁
On this little veg farm we were relatively lucky, a warmish climate, and south facing sandy loam.
But still the soil was cooler than usual, and battalions of enormous slugs munched their way through any fresh new growth.
I remember taking mesh covers off beds and thinking "I'm sure I planted lettuces here" and then wondering if I was mistaken as to where I'd put them.
It wasn't until I spied the chewed off nubs of what had been there that I realised that yes indeed. They were All Gone.
We usually plant an extra 20% or so extra crops, mindful of probable losses to the assorted wildlife, that of course we must regard as our brethren or earthly kin.
Entitled we understand to eat also themselves..
But it gets a tad tricky to feel all that fuzzy
'Farmimg in harmony with nature' when the critters have eaten everything ...
Anyhow, looked at broadly the issues around food, sustainability, environmental concerns, and how do we get more people securely into this craft of producing good food, to feed people sufficiently and well haven't really changed.
If we do attract energetic switched on folk, who see that there can be great satisfaction in feeding people well, into this business, how do we make it ok or even possible for them to stay?
The motivation to do this kind of work is unlikely to be entirely money driven. But boring old bills must be paid, living costs covered. Even nice times had outside of farming, dare we suggest??
I've been asked to be part of a panel discussion later this year on 'How do you keep going??"
That's not the actual session title but it's something like. And yes it's a reasonable question - how do you??
When the first flush of adrenalin that comes with setting up or taking on a business and somehow making it work has passed.
You're a little bit established, you may have had to go through some (or as in our case a lot) of planning battles to physically establish what you need to allow your productive enterprise endure.
You've spent no small amount of money, and an unfathomable amount of work to get things going.
Now how to make it liveable in the long term.??
Enjoyable even!!
I've got quite a few ideas around this.
Not by any means a template for what others 'should' do.
But certainly some hard won experience of things to think about, and options to try.
It seems to make as much sense to bung them here as anywhere as I mooch along the topic..
Apologies to anyone hoping for another Pyrenean trip episode..I will get back to that - probably after we've been again, but no great rush right??
