Kasumigaseki Lunch
My background is similar in some ways. I grew up in several different places (including Japan) as my dad worked for the Foreign Agricultural Service of the USDA. Dad was raised on a small farm in southern Nevada and agriculture was his love. I inherited his love for farming and spent every opportunity I could get working for my two uncles who carried on the family farming tradition. In college I studied Agriculture and tried to envision a way to make a living in the world of food production. When I finished my degree, I had a growing family to feed and realized that I would need more than farm laborer or tractor mechanic wages to take care of their needs. I couldn't see how to afford a home, much less the land necessary to live my farming dream. For a while, I put my farming dream on hold and focused on getting a law degree and starting a career, but we kept nurturing our farming dreams and studying everything we could about how to farm sustainably (both ecologically and economically). We eventually learned enough from the international Ag. world, the business world, and the sustainable agriculture movement to begin to see a workable strategy for living our farming dreams.
What an amazing thing, to have lunch with a colleague in the fast-paced world of international tax and finance, in the finance capital of Asia, and end up talking about our dreams of profitable, sustainable farming. I realized I could share ideas with him that might help him get home to the farm. Here are some of those ideas. Hopefully the conversation will continue and the ideas will improve over time.
Principles and Puzzle Pieces
The following Principles and "Puzzle Pieces" form the basis of our Small Farm Strategy, or Family Farm Strategy.
Principles.
1. Stewardship. Nothing teaches the "law of the harvest" like...planting and harvesting. We believe our responsibility is to leave the soil, the landscape, etc. better than we found it. We also love the opportunity to have our kids learn that if they are consistent and diligent in caring for their plants, or animals, they will have a good harvest, if they aren't, all bets are off.
2. Independence. 60 or 70 years ago, the average farm was small--150 acres or less--and the farm was integrated (included multiple different crops, along with livestock, etc.) so that the farm produced enough food for the farmer and his family, enough feed for the livestock, and enough surplus to provide family income. Additionally, the livestock on the farm produced the fertilizer necessary to keep the soil fertile and productive. My grandfather and my wife's grandmother were both on family farms during the Great Depression (granted, they weren't in the Dust Bowl states), and neither of them suffered for lack of food. In fact, life didn't seem to change for them at all. By contrast, our non-farm grandparents had to travel far and split up their families to find work to keep food on the table. When times get tough, who cares if you don't have much cash, as long as you have work to do, enough to eat, and some to share with your family and friends.
3. No Debt. During the last couple years of recession, I think we've all learned that "no-debt" is better than either bad debt, or good debt. Much better to earn interest than to pay it. Banks are fair weather friends. They lend money when the market is hot, but as soon as the market drops, you become a bad risk and they want their money back. Seems counter to the old adage of "buy low, sell high." If there is a way to succeed without having to carry your own weight along with the bankers', we're in favor.
Puzzle Pieces
The Principles above are nice, "high ideals" but are they practical? The Puzzle Pieces below help to bring Principles and Practice together. We're still adding puzzle pieces as we go, but these are a good start.
1. You don't have to own it. Even with real estate values dropping, 160 acres is out of reach for most of us. Many land owners would love to lease their property (for very reasonable rates) to a good steward who will leave their land improved and beautified. The same rule applies to equipment when you're getting started. Lease it when you need it. Let someone else worry about payments and maintenance. The rule can even work with livestock (we'll have a future link on this). When you have developed your business and your market to the point where the operation can begin purchasing land then consider it, but not until then.
2. Start with family needs production. Hone your skills by producing as much as you can for your own family's consumption. You can do this in your own back yard with very little investment.
3. Think "Small and Productive." The average farm size in Japan is about 1.8 hectares, or around 4.5 acres, yet these tiny acreages are extremely productive. Even in the US, the smallest category of farm (2 acres or less) produces the highest per acre income. When you develop a good model, you can expand, but concentrate on utilizing what you have access to now first.
4. Direct Marketing and Branding. Just as we don't like the idea of the bank taking most of our profits, we don't like the idea of trying to compete on a "who can produce the lowest price option" basis with industrial farms. We're all in favor of having low cost food available to sustain life, but what we're producing on our small farm is different. It tastes better, it's healthier, hopefully its cleaner and safer than what is available in grocery stores. Direct marketing is a great thing. Develop a reputation for quality and good service and people will happily pay for better food.
We'll keep adding posts and links that we think are helpful. Comments are welcome.
Best regards,
Hyaku-ben ("Farmer--Attorney")
