Caitlin plans to go into more depth about this on her site: http://amyandcaitfarm.shutterfly.com/.
As for me? Why farming? I grew up in rural upstate NY next to apple orchards and cow farms. Growing your own food wasn't a statement there, it was a way of life. I spent a lot of my time as a young child with my Grandfather - away from tv and video games. Summers meant waking up with the sun and picking zucchini flowers to fry up for breakfast. Working hard in the morning, playing cards in the afternoon and watering the garden in the evening. As my grandfather became older, he would bring a chair out to our garden and sit on the edge of the rows, telling me what to do and why I had to do it. "You tie the tomato plants up of the ground so they can grow tall and strong, if the tomatoes lay on the ground, they'll bruise, rot and they'll only be food for the bugs."
Being Italian, he only grew what he thought to be the necessities: zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, broccoli, basil, parsley and oregano. Some years he experimented with other vegetables, but they usually ended up being cursed with various expletives (let's not even talk about the squirrels and corn!). And really, less other vegetables meant more tomatoes, which meant more sauce during canning season, and what could be wrong with more sauce?
So, why farming? Because people have the right to know where their food comes from. Because food has become something grown in a lab, rather than under the care and watchful eye of people we know and trust. And if that seems to sentimentalize the issue rather than explain it - because we are a nation of McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken (although isn't there that rumor that it can't be called chicken because it's been so genetically modified?) and high fructose corn syrup and factory farms and agri-businesses and all of this means that the dollar is the most important factor in food consumption and nutrition.
Whether or not we realize it (and the exciting thing, is that so many are starting to and have already realized it!) - farming is at the heart of the redemption of this nation. As I write this, small farms across the United States are operating in ecologically sound, sustainable ways - and not because of some demands made by the government, as a matter of fact, in SPITE of demands made by the government. To me, this brings up questions, and that is why I choose farming - because I think the answers to these questions can change the world.
How are these farms surviving? Why are the people who farm them willing to risk financial and physical well-being? How do they make ends meet? What kind of practices do they do, how do they learn these practices and how do they connect to the greater community? Do they isolate themselves, or do they seek out help from others? Are they working in ways that can be replicated? Is what they're doing feasible in other areas of the country? How can we support these farms and ultimately, can these types of farms support this country? And not only this country, how can these practices be emulated by other countries?
I know that this phrase has been used ad infinitum since the 2008 presidential race, but, the time for change is now. I want to be a part of that change. So, I farm.
