Love Your Local Farmer:

How Supporting Farmers Can Change Communities
By Janae Lloyd, CNFC Membership & Marketing Manager


I never thought of farming as political until I read Michael Pollan's article "Farmer in Chief".  Published in the New York Times during the 2008 presidential elections, the article was written as a letter to the next President asking for a revolution in food policy.  He explained that food is a matter of national security and is at the root of our issues with health care, climate change, energy dependence, and more.  
What stood out most to me was his belief in the power of family farms to change the food industry.  He urged the President to take our lands back from industrial farms and encourage the success of small, local farms. 
Chico is blessed to be a community with rich land and many amazing farms.  Their existence benefits us on many levels.  To start, they provide the community with delicious, nutrient-dense, high-quality foods.  They also boost our local economy by buying and selling within the community.
            Family farmers also act as stewards of the land.  Unlike industrial farms that damage the land, air, and animals, family farms invest in good habits and sustainable practices.
            For example, Chaffin Family Orchards uses biodynamic farming techniques to create a flourishing farm that is beneficial to everyone involved.  They believe in letting nature do the work of the farm.  The goats do the weeding and clearing, the cows fertilize and mow, the chickens replace the need for pesticides, and so on and so forth.  You can see this for yourself by visiting their farm.  I have and it was a beautiful experience.  Visit their website to learn more. 
Not only do family farms sustain the land, but they ensure that we retain land altogether.  It is often painful to watch farms disappear and urban development spread.  According to the Census of Agriculture, the number of U.S. farms fell sharply until the early 1970s after peaking at 6.8 million in 1935.  By 2002, about 2.1 million farms remained.
The good news is that we are on the upswing.  In 2007, direct to market sales from family farms rose 49%, reaching $1.2 billion from their 2002 level of $812 million. This demonstrates the power of the consumer and the increased support of local foods.  However, direct markets (aka Farmer's Markets) account for a measly .4% of total U.S. agricultural sales.  Meaning we still have much work to do.
In Chico, we have at our fingertips a chance to be a model community; we have a chance to promote progress, develop better habits, and be excellent stewards of our land.  As with ALL progress, there is one, often painful, necessity: change.
This is the belief behind the Co-op's call for you to "Join the Food Revolution".  Matthew Martin, owner of Pyramid Farms in Chico, believes that this consists of abandoning the old paradigm of consumers buying non-local, out of season products. "The revolution I speak of is a partnership between local farms and consumers which increases both commitments to provide and consume local fruit and vegetables," Matthew noted.  "Local farms can grow and expand and increase in numbers and viability.  Consumers become more connected to the seasons, eat better, and deepen their patronage. The end result is an increase in farms viability and a better environment because of reduced energy use, ecological practices, and a stronger local economy. It's a revolution because it drastically changes from the way things have been done to a better more viable and sustainable way."
His farm serves as a working model of this.  He hopes not only to serve his community by offering high-quality, organic produce but also by encouraging the sustainability discussion to include not only environmental costs but social costs.
"Social and economic justice are the last part of the sustainability discussion that is just emerging on the radar for policy reform." he says.
Support Matthew's efforts by looking for his produce in the Co-op or visiting Pyramid's booth at the Saturday Farmer's Market.  His carrots are the best around!
    In Farmer in Chief Michael Pollan wrote, "What happens in the field influences every other link of the food chain on up to our meals."  Let's ensure that our fields thrive; let's buy local; let's join the food revolution!