• Home
  • About
  • CSA Providers
  • CSA Shares
  • CSA’s
  • Farmers Markets

Redland Rambles

You are what you eat. Do you eat where you are?

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« The farmers among us
Help save Extension Services »

Small Farms in the Year 2050

September 7, 2009 by marian33031

John Ikerd

John Ikerd

Back again to the Small Farms Conference. (Nope, I’m not done blogging about it.) The keynote speaker was Dr. John Ikerd, author and Professor Emeritus of Agricultural Economics from the University of Missouri, whose speech was Small Farms in the Year 2050. (An earlier version is on his web site.) According to the conference bio, Ikerd “came to the conclusion that not only was American agriculture not sustainable but neither was the American economy or society.” He is a huge advocate of sustainability and local food systems, and has written a great number of papers with that perspective.

Ikerd posed the question, “Can farmers meet the challenges of creating a sustainable agricultural system? Innovative farmers commit to meet needs of the present without diminishing future productivity.” He said that the current industrial approach to farming is simply not sustainable, and that lack of sustainability is a major part of a growing global economic problem. Industrial farming uses an enormous amount of fossil fuel, generates over one fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions in the US, and maintains an income disparity for farm and food workers working for low wages.

So what’s the solution? According to Ikerd, the local food movement (which evolved from the organic food movement in the 1980s) has more potential for transforming society. It requires a fundamental change in thinking, primarily that local growers are producing food that is good, clean and fair, not a commodity that large, industrial farmers produce.

Sustainable agriculture is based on people compared to industrial agriculture which is centered on capital and technology. Ikerd described local farmers who choose to grow high-quality food that is natural, organic and sustainable. They work with the forces of nature, and fit their farm to the land and climate. Their crops are diverse and complex because nature is diverse and complex.

In 2050, Ikerd predicted a connectedness among local growers who create regional liaisons among themselves to market their crops, forming the backbone of a national network of community-based food systems. Out of local/regional connectedness comes farmers markets, CSAs, farmers selling directly to restaurants and markets, farm-to-school and farm-to-hosptal programs. Ikerd mentioned Alice Waters and her legendary restaurant Chez Panisse which set the trend decades ago by serving fresh, local and seasonal food from local and sustainable farms.

He also predicted in 2050 the major trend in food marketing is targeted toward a specific group of consumers, not the mainstream. Sustainable farmers work to build relationships with their customers instead of making a quick sale. Their customers are not naive hippies, but conscious buyers looking for food with ecological and social integrity, and expect farmers to have the same integrity and care about their customers and society. Ultimately there is a sense of connectedness — between growers and their customers, and between customers connecting with their food and the place it comes from — which ensures ecological and sustainable integrity.

Ikerd’s speech was full of fire and brimstone, and got a standing ovation. It was fascinating to hear Ikerd’s predictions for a new food system. But it’s not that far off into the future. Something similar to what he describes is happening right in our own backyard. Redland Organics is a group of local organic and natural growers that Farmer Margie organized to market their diverse foods directly to the CSA members and buyers at the farmers market. You could say that Redland Organics is cutting edge.

“Change happens one person at a time. Never underestimate the power of individual choices,” Ikerd said. So, here’s some questions to chew on: What are your choices? How are you making changes? How do you connect with your food and where it comes from? Most importantly, have you returned to the common sense pursuit of happiness?

Share this:

  • Email
  • Print
  • More
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Posted in csa, farm, farmer/grower, food, people, politics | Tagged Alice Waters, csa, John Ikerd, Redland Organics, small farms conference, sustainable agriculture |

  • Recent Posts

    • Remembering Hani Khouri
    • 5th Annual Redland GrowFest!
    • Chefs’ Local Cookoff Challenge
    • Sea of seedlings
    • Jim Ewing presents at GrowFest!
    • Adventures of a Farm Apprentice
    • GrowFest! demos and presentations
    • OFF vs. BHF CSA
    • How does the Oriental Fruit Fly Quarantine affect us?
    • GrowFest! is a go!
    • Oriental Fruit Flies in Redland Trigger Quarantine
    • Lychees in the morning
    • Ugly veggie love (NSFW)
    • Plethora of peppers
    • Saucy Kohlrabi
  • Archives

  • Frequent Tags

    Art Friedrich Arturo Gonzalez avocado avocados Bee Heaven Farm bees black sapote brunch Brunch in Paradise Charles LaPradd chickens county budget county commissioners csa Dan Howard Dinner in Paradise Earth Dinner Earth Learning edible South Florida Extension Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens Farm Day Farmer Margie Pikarsky farmers market Fruit and Spice Park fundraiser Gabriele Marewski greenhouse GrowFest! Hani's Mediterranean Organics Hani Khouri heirloom tomatoes holiday Katie Edwards laurel wilt Little River Market Garden Local Links lychee mango Margie Pikarsky Marty Mesh Melissa Contreras Miami Herald Miguel Bode movie Muriel Olivares Nick Pikarsky Paradise Farms Paradise Farms Organic Pinecrest Gardens Farmers Market Possum Trot Nursery redbay ambrosia beetle Redland GrowFest! Redland Mediterranean Organic Redland Organics Robert Barnum Roots in the City share Slow Food Miami small farms conference Sous Chef 2 Go Steven Green Teena's Pride Farm Teena Borek Three Sisters Farm Tim Rowan UDB UF/IFAS UF/IFAS Cooperative Extension Upper East Side Farmers Market Urban Oasis Project Whole Foods Will Allen Worden Farm zoning
  • Blogroll

    • A Garden on the Bay
    • Annush on the Causeway
    • aPieceOfGarden
    • Art Loves Farms
    • Bee Heaven Farm's Blog
    • Broadfork Farm
    • Eating Local in the Tropics
    • Edgy Veggie
    • Food For Thought
    • Fresh From Florida
    • Gardens of TROY
    • Girl In Miami
    • Greener Miami
    • https://ediblesouthflorida.ediblecommunities.com/food-thought/memoriam-hani-khouri-businessman-chef-goatherd
    • Hungry Filmmakers
    • La Diva Cucina
    • Local Food South Florida
    • Mango & Lime
    • Miami Dish
    • Our Half Box
    • Red Roots – Local Goodness
    • Short Order
    • The Genuine Kitchen
    • The Lettuce Farm
    • Thyme for Food
    • Tinkering With Dinner
    • Words from Worden Farm
  • Contact

    • Marian Wertalka
  • Local Growers

    • Bee Heaven Farm
    • Florida Keys Sea Salt
    • Going Bananas
    • Green Groves Organic Farm
    • https://ediblesouthflorida.ediblecommunities.com/food-thought/memoriam-hani-khouri-businessman-chef-goatherd
    • Little River Cooperative
    • Paradise Farms Organic
    • PNS Farms
    • Redland Organic Herb Farm
    • Redland Organics
    • Teena's Pride
    • Three Sisters Farm
    • Verde Community Farm & Market
    • Worden Farm
  • Local Links

    • Blind Tastes
    • Bordercross
    • Dade County Farm Bureau
    • Earth Learning
    • edible South Florida
    • Florida Small Farms Conference
    • Fruit and Spice Park
    • Gaby's Farm
    • Help Yourself!
    • Les Dames d'Escoffier
    • Meldy Hernandez Yoga
    • Miami G.R.O.W. Project
    • Michael's Genuine Food and Drink
    • novae gourmet
    • Permaculture Miami
    • Redland Riot
    • Robert is Here
    • Schnebly Redland's Winery and Brewery
    • Slow Food Miami
    • Sous Chef 2 Go
    • T.R.E.C. UF/IFAS
    • The Greater Everglades Foodshed
    • The Market Company
    • UF/IFAS Extension
    • Urban Oasis Project
  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 626 other subscribers
  • Copyright©2009-2015 Marian Wertalka

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.com

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


  • Follow Following
    • Redland Rambles
    • Join 133 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Redland Rambles
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Copy shortlink
    • Report this content
    • View post in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: