Will They?

" Farmers Feed America" I suppose you have seen the line on some farmers hat or on the bumper of a rusted Ford. I have a beanie cap with the words on the label and I wear it proudly! We ( Americans ) do grow lots of corn, soy, wheat and some produce and fruit; most of nutrients we consume may even be grown in "our backyards" but it is then shipped many miles away only to eventually return to the supermarket, in some processed form, for us to enjoy and indulge ourselves . Much of the grain and corn is shipped away to produce animal feed so we can factory house poultry and feedlot cattle.

Should we see some sort of lunatic start civil unrest, or some rogue nation ( or nations ) attempt to destroy America as we know it, or maybe even some "pandemic" cause our leaders to attempt to restrict interaction and movement of "We the people" our local food supply would be in a really bad condition.

Now some of you may be saying " I met that Farmer Ted guy and he grows grain and corn and he will be able to provide for us" Okay, you may be right but don't forget that most of us have completely forgotten how to process harvested raw foods to a usable state; although the fact that you are reading this blog and not watching it puts you in the minority of the population so you and your friends may be alright. Allow me to make my point further . Should farmer Ted be able to produce anything from his land and had access to his Genetically Modified seeds, or his tons of round-up to control the chemically resistant super weeds we are creating with all of our conventional wisdom, or even his tons of nitrates and soil "amendments" , most of the grain, corn, and soy would be unpalletable to our accustomed tastes, as it is generally of the variety grown for animal feed. Yes you may be able to survive off of the local cattle and wild game for some time and from Farmer Teds toxic crop, but you and your loved ones would be lacking essential nutrients and mostikley develop some serious cases of cancer and sicknesses as many of our nation crops cannot be consumed in raw forms and must be processed with heat in an attempt to reduce the amount of glyphosates consumed by the consumer ( I.E. your children and grandchildren). The local supply of wild game and cattle would quickly be dessemated as most of our farms no longer even have cattle or animals on them . Each household would consume about one cow per year ( assuming this is the primary source of protein) and folks would over consume just due to the fact that we live in gluttony and old habits die hard.

We have to address the fact that hardy, resilient folks are in the minority and much of the population would become quite desperate and mayhem would become the "normal" . Folks are unwittingly ignorant when it comes to the basic homesteading skills like processing a bird or any animal for that matter, It has been considered "dirty work" and be delegated to multi-million dollar corporations and to there slave labor.

Another factor that may affect the "Knowledgeable" would be the loss in access to life saving medications and interventions, Assuming loss of regular shipping methods, the end result of which would be the disabling and even the death of the folks that everyone else will be relying on for direction.

We all can continue to draw a picture of the possibilities and dismal outlook of the future WHEN such a mishap or event occurs, but my point is to turn the reader to the productive thought process of thinking of solutions and planning for the success of such a "Transition". I will list some of my thoughts and solutions in order for your consideration. my goal is to get us thinking critically of some steps we can take to remain resilient and maybe even thrive!

I think we should re-think our current farming system, I think we should think local and provide for our local area with local nutritious foods that are not toxic and of a hardy variety that has been selectively bred for the local soil and conditions and leave the mega seed companies out of it. This would require all farms to bring back the animals to the land and emulate nature in the management of such animals, they in turn, would fertilize our soils. This would also require each farm to use multiple species and a to stop mono-cultures and diversify their production. They would need to build up pest resistant herds, seedbanks, and crops and stop "windshield" farming" etc.

Wow! To some this may seem that those farmers destroying our soils will have to step up and quit these destructive practices, drop the government subsidies, put their overalls on and get to work so you can benefit. STOP! the reason these crusty old dudes are farming the way they are is because you don't bite the hand that feeds you! You probably do not write a check to " Farmer Ted", his checks come from some middleman corporation. I know many conventional type farmers who would be willing to change if their checks came from you! They would even stop those subsidies , trucking and insurance payments that drive up food costs and cause damage. But we vote with our wallets, we continue to buy from the supermarket , walmart and online stores and not from your local farmer. How can he change his ways when it pays?

The system I imagine would involve You. You would need to cultivate a relationship with "That Guy" He needs to know what you want and that he can count on your money. Then he could pursue Regenerative Farming and we could develop a market that would benifit the farmer and US and keep it local.

OVERSIGHT...there we go delegating the dirty work again. This would be managed by the consumer ( yes this is you). YOU would know you farmer, have a relationship with him and his family. You would personally be involved in the production and harvesting/ processing of the food, as this is currently done in a factory setting and producing massive amounts of food ( and waste) and would require our input to discontinue this practice. Should someone get sick ( from lack of consumer relationship) we would know exactly were it came from and know exactly how to solve the problem. This would be unlikely as the producer would care about his client( his payday) and would take steps to eliminate risk and when he/she knows that you may drop by at anytime he would keep on his toes and that would eliminate "slippage of quality".

Some folks would be slow to adapt and give a little resistance to the change, and the USDA would not appreciate the cut in their bottom line. I still think this is feasible.

Look for young Farmers like our family who care and start learning to build local relationships, Farmers tend to be a little shy and prefer to be left alone so this may take some patience, Check out your local farmers market to try to find a supplier for you and yours or maybe even run and add in the local paper or media about your interest in this.

Chances are there is some young family ready to give it a try!

I hope you have understood that I am trying to start the process of coming up with solutions and not just belly aching!

What are your thoughts?