Farmer Clifford

I've always thought I'd be a good farmer. Let me rephrase that - I've always thought I would like being a farmer. Of course, I have a somewhat romanticized view of the profession, but I don't think it is that far off.

I have the personality for it. I enjoy work. I get real pleasure from feeling soil in my hands, I enjoy solitude. And nothing thrills me like seeing things grow, I do mean thrill. I have never liked roller coasters, I prefer to have my feet on the ground. Seeing a tomato turn red [a tomato I tended all summer]? That is excitment.

The thought of waking up every morning, pulling on my overalls and straw hat [so maybe not every farmer wears overalls and a straw hat, but I would] and growing a patch of land. It is a careful, methodical profession.

In our project we are looking at a CSA on a half dozen acres at This is the Place. Makes my dream that much better. Plowing behind a horse, harvesting by hand, complete removal of internal combustion. I can't think of anything better.

My dream of overalls and squash will have to wait. I don't actually know the first thing about being a farmer [except the overalls and that it takes work], and I'm not sure how well it would support a family. It will be able to in the future though. I can wait.

But the CSA will work. There is enough focus on organic, local food that it would be economically viable. That focus is not just a fad either. Huge agri-business and 2,000 mile dinners are not, for lack of a better word, sustainable. This summer has seen huge increases in fuel prices, which has had a direct effect on food prices. Farmers market food is matching supermarket prices, and the next few years will see that trend continue.

If we only see one one part of this project come to life [it won't be the only thing], it will be the farm.