One could expand further and see the difference in the South from pre-1965 to current. So it is racial attitudes?

Mike, thanks for writing!

You make good points, and I totally agree with your central point, that producing commodity products is a lot different from most other ways of making a living, especially ones with worldwide reach, like grain. If I’m selling #2 corn as plain old #2 corn, I’m in competition with every other producer of #2 corn, and if the market price is low (as it usually is), the only way I can make money is to sell something else. Not necessarily a different crop, but as something (anything!) other than commodity corn sold on the commodity market. For example, I’m sure the local corn maze makes more money per acre than it would if harvested normally.

Direct sales to consumers can be a good market, but a lot depends on where your farm is. I’m half an hour from Corvallis, which is a premium market, but limited. To expand significantly (as we’d have to if we made our living solely from farming), we’d have to expand into the Portland market. Portland is a two-hour drive, so we’d either have to go up the night before and sleep in the van — I don’t do the “drive at 3AM thing” anymore — or find a distributor and aim at restaurant and grocery store sales rather than farmer’s markets. Of the two, I’d prefer distribution.

But I agree that direct selling is a glittering opportunity, and probably most people should start there. It’s simple, inexpensive, and gets you the one-on-one interaction with customers that you’ll need to get really good at producing and selling things that people are eager to buy. It’s especially easy to work this if you’re within striking distance of a major city. If I were in the emptier part of Eastern Oregon, it would be out of the question. If I were closer to Portland, we’d probably have a lot more hens!

My experience points to the fact that there is a significant economic divide between urban and rural residents, although there are also some very poor areas in cities. In my opinion, a lot of it boils down to the economics of agriculture. Most farmers that grow and produce commodities are stuck with a market in which they have no leverage. These kind of farmers have no choice, but to be price takers. Although farmers have never been rich, by any means, there was more competition for their products, probably through the 1970’s. Every little farming town had mills where they could sell their grain, many had slaughter houses for livestock and poultry and dairy processing facilities, some had livestock markets and bakeries, etc. Since the 1970’s many of those independent businesses that provided agricultural services have been bought up and consolidated into huge corporations. Today, many, maybe all, agricultural sectors are dominated by 2-4 large corporations, which has eliminated any price leverage farmers used to have. There is a term for this kind of market: oligopsony. As a result of this market distortion, farm prices for most commodities has been dropping steadily since the 1970’s, in real dollars (adjusted for inflation).

In the last 15-20 years the direct sales of farm goods to consumers has emerged to address this inequity in the market. Folks all over the country, like you have helped build this movement. It is not only helping farmers to make more money (shouldn’t farming, which we are often told, and is, a business, provide farm businesses the same kind of income potential other businesses enjoy?). Selling directly to consumers helps farmers significantly increase their income per acre, which in turn attracts young people to farming (imagine that!). Not only is this model significantly increasing farm income per acre and beginning to lower the age of farming communities where this is taking place, but it is also helping create other agriculture related jobs in the community (reestablishing food processing, distribution, agritourism, etc.) and raising the income for everyone. My hope is that this is just the beginning, and we will see this continue with farmers growing for regional wholesale markets so that the kind of food consumers want and produced in a way they support will begin to find more shelf space in grocery stores and supply institutional markets. This outcome would greatly benefit rural economies. However, not coincidentally, this outcome is also dependent on both rural and urban residents. Imagine that!