Posts Tagged ‘young’

Old Farmers and Young Farmers

Hello.  My name is Andrew Meyers.  Perhaps you have read the previous blog posts.  I am a 24-year old farmer, cultivating 1 acre this year, soon to step up to 11.

Being 24, I don’t know much about what I’m doing, but I’m learning.  20 weeks of the CSA have passed nicely - sometimes too much basil for some, sometimes not enough, but overall the members are pleased and, actually, so am I.

I look up to the farmers in the area who have experience in this arena and admire them.  A lot of them are in their mid-40s or early 50s.  They are in the prime of their farming career.

Now, let’s suppose we have this 20 acre farm, ripe to be planted, full of possibilities, the horizon is the only limit.  There are two farmers vying for the job: one is a 72 year-old conventional corn and soybean farmer, and that’s what he wants to do…pump the fertilizer and the tractor all over this beautiful piece of land.  The other is 46, ready to make another change for his community, and wants to pump up the CSA and the farmers market, building the good earth to black fertility.  This style glues the community together and helps other foreign communities to appreciate our style.

Well, as much as I appreciate the traditional farmer’s original maverick style, and consider him a wealth of knowledge, his practice has grown old, and I value the CSA connection more.

What’s your choice?

Andrew Hussein

Young Farmers and Old Farmers - Part 2