Lucy Georgeff lives and works on Lovejoy Brook Farm in Andover, Vermont with her boyfriend Oliver. She works for Lydia Ratcliff, who owns the farm, and who has within the last 30 years started two meat co-ops in the state and still runs them.
Lucy worked at the feminist young women's magazine, Teen Voices, in its teen programs department, before she made the switch to country life.
Here’s Lucy…
What led you to trying out country living and working?
I don’t know. It’s interesting to see how things ended up. It wasn’t due to extensive research or planning. It was just opportunities that fell in my lap and I took them. [Laughs]
My cousin was working at the farm where I was working a month ago. She was working there on weekends and she just invited me up to visit. So, I went up on a weekend and visited her. We got there at one in the morning, it was in September, and I just totally fell in love with place. It was beautiful. I had been staying in Connecticut and coming up here, everything was so gorgeous—it wasn’t sculpted like it is in Connecticut. The landscaping can be really beautiful [in CT], but it’s all planned. Here, there were these trees, pastures, all these wildflowers, and this beautiful color. It was all just natural; all just growing there. And then all these animals; I fell in love with the sheep.
I was staying in the barn [for the weekend] and then it turned out that the farmer needed help so I agreed to come back. I thought I would only stay for a month and a half, and then a month and a half was up and she said I could work part-time through the winter. That was great! And then winter ended, and then it was summer, and there was a whole lot more work. Then she said I could stay as long as I want. At that point, I was like “Woo-hooo!!!� [Laughs] I just felt so comfortable, and the work was really good. It was just this stroke of luck or something. It reinforces my belief that things happen for a reason.
Do you see yourself farming for the long haul?
I really like this way of living. And I like the fact that my work is pretty indistinguishable from my life. When I go out of the house in the morning and go feed the animals and milk the animals, it’s all like a little family.
This place, in particular, is different from the other [farm] in that we raise a lot of food. We raise meat for the business of the farm but we also have meat to eat, and eggs. In the summertime there’s a garden that provides us with food; there’s tomatoes that you can make tomato sauce out of and can so that you have that in the winter. It’s kind of more like an old-fashioned farm in that it really tries to be sustainable and produce what we eat so that any money we make goes back into the farm. Sometimes I think I’m going to have to be learning all these old-fashioned things like how to preserve food, which is something that a lot of people my age don’t know how to do. I grew up on Velveeta cheese sandwiches, a lot of packaged food, a lot of brand names. But raising your own food and preserving it, that’s the way it used to be done. It’s really important for people to know how, but a lot of people don’t live in an area where they can. That’s why I get really excited when I see things that say “CSAs� in the cities. Do you know what CSAs are?
No.
It stands for “Community Supported Agriculture.� Most often they are vegetable farms where anybody can become a member. You pay a certain amount at a certain time of year and that pays for the farmer to purchase seeds, fertilizer and labor to use for planting and growing. Then, every so often during the growing season, maybe every week or two weeks, we get a share of whatever is produced. You get a lot of seasonal food. [CSAs] are really cool because they allow everybody to have fresh food, and it provides some money up front for the farmers to do the work, but everybody gets a share of it.
Do you consider yourself a farmer?
Yeah, I do! For a long time I felt weird about calling myself a farmer because I haven’t owned any of the farms that I’ve worked on. Also, for a long time I didn’t feel like it was a part of my identity yet because I hadn’t been doing it that long. I haven’t still. It’s only been three and a half years.
It fits right in with my values, so I do call myself a farmer. It is something that I want to continue to do; something that I really believe in.
You’re also not vegetarian anymore?
No! [Laughs] In fact, I’m really all about meat. It tastes good. It’s something that I can raise. It just makes sense to me. I want to learn more about processing my own meat. I want to learn how to slaughter a lamb, skin it and cut the meat, I think that’s important. Now, I know so many people who do that. There’s a lot to know, like if you do process a lamb, you have to let it hang just out in the air for like five days or something before you freeze it to let the meat get to a certain tender stage to tenderize it and dry it out a little. It sounds kind of questionable that you’re letting meat just hang out, but that’s how it’s done. [Laughs] I still have a lot to learn in that area. I haven’t preserved any meat, but I’ve seen plenty people do it. I just lanced my first abscess a few days ago, and that was a big deal. [Laughs]
What’s an abscess?
An abscess—there can be different kinds—and they’re full of pus, blood, or serum. They’re like little boils. For example, when you get an infection and it fills with pus and it pushes the skin out and it makes like an egg-shape. It’s like a tumor but it’s not a tumor because it’s filled with something. It’s usually filled with pus.
If a human gets a splinter, you get it in your hand or something and it hurts. But if you can’t get it out, eventually your skin will just push it out naturally because our skin, the layers are pretty thin. But cows, for example, have such thick skin that if something like that gets in, the skin won’t rupture naturally and it will fill up [with pus]. We had this cow with an abscess in her udder and it was huge, Celina. It was the size of a papaya! I cut a hole with a scalpel in the bottom of it, and then all this pus just flowed out! So, that’s the sort of stuff that I end up learning about.
Wow. You must learn something new all the time?
Oh, yeah. And it’s frustrating because there’s so much. There’s endless amounts of information and all of it comes from experience. The situation that I’m working in now, [Lydia], she’s in her 70s and she is not able to do the physical work she did for 30 years and so has all this knowledge stored up in her head and is constantly, every time we walk by her, has a new bit of information for us. So, we’re getting experienced by just doing things but also by listening to this woman talk to us. Sometimes it’s overwhelming and I just want to do it. But at the same time she’s got a lot of good stuff to tell us. I definitely always learn something new.
How many animals do you have on your farm?
We’ve got about 50 goats; they’re dairy goats—Alpine and Saanen. We have four cows that we’re milking and two are going to grow up to be milkers. They’re little girls right now. We have four steers which are boy calves—they don’t grow very long because they become veal.
Veal is made up of boy calves?
Veal is a baby cow, a calf. Usually we eat the boys because we raise the girls to be milkers. A heifer is a cow that hasn’t had a calf yet.
We also have 70 Dorset/Cheviot-cross sheep, six chickens, four dogs, and six Maremma puppies. There were 10 but we sold four of them.
What’s your average day like?
Work is slower this time because it’s winter. I’ve been waking up usually around 7 and I have a little coffee. I’ve been trying to do some stretching because my body has been hurting. Then I go do morning chores, which involve milking the cows, feeding the goats, the sheep—feeding everybody—and making sure they all have water and bedding—which means covering up the poop in their pens. Nobody is outside right now because there’s snow everywhere. They’re all eating hay and grain and water. Sometimes the goats need their hoofs trimmed, so we do that. Did some deworming [today], injected them with selenium and Vitamin E, and this in preparation for lambing because we’re going to be having lamb soon.
We split the chores. Oliver is doing the evening chores. The days have been pretty relaxed. We’ve been doing a lot of reading and getting into the record keeping of the farm. Last week I was looking at old records to try to put together a master list of what goats we own, who their parents were, what year they were born, all sorts of information so that we know everything that we need to know about all the animals. This farm has seen a lot of people go through it within the last few years.
Going to town is a big deal. We always end up doing three or four errands because we only go in once or twice a week.
Is town far away?
No. it’s only about 15 minutes. We don’t usually just run out for a carton of milk. We make lists.
What time does your day usually end?
We usually eat dinner around 9. I usually go to bed by 11. Once the summer starts there’s going to be a lot to do during the day. In the summer, I would really like to be up with the sun and go to bed by 10 or something.
You mentioned selling the animals. Do you sell them to people who own restaurants?
Yeah. We belong to a meat co-op, which Lydia started. There are about 50 farms in the area and some of that includes New York state and New Hampshire. The way it works is every week, there’s something like 35 restaurants in Boston and New York City that place orders, whatever they want for whatever menus they have prepared. Lydia calls them about twice a week and finds out what they need and then she calls farms to make sure they have things available. The restaurants only buy whole animals or half animals. Or with veal they’ll buy a quarter of an animal because they’re so big. All the members of the co-op who are going to be shipping animals that week have to get their animals to the slaughter houses that we use. One is in Albany and one is in New Hampshire. Then there’s a driver for the co-op. Every Wednesday at like three in the afternoon he comes and picks up all the invoices from here and then goes to both slaughterhouses and picks up all the animals and puts them in his truck. They’re all these large skinned animals either cut in half or still whole! Then he goes to sleep and then in three in the morning he leaves for New York City to get there by six and starts delivering animals. Then he drives up to Boston and makes a loop.
We raise lamb, goat and veal. It kind of depends on when they’re born, how big they are, and how many months they are. Different chefs like different things. Younger animals tend to be more tender. A lot of Muslim chefs have very specific requirements for their meat like there are certain festivals where you cannot take an animal that is still nursing off its mother because it goes against the ethics of that particular festival. They can only take animals that have been weened. But for other holidays, it’s OK if they’re still drinking milk.
Right now though, Oliver and I are just involved in the farm. We’re going to be learning more about the co-op. I’m not really sure how involved either of us has to be. We’re still getting familiar with the farm. That’s really my main interest. If I owned a farm, I would want to focus more on farmer’s markets and selling directly to people. I wouldn’t want to be in charge of this co-op. I think it would be great to continue being a member and selling meat to it, but I wouldn’t want to do all the marketing and sales like she does. I’m just not as into that as I am actually working with the animals. Although if I owned the farm I would still need to do that—you need to sell your stuff to make a living. I think I would want to do it locally.
What issues are important to you now as a farmer?
There are a lot of problems that come up when the food distribution is so widespread. There’s a lot of fuel usage. It’s hard to manage food on such a large basis. It is inevitable that people will get sick because these packing plants are huge and it would be silly to say that everything was always perfect all the time. I think it’s important for people to look for what kinds of food they can get in their more immediate area rather than from across the world. I feel kind of conflicted about it because I think there are a lot of excellent things about globalization and the global market. I think it’s really cool that we can make meals out of pickled plums. But I think there are also a lot of really great things right in everybody’s local area. Like peaches in Georgia, and maple syrup in Vermont, and apples in Connecticut. It costs less to raise those things, it costs less to distribute them locally, and it requires less fuel, less energy.
About ten years ago there were hardly any farmer’s markets. I think there was the Green market in New York City and a few others. But now there’s one practically for every five-town radius around here. I know there’s some in New Hampshire and Maine. I’m familiar with New England because that’s where I live but it’s a really big thing. And a lot of people will get a lot of their food from them. One thing is they tend to be more expensive, which is definitely a down side. But at the same time, you’re supporting your local economy. Or they may not have all that packaging that things like Hot Pockets have.
What about stores like Whole Foods that sell organic products? Is it good to shop there, or should people always shop at their local markets first?
I think local is more important. If you had to make a choice between local and organic, I would go for local because the likelihood of you knowing that producer is greater so you would be able to make a choice about whether you wanted to support them based on their farming practices. The whole idea behind organic is that they’re more holistic and that it provides for a more sustainable system; you’re not pouring a whole bunch of chemicals into the earth and animals which means they build a resistance to it and then you have to kill them off and create a whole new race of seeds.
There’s this company, Monsato, that has patented corn seeds, which is a huge crop, especially in the Midwest. There’s a great documentary you should check out called “The Future of Food� by Deborah Koons Garcia. She profiles a few farmers who were involved in Monsanto lawsuits. Along with the patent, there are all these restrictions, like if a farmer had not bought the seed but the seed shows up on his field then he could be sued. But sometimes it shows up because of this thing called drift, which just happens naturally because seeds just float through the air because things pollinate naturally. That’s a huge, huge issue with the corporatizing of agriculture. It also means that farmers cannot save their seeds which farmers throughout the centuries have done. They’ve saved their seeds to plant them again in the spring. It makes so much sense so that you don’t have to buy seed every year. There used to be huge numbers of potatoes and corn [in the U.S.]. If you go to Bolivia, there are all these types of corn that are being grown. But here, in the United States, they grow maybe two or three kinds because there’s this monopoly over corn seed.
I think Whole Foods is good because it promotes more natural foods and organic foods because it is good for the earth and for our bodies. I like to be suspicious of anything really big [Laughs] because they’re using a lot of fuel to ship their products across the country.
What do you recommend to young women who want to get into farming? What should they do?
I would recommend that they first look for some farms in their area. You can find that out by looking in the phonebook or checking with the Chamber of Commerce. Then the next thing to do, a lot of state universities have extension services, and most of them have agriculture departments which then have extension services which means that they have extension agents. They are usually farmers themselves who are somehow involved in agriculture and might have a specialty. One person might be the fruit and berry expert and another person is the livestock agent, and another person is the dairy agent. They have all this expertise, all this knowledge, and they have a lot of ins to farming and agricultural organizations. They’re available to the public for help for either resources or advice or a lot of them provide services. Some of them will come out and test your soil. That’s a really great place to start. A lot of the big state universities have these departments that help them get capital or direct them to workshops that might be useful. There may be groups or conferences. I think the best way is through public universities. You have to pay for their services but you don’t have to pay for their advice or for talking to them on the phone.
I would also say if people are interested in farming they should try to go visit farms just to see what they’re like and to meet farmers and talk to them. Farmers are always desperate for help. [Laughs] The way I got into it was just by living and working on a farm. A lot of places offer you free board and sometimes offer you free meals, too. Sometimes they can only offer you a place to put up a tent, but it’s a great way to gain experience. Even if you just stay for two weeks, a few months, a summer for people who might be on a summer break—a lot of farmers are very welcome for help. [Laughs]
Have you met a lot of women farmers?
I have, actually. I’ve met a lot of them. [Lydia], she’s been farming since the early 70s. She’s been a really great part of the farming community in Vermont. She’s been really passionate about it and has done a lot to get different things started—grant programs, stuff like that. There’s actually now in Vermont a Women’s Agricultural Center which offers courses and list serves.
Then my cousin was working here. I became friends with a woman who was working at the last farm I was. She just started her own farm. I’ve met a lot of women farmers, which has been really great because it’s really inspiring. There’s a lot of old school farming areas that only do dairy cows and grow corn to feed them. But they have a lot of big machinery, and thousands of acres and thousands of animals. But in New England the farms are small. Our farm is big for a farm. We have one of the largest sheep flocks, but we only have 70 sheep. Out in the Midwest they have thousands of acres of range land with thousands of sheep because they have so much space and here we don’t have a lot of space.
But it seems like there’s a push for sustainable agriculture here as well because we don’t have the need for those huge machines that cost millions of dollars, all the John Deere equipment. I think people out West are maybe able to keep using those methods or using chemical fertilizers—these methods of farming that were introduced in the mid last century. It’s just not sustainable for the soil and it affects the animals. Honestly, I think this movement has been more possible here because of the land and the space and because there are lots of women involved in it. So, yeah, it’s been really great!
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This makes me miss Massachusetts! There was such a vibrant farm-scene there.
Alas. I've been thinking of doing WWOOF -- Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms - http://www.wwoof.org/ anyone wanting to travel and farm should check it out.
It's spelled heifer, not heffer.
Just to set the record straight - plant breeding is GOOD for farmers. All they have to buy is the seed, they don't spend lots of money on pesticide. The development of resistance cultivars is also significantly cheaper than the development of new pesticides. New cultivars are developed by teams of scientists - a plant breeder, a plant pathologist, an entomologist, an agronomist, a molecular biologist, and a sociologist. Since scientists also need to eat food and have a place to live, they sell the seed instead of giving it away for free. Due to the fact that allele frequencies in a population change over time, especially when presented with selection pressure (like a resistant cultivar or a pesticide), biotype formation is virtually unavoidable. The real reason that only a few cultivars are in use in any one location is because there are only a few cultivars that convey both good resistance to the major local pests and good yield available at any time. Plus, cultivars need to be adapted to the area. Corn that would grow 1 meter in the mountains in South America might grow to over 2 meters in the Midwest. Germplasm is readily available for use from the USDA and other organizations around the world. This is not a crisis.
It's ignorant to suggest that we could feed the world's population using pre-modern farming techniques or without the research done by the agricultural industry, the USDA, and universities/extension. 80% of all ag research is done by the ag industry.
"Farmers are always desperate for help."
No kidding. I must say I am in awe of this girl. She does all of that? Damn.
I feel overwhelmed with two belgians. No doubt those animals all crowd around her.
Though I grew up with animals, they were hardly for food-- my dad runs a horse and carriage business.
Just damn.
She's got my respect. Few people I know would do that.
Although I don't think Lucy said that all plant breeding was bad or that all large-scale farming practices should be ended, I would like to second Nymphalidae's post, which contains some good points.
As an employee of the research division of a certain organization s/he mentioned (which probably makes me biased, heh), I also feel compelled to express my personal opinion that Monsanto and its ilk are The Devil. :)
First, I just wanted to express my thanks for profiling this woman and the growing organics movement--especially the growth of women-farmers in the industrialized world, after all, in the pre-industrialized world, women make up 2/3 of the farmers--so, farming and the inputs-driven push toward "factory farming" in the developing world IS A FEMINIST ISSUE.
Second, I'd like to recommend a couple books, Hope's Edge, by Frances and Anna Moore-Lappe is an excellent look at communities (often women-centered communties) who are fighting/working against the IMF and World Banks efforts to "modernize" agriculture in the developing world--by making them dependent upon one or two crops at market prices (that can crumble at a dime) and efforts that consolidate land, lands that belong to many may then be seized for one or two corporate interest and leave farmers in destitution (and homelessness, let along unemployment). Hope's Edge is excellent and it follows the dealings of companies, such as Monsanto, and their history, aims, and ambitions.
This book provides Hope, as the title suggests, and shows how after devastation and false choices for expensive, chemically dependent, one-crop market logic, these farmers are re-discovering older lifeways, and subsisting much better on the food they eat (rather than the meager and sometimes non-existent "money" they earn from coffee production or the like).
Another book, is "The Green Belt Movement"--it also looks at agriculture and how food is grown specifically in Kenya. It also deals with women-centered environomentalism that gave rise to Kenyas tree-planting movement that is helping to combat deforstation and desertification. The writing style (writen by 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai is not quite as clean or poetic as Moore-Lappe's--primarily because Maathai is a scientist and writing not in her first language) but the issues are very important and it is a short read.
Third, I wanted to share that its not just New England that is seeing this revolution in organics and small-farms, local eating philosophies. I'm from Kentucky, specifially Lexington, and we are having a great local revolution as well. We have a vibrant farmer's market, an old and venerable Good Foods Co-op, CSA's all over the place (my parents are members of one and when I return, I will join one as well), and we even have at least one resturant that I can think of that uses only locally grown food, from veggies, to lamb, to wine, etc. The Harvest. When Wild Oats came to town, there was a great debate about it and my own mother boycott in allegiance to Good Foods because corporate vs. local was very much on the mind. Its great to be among so many food-forward people and local agriculture that wants to be part of the solution. Its probably because our farms, too, are small and not like the great expanses of the Mid-west, but I have heard about these revolutions in Kansas and Wisconsin as well--in pockets.
Bright Blessings to All,
Heather
The woman in the above article is just dumb. Sustainable farms are rapidly fading out of existence and are not a smart career choice. Technological advancements are going to make such ventures impossible to compete.
"She's got my respect."-Mimo92
Why? She's made an idiodic decision. Men have been doing what she's doing for thousands of years. There's nothing special about being a farmer. Anyone can be a farmer.
Ivy,
Women have also been farmers for thousands of years (although they didn't always own the land).
And its certainly not dumb to choose an employment that one loves. "Anyone" can do most jobs, but that doesn't mean that they'll be very good at the job. Or dedicated. Or happy. Or even gauranteed a fortune and long career.
Her decision is not "idiodic" (as you write). There will likely always be small sustainable farms and people who will pay more money for higher quality food. And small farmers already know that they can't compete with mass farms for profit. That's why they have specialty nitches, focus on quality, and establish local co-ops and farmers' marhets.
In fact, some states having been looking into small, organic farms as a means to boost both food production/commerce and also tourism.
In the aftermath of Hurricaine Katrina, Louisiana has found that much of the marshland surrounding New Orleans is prime for organic farming. We are currently drawing up proposals that would encourage people to start organic farms to supply the nation's growing demand for organic foods. The state also plans to encourage tourism and bed and breakfasts at the farms, so that tourists can expand their quest for great food throughout the parishes surrounding New Orleans. So, in Louisiana, at least, organic farming may turn out to be very important to the recovering economy.
Tankerton, organic crops do not cost more because they're of better quality. Lettuce is lettuce no matter how you grow it. The reason sustainable and organic farmers have to charge more is because larger percentages of their crops are eaten by insects. The concentration of chemicals on plants is so low in today's society that there's no reason to believe we'll all die if we continue to eat pesticide protected crops.
As far as farming goes, I really don't care what sex the person is. My objection is the attitude that we should praise and honor women no matter what they do. Female farmers are nothing special and contribute rather little to the economy; and do nothing as far as "female empowerment" is concerned. Give praise to those women do something great with their lives, not the mediocre. Furthermore, doing something just because it makes you happy is not the hallmark of an intelligent decision.
And you're right about your arguement that anyone can do most labor-based work. As I said earlier, we shouldn't reward mediorcrity because there's nothing special about such work. Whether it's being done by a woman or by a man, it is still simple, manual labor.
Don't feed the troll.
Donna! Long time no see! How have you been?
Oh, I told some of my friends about your lovely "troll" characterization of me. They had a good laugh at that one! How did Sean like those e-mails you sent him? I'm sure he had some kind of response for you. Perhaps he used your e-mail address to send you some regressive e-mails?
The troll doesn't even know what a troll is! He's so clueless about progressive sites, he doesn't know you can sign trolls up by entering their emails.
Ivy's comments are mind boggling."As I said earlier, we shouldn't reward mediocrity because there's nothing special about such work."
It's these so-called mediocre work that feeds the rest of us, cleans up after our mess and keeps our society functioning. We can't all be CEO's. One should take pride in whatever job one does and there is meaning in everything. I hope Ivy can come down off her condescending high horse long enough to realize that. Many of our forebears did "mediocre" work to allow us now to chose the job, the career, the life we want. Their struggle should never be forgotten or dismissed as mediocre.
Ivy is a male troll.
Truthtopower, you need to reread what I wrote. You obviously missed the point.
Oh, Donna, you wouldn't know I am a man if I hadn't come out and told you. My first posts on this forum under "PC my azz" were met with some disagreement, but nothing compared to the venemous rebukes after I revealed my sex. You are a sexist.
You're a troll and most trolls are male.
What's funny, Donna, is you have never told me why believing that women are capable creatures makes me a troll. As for your sexist comment above, it just proves my point. Most prisoners are black. Where should we draw the line with your logic?
Donna, I bet he is a teenage boy really needy for attention.
Let’s just ignore him folks!
Right, Sojourner, I must be a teenager because no "mature" person would disagree with you. There are hundreds of thousands of places where I could go to "get attention". Why would I come here?
Your claim lacks any logical substance. If you're so threatened by me and what I have to say then be an adult and admit it. Don't start this childish name calling.
Whether you ignore me or not, I'm still going to post on this site so others can see that you're perspective is not the only one which respects women's rights.
Ivy- since I don't care if you're a teenage boy or a middle-aged woman or if you're a troll, I wanted to respond to a couple of your original points.
"[Sustainable farms] are not a smart career choice."
Now, I know you're talking about sustainable farming, not just farming in general, right? Either way, I'd love to hear what you consider a "smart career choice." Are you talking in terms of a large income? In terms of job availability? Personal satisfaction?
"Technological advancements are going to make such ventures impossible to compete."
They aren't as long as there's a niche market for smaller-scale farmers. Which, by the way, there is. I'll use the example I know the best: sheep. Currently, New Zealand and Australian lamb has a way bigger share of the world market than American lamb. Generic American wool is barely worth the labor to remove it. Does this mean my parents, who have had under 100 sheep for more than 25 years now, have gone out of business? Not at all. They raise sheep primarily for breeding stock, and do quite well at it.
Saying that small or sustainable farms can't compete with larger scale farms assumes that they're competing in exactly the same market, and they're simply not.
"Men have been doing what she's doing for thousands of years."
Women have also been doing what she's doing for thousands of years. But saying that men have already done something doesn't make it unremarkable for a woman to do it. It's remarkable that a woman is currently running Harvard University, even though men have been doing it for over 300 years.
"Anyone can be a farmer."
I sincerely doubt it. Have you ever farmed? Livestock farming in particular requires very specialized knowledge and a good deal of physical strength, not to mention strength of character. Not everyone has that.
When I applied to college and got to "mother's profession," I was extremely proud of my mom when she decided I should write "Farmer" instead of "Farmer's wife." I've seen my mom do things I know a lot of other people can't or won't do.
Hey, just to get back to Milbydaniel's point at the beginning of all the comments, WWOOFing is great (though I think it's generally more short term). I was a wwoofer for one summer in France, working on different farms. You can do it anywhere in the U.S., and in different countries abroad. As Lucy pointed out, you generally get room & board; I only needed money to get to the farms and buy odds and ends in town. Amazing experience, and yes, I do admire anyone who works as a farmer.
MK-First off, I appreciate your post as it's not any kind of character attack, but a thoughtful, inquiring response. It's a marked improvement compared to the responses that some members of this forum. Upon reviewing my post, I've decided to leave a disclaimer. I hope that you will not take my post as a personal attack against yourself, your mother, or any member of your family.
To begin, yes, I do think that businesses which generate more wealth are better jobs as these increase the quality of life for all members in society. I do not think sustainable farms are a smart career choice precisely because they don't produce much at all. The primary reason they still exist is due to some romantic idea which is attached the "sustainable farm." Probably some archaic hanger-on of Jeffersonian principles. It is because of these attitudes, not the quality of product, that sustainable farms have been able to survive this long. However, I do not see this as a viable option for much longer. As technology improves, more and more farming can be done with fewer hands. This decreases the costs of large-scale farm owners thus enabling them to acquire more profits. Eventually, the time will come when these farmers will be able to out produce, and out qualify, their sustainable competitors. In view of future prospects, I'd say that sustainable farming is not a smart career choice.
As far as farming in general is concerned, I do not consider it a commendable profession. My mother's side is full of farmers and cattle owners. Based on my experiences with them, their friends, and spending time at their farm, I've come to the conclusion that farming is a job which does not encourage an individual to increase their knowledge base, nor does it push the bounds of the intellect. Again, the only "worth" or dignity in the profession comes from romantic, Jeffersonian views. With this in mind, it does not matter which sex the farmer is; the profession itself is nothing special.
I do like the point you raised: "Livestock farming in particular requires very specialized knowledge and a good deal of physical strength, not to mention strength of character." This is something which I have not considered, though it is not enough to change my opinion. I do think that whatever knowledge is needed can be acquired rather quickly if converted into a lesson plan.
The bottom line is, sustainable farms produce very little and contribute next to nothing to society. I do not see this line of work inspiring the creation of anything which might rival computers, cars, televisions, printing presses, or any of the remarkable devices which have so drastically improved our lives.
Hm. Well, thanks for clarifying, Ivy. Sounds like we just fundamentally disagree, given your view that "businesses which generate more wealth are better jobs as these increase the quality of life for all members in society."
I'm more of the opinion that a huge chunk of businesses increase the quality of life only for their direct stakeholders, and that a lot of the most profitable businesses decrease the quality of life for others thanks to negative environmental impact, outsourcing labor to places without fair wage laws, and driving out smaller independent businesses (just to name a few potential harms).
As for the specialized knowledge needed for livestock farming, sure, you can probably memorize things like how much worm vaccination to give per pound of lamb pretty easily, if you're into rote memorization. But acquiring knowledge for a whole host of other things--when to pull a lamb, deciding which rams to stud, distinguishing between minor and major ailments with similar early symptoms--depends not just on raw data but on lived experience. That doesn't come quickly.
I recognize your point about the necessity of experience in successful farming. I'd say most trade jobs do require quite a bit of experience to perform efficiently and competitively. I'm in favor of reinstating apprenticeship programs to help people acquire the skills and expertise necessary to become skilled workers. Mechanics, like farmers, need much experience to become excellent.
As far as big business decreasing the quality of life, I have to disagree with you. There are many unfavorable opinions about successful businesses which have deep roots. However, I'd encourage you to examine all of the supplies you use on a farm and think about how much more difficult life would be without, say, a tractor. How about bailing hay without a hay-bailing machine? These devices, which have enabled farmers to become more productive and increase their profits, were produced in factories. They're sold for such low prices because of the efficiency of assembly lines. Smaller items, such as power drills, which make repairs on the farm more easy, were similarly produced in large factories.
I liken sustainable farms to building a tractor by hand. It requires a greater amount of time and consequently drives the price of the tractor through the roof. Only the most successful farmers could afford them and no smaller farms could compete. However, by developing a way to produce tractors more efficiently, and putting the "by-hand" tractor maker out of business, smaller farmers are capable of competing once more. If anything, big business encourages the quality of life for everyone to improve and prevents the "rubbing out" of competitors.
Take care, MK. It was nice chatting with you.