American agriculture is in crisis!  Mid-sized farms (farm units from 100-500 acres) are rapidly disappearing. This is creating an economic crisis in rural areas and an environmental crisis for our nation. Agriculture is becoming “polarized” between large farming units that supply global markets through a few large international corporations and the small intensive farming units that supply local and niche markets that are not easily commercialized.

Historically, the majority of the farmland was owned and operated as mid-sized farms that were diverse and profitable. Farmers took pride in land stewardship. In recent years, however, the emergence of international corporations that control prices and agricultural subsidy programs that encourage over-production have combined to force mid-sized farmers to chose between liquidation or consolidation and adoption of increasingly unsustainable practices. With consolidation and industrialization, social and environmental values become the victim of monoculture and centralization.

Here at Carandale Farm, we are committed to the environment and multi-functionality of agriculture. We feel that we have an obligation to share these concerns with you, the consumer, who make the ultimate decision on how to spend your food dollar. Following is a brief synopsis of three articles related to these issues.

Society only puts monetary value on food and fiber, but diversified agriculture provides many public amenities. It provides open space for wildlife habitat, cleansing and recycling of air and water, scenic vistas, a chance to enjoy nature and freedom from smog and light pollution. (For more information on how this concerns you, click on “Multi-functionality of Agriculture” )

The detachment of business from society has become increasingly evident in our technological age. No segment of society is more impacted by this misalignment of business and societal interests than agriculture and the rural communities that it supports. Klaus Schwab, President of the World Economic Forum, has written a very intriguing and thought provoking article about what he calls the need for “society oriented business.” (Click on “Capitalism with a Conscience” for a complete summary of the article that appeared in the February 24, 2003 issue of Newsweek)

Here at Carandale Farm innovation and diversity have always been essential ingredients in our commitment to food safety, sustainability, and concern for the environment. We have never adopted one production system to the exclusion of all others. In reality, there is no one system that can meet all of the elements of sustainability. (Click on “Sustainable Agriculture” for a definition and further discussion)

MULTI-FUNCTIONALITY OF AGRICULTURE

The amenities of agriculture benefit everyone and go far beyond the basic function of providing food and fiber. Diversified agriculture provides the social fabric for rural communities and open space for wildlife habitat. Associated open space allows for the cleansing and recycling of air and water as well as other environmental benefits. Other less tangible “quality of life” amenities include scenic vistas, a chance to enjoy nature, and freedom from smog and light pollution. Collectively this is the multi-functionality of agriculture.

Society only puts monetary value on food and fiber. By not assigning monetary value to all the other amenities associated with agriculture and other open space land use, society is in effect subsidizing and encouraging urban sprawl along with all of its economic environmental and social costs.

Even more alarming is the failure to calculate long term costs of producing food and fiber. Short-term economics based on “economics of scale” encourages highly centralized production practices that promotes industrialized agriculture. Whereas diversified agricultural practices have a positive impact on the environment and the social fabric of rural communities. Highly centralized production practices have a negative impact.

Centralized production practices are promoted by farm subsidy programs that result in over production that benefits a few large corporations, international trade and to some extent the consumer through lower food prices. The very small profit margin caused by over production results in the consolidation of family run farms and industrialization by large corporations with devastating consequences to rural communities.

Concentrated animal production often has an immediate and obviously negative impact on the environment and quality of life issues in the surrounding area. Extensive mono-cultural cropping practices sustained by genetically modified organisms (GMO’s), genetically specialized crops and inorganic pesticides and fertilizers threaten environmental diversity and endanger long term productivity.

Ultimately, society must recognize the multi-functionality of agriculture and adapt policies that put monetary value on all of the benefits of a diversified agricultural system. The long-term environmental and social cost associated with centralized agricultural practices must also be computed and assessed.

Corporate America which dictates policy through campaign funding and lobbying, has no incentive to promote a policy change. It will be up to all of us as individuals to promote the recognition of environmental, social and long-term economic sustainability of agriculture by how we spend our food dollar. Learn where your food comes from, how it is produced and support local agriculture whenever possible.

Quality of life for the public at large is enhanced by Wildlife that thrives on food and habitat provided by farmers.   Farmers not only provide these amenities free to the public, but they often suffer significant economic damage when some species such as deer and wild turkey become too numerous. 

 The department of Natural Resources has programs to compensate for crop loss, but at best they pay only for a part of the loss.  At worst, they are so difficult to qualify for, and damage documentation is so difficult and time consuming that most damage goes uncompensated.  

This photo shows a flock of about 30 wild turkeys emerging from a strawberry field after scratching the protective straw mulch off of the plants.  The use their powerful legs and large claws to totally expose the plants.  Turkeys inflict some direct damage to the plants, but more significantly, the plants are exposed to extreme cold and fluctuating temperatures that can reduce yields or kill the plant outright. 

Deer use their sharp hooves to paw through the snow and straw and then eat the exposed plants.  Deer damage is usually not as extensive as turkey damage, but is often more severe.  

This photo shows deer damage in the foreground and turkey damage in the background.  

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CAPITALISM WITH A CONSCIENCE

This is based on an article appearing in Newsweek magazine February 24, 2003, and written by Klaus Schwab, President of the World Economic Forum.

The detachment of business from society which has become increasingly evident with the animinity associated with our technological age is threatening the credibility "of capitalism and our market-driven system.” This is a paradox. “Free markets, democracy, transparency, global interaction and entrepreneurship are the only way to boost economic progress and social development. Yet many people...are condemning the capitalistic system as cold and inhumane.” Witness the often-violent demonstrations at recent WTO meetings.

The only way to stop this new wave of anti-business sentiment is for business to take the lead and to reposition itself clearly and convincingly as part of society. Business needs to propagate-and live up to-a new philosophy I would call “society-oriented business.” This philosophy has four elements: corporate attractiveness, corporate integrity, corporate citizenship and social entrepreneurship.

Corporate attractiveness means that a corporation has to prove its social raison d’etre. This requires it no only to maximize shareholders’ value but to serve all stake-holders, meaning society as a whole. Responsible management should appreciate the likely long-term payoff of contributing to the construction of stronger societies and, hence, more vibrant economies. To build business attractiveness requires a change of the short-term mind-set of many investors--or, rather, speculators.

Corporate integrity means that business should be governed not only by rules but by values. Business leaders will be trusted only if their employees’ actions reflect a true culture of corporate integrity, which springs from individual moral integrity.

Corporate citizenship means that business has to help find solutions for the big challenges of our time. Business has to work hand in hand with governments and civil society in employing its capabilities and its know-how in the fight against poverty, AIDS and all the other issues on the global agenda that undermine the dignity of life and threaten our very existence. And, finally, business and government should support social entrepreneurs who help attack global problems, from poverty to water shortages, in their communities. There are thousands of social entrepreneurs at work around the world (www.schwabfound.org). Some examples: Iftekar Enayetullah and Maqsood Sinha run a company called Waste Concern in Bangladesh. They collect waste house to house, then compost it in local plants, providing organic fertilizer for the nation’s depleted soils. Or take Bunker Roy (of Barefoot College, India), who identifies poor, semiliterate youths in rural India and trains them as architects, doctors, solar engineers and IT specialists.

The fundamental paradigms change with history and change history. The time has come to articulate and practice a more enlightened society-oriented business philosophy. If we have the strength to do so, we can all look forward to a better future.

This is especially true with the industrialization of agriculture. Social, economic and environmental issues must be addressed simultaneously. The need for corporations to serve all stakeholders, “meaning society as a whole,” to “appreciate the likely long-term payoff of contributing to the construction of stronger societies” and to “change the short-term mind-set” are pre-requisites to achieving sustainability and to maximize the multi-functionality of agriculture (Click on “Sustainable Agriculture” and Multi-functionality of Agriculture” for further information on these subjects)

A prairie adds environmental and social amenities that add to quality of life, but are not a part of the "capitalistic equation".

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SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Organic, IPM, pesticide free, conventional, eco-labeling, country of origin labeling and a host of other terms are becoming buzzwords of our time. What all this means can be confusing and deceptive. Attributes concerning food safety, quality and nutritional value are often erroneously implied or assumed. What these terms have in common is that they all relate to information about how (or where) food is grown so that consumers can make informed choices. These are processes related to production and marketing.

Sustainability is a structural concept based on the culture of agriculture. It is therefore broader and more inclusive. “Sustainable agriculture is defined as agriculture that is profitable, environmentally sound, and beneficial to the community.” It must be capable of providing current needs (for food and fiber) without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. This requires that production, marketing and distribution must be energy efficient and flexible to accommodate regional differences related to crop, environment and social institutions. It must also be able to accommodate change as scientific knowledge and social institutions evolve.

Sustainable agriculture does not advocate one cropping system to the exclusion of all others, because in reality there is no one system that meets all of the elements of sustainability. For example, vegetables grown “organically” in California using plastic and flaming for weed control may not be environmentally sustainable because of the high non-renewable energy usage, nor would they contribute to local community development for sustainability. They also require a lot of energy for transportation to markets and more packaging then locally grown produce.

Sustainability is a goal, not a mandate, and therefore does not specifically advocate any one cropping system. It does establish parameters for selecting the best management practices in a particular situation. To sustain community development, local production and marketing systems would provide a sustainable advantage over highly centralized systems. Also, highly centralized systems are difficult to sustain environmentally because of pollution issues and the high consumption of non-renewable resources required for transportation to remote markets. Food safety and food security could also be issues, but economics of scale give them an economic advantage in a global economy when social and environmental issues are not considered.

Capitalism is driven by industrialization which focuses on short term profits (click on “Capitalism with a Conscience” for more information on this subject.) This puts emphasis on profitable production with no incentive to promote natural resources stewardship and community vitality. Globalization will accelerate industrialized agriculture, especially for commodity crops (corn, wheat, cotton, soybeans, etc), as well as meat products and less perishable processed milk, fruit and vegetable items.

It is likely that food products that meet USDA organic standards will be industrialized and grown in third world countries where corporations can take advantage of cheap labor and benefit from higher prices in US markets based on marketing premiums associated with organic products. This is already happening with bananas, strawberries, apples, etc. Buying organic will no longer be synonymous with supporting local agriculture or small family farms. Without country of origin labeling you might not even know if you are supporting American agriculture!

It will also reveal the myth that organic products always are inherently more sustainable, of better quality, taste better and are more nutritional. These are implied attributes that help maintain the market premium that offsets higher per unit labor costs. While organic production systems have many desirable attributes including soil, water and pest management, their exclusive benefit to the consumer is that they are free of (most) pesticide residues. Other qualities often associated with organic are not exclusively linked to a particular growing method.

Sustainability, quality, flavor, and nutritional value are attributes of locally grown fruits and vegetables that are harvested when fully mature and consumed immediately after harvest, In contrast, fruits and vegetables grown elsewhere, shipped great distances, warehoused and distributed to local stores, are generally harvested before optimum quality, flavor and nutritional value has been achieved. This would be true whether grown conventionally or organically. Cultivar selection is another major factor. The rigors of transportation and shelf life requirements limit selection and variety choices, whereas local growers can select cultivars for quality, flavor and nutritional value.

To maximize the sustainability of agriculture you should purchase food products that are locally grown and distributed. By doing so, you will be supporting family farmers and rural community development, safeguarding the environment and conserving non-renewable resources. In the process, you will re rewarded by the quality, flavor and nutritional value associated with fresh fruits and vegetables harvested at optimal maturity and freshness.

Recycling leaves and yard waste from the Village of Oregon is one of Carandale Farm’s sustainable management practices.

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