Sustainability, farming is chic

[shootingstar]

Over 25 yrs., ago when I was at graduate school where one of my friends was getting married to a farmer. She was quite defensive about her fiance's career choice. And stressed often that farming is running a business.

Looks like nowadays in some circles, she wouldn't have had to be so defensive.

http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Entr%c3%a9e+Small+scale+farmers+forefront+greens+revolution/1714509/story.html

An excerpt:
The farmers’ markets are introducing a new generation to farming and they’re interested in participating,” says Tabitha McLoughlin, manager of the Coquitlam farmers’ market, which has been operating since 1997. “This year, especially, it seems summer jobs on farms are seen as trendy or cool amongst the younger generation. I’ve been hearing that over and over. The next step has to be finding land but there are lots of barriers.”
But, she says, there are ways of going forward. Some have formed cooperatives where several farmers share one property. “New models of farming are starting to happen,” she says.

[shootingstar]

I should also say, cycling as an integral part of lifestyle at least in some of the real estate ads here...there will be notes made if a home is near trails or has a bike storage rm.

[shootingstar]

another observation:

2 days ago we were chatting up with some recent university grads..in their 20's. My partner appeared to be a folk hero to them....'cause he worked for an oil company (his whole career), yet was a part-time farmer for 10 years (20 pigs, 60 cattle, chickens, grew hay, had a garden) then over to being a cycling advocate.

The farming part made him chic...:p

[Tri Girl]

The oil part made him evil, the farming part made him an angel, eh? That's funny. :D

I have always admired the tenacity of farmers. It's a thankless job that's incredibly tough. My DH's grandparents still farm (and they're in their 80's).
God bless farmers; not only are they chic- they work like crazy to provide the things that I love to eat. :)

[shootingstar]

My DH's grandparents still farm (and they're in their 80's).
God bless farmers; not only are they chic- they work like crazy to provide the things that I love to eat. :)

That is remarkable they are still farming. They probably will find it tough once their lifestyle changes when they can no longer do it. Or maybe not.

When he got into farming, he knew nothing. (He has a civil engineering degree.) So he did take some evening part-time courses at a nearby university on animal husbandry (university is known nationally for veterinary and agricultural sciences for many years). Also mentored by a local farmer 25 yrs. his senior. They had an arrangement where farmer occasionally shared hay baling work and interim checking of the animals when my partner went back into the city to his oil firm job.

I didn't know that pigs, cows and horses could be left on their own with shelter and adequate food for a few days.

[OakLeaf]

I didn't know that pigs, cows and horses could be left on their own with shelter and adequate food for a few days.

Mostly just water. Shelter isn't necessary except in extreme weather; cattle and horses should be getting most or all of their food from pasture.

Beef cattle - or dairy cows in early pregnancy - are just like any other animals. Milk cows need to be milked twice a day - three times when they're treated with rBGH - and can't be left unattended.

There's been a lot in the news lately about the new generation of farmers. It's great when the grandparents have been able to hang on long enough for the grandchildren to take over the farm. Most everyone in the intervening generation had no interest in farming, sadly.

[Tri Girl]

DH's grandparents used to mainly be a dairy farm, until the big dairy in the area bought them out. DH only drank fresh milk (pasteurized, of course) for the first few years of his life. They said that was really hard work- dairy farming- and they didn't have a huge operation.
They're getting old now and can't do as much as they used to. Grandpa just had back surgery this week. No doubt it'll be hard when they can no longer keep it up. Once that happens, I think they'll go downhill FAST.

Cool about your partner that he took classes and learned from a mentor. I think that's really neat. Does he do it full time now?

[shootingstar]

No, he sold his farm. Main reasons: his allergy hay was accelerating plus sale of farm after divorce.

These young graduates that we chatted up had some hopes for doing work where they could grow food, serve it, etc.

Issue and cost of land ownership, equipment also is another problem for anyone wanting to get into farming if there is no family farm to inherit.