tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post7880689498803984491..comments2024-03-28T13:49:48.236+00:00Comments on Magnon's Meanderings: The state of local agriculture.Cro Magnonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-46642291331029062942016-10-14T03:18:04.745+01:002016-10-14T03:18:04.745+01:00The new 'back to the land' movement here i...The new 'back to the land' movement here in US seems to involve the tiny house movement and providing for ones own needs with gardening, small stock and a home based job or business. In my area people don't have much disposable income so that even farmers markets don't do well. We keep hens, rabbits and a garden. There is less and less variety from farm stands, so was forced to grow our own. Farmers here grow hufe fuelds of corn & sotbeans...that is it.Hollyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03566175432613660671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-89455643686616445332016-10-06T04:50:24.654+01:002016-10-06T04:50:24.654+01:00Donna, you should go round schools and give talks ...Donna, you should go round schools and give talks on 'Life Satisfaction'. I think a lot of young people don't even know what that is!Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-89502135203611983922016-10-06T04:47:03.994+01:002016-10-06T04:47:03.994+01:00I've lived here for nearly 45 years, and thing...I've lived here for nearly 45 years, and things have changed dramatically. No-one now keeps pigs or ducks, or chickens. All the small farm vineyards have gone. Milking has finished because of the hours and returns. And everyone wants a good income for as little work as possible. You can't blame them, but it all seems to have gone wrong.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-16082942079743302702016-10-06T04:43:21.514+01:002016-10-06T04:43:21.514+01:00Of course where I live is deep in the countryside,...Of course where I live is deep in the countryside, so there is no chance of selling land for big construction. No-one wants to live here, other than the retired!Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-60016966926866276182016-10-06T04:41:12.292+01:002016-10-06T04:41:12.292+01:00It possibly is here too, but we wouldn't know ...It possibly is here too, but we wouldn't know about it.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-5777244348732322662016-10-06T03:30:48.976+01:002016-10-06T03:30:48.976+01:00We had a large farm, organic hogs, steers and dair...We had a large farm, organic hogs, steers and dairy but none of our 4 children wanted that life. They all said "too much work for not enough money." So we sold it (twice, but thats another farm horror story) and now own just 7 acres and enough livestock for ourselves and a few friends. We are too small for any US agricultural subsidies which we would not take anyway, and 80% of our day is spend providing for our own needs. We make less and less money and we are more and more satisfied, but few young people want to work outside in all kinds of weather for the big payoff of a great potato crop or your own freezer full of yummy pork. Farming as it once was, is nearly extinct.Donna OShaughnessyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266654110280149719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-5375177179330017872016-10-06T00:13:22.351+01:002016-10-06T00:13:22.351+01:00Cro, this post and the earlier comments are very i...Cro, this post and the earlier comments are very interesting.<br /><br />I agree with you about "things" going in cycles, but admit that this city dweller worries about the next cycle.<br /><br />I hope that the Koch brothers do not infiltrate the French farms. From what I have read, they do not always use the name Koch in all their business dealings.<br /><br />Certainly no one would wish to do the hard annual work of a farmer without having some hope of gaining an income.<br />Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08352407314710067616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-64360647605683974982016-10-05T18:03:25.897+01:002016-10-05T18:03:25.897+01:00Many places I loved from the orange groves of Sout...Many places I loved from the orange groves of Southern California to the local veggie farm in San Juan Capistrano were sold off because the property tax was so high it choked the farmers out. Land was money and the developers won. I remember driving to work surrounded by orange groves and strawberry fields. Now they are condos and shopping centers with the same stores as the one up the road.<br />What is so interesting is Orange County, California was named for the orange groves that were all over. <br />Now an orange tree are grown in backyards or planters at the shopping centers. So very sad.<br /><br />One interesting note is in Japan many young adults are moving back to the countryside and returning to the farms or small businesses. Disenchanted with the expensive noisy lifestyle of the city.<br /><br />cheers, parsnipangryparsniphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236094827257446781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-64855884066834367732016-10-05T17:48:33.643+01:002016-10-05T17:48:33.643+01:00The cartels love it !The cartels love it !angryparsniphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17236094827257446781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-36431991157492973892016-10-05T16:47:36.069+01:002016-10-05T16:47:36.069+01:00Why is it depressing? I thought the marijuana indu...Why is it depressing? I thought the marijuana industry was providing lots of jobs and tax revenue on the West coast...?<br />Jenniferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12512800812290518552noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-13228926527433852602016-10-05T16:00:06.901+01:002016-10-05T16:00:06.901+01:00If you really want to get down in the dumps, imagi...If you really want to get down in the dumps, imagine if a large share of your local economy was based upon the marijuana industry. Now, THAT'S depressing.Gail, northern Californiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05606476543639979603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-32441440101609594662016-10-05T15:02:58.508+01:002016-10-05T15:02:58.508+01:00I have invested in Land myself (in Scotland), and ...I have invested in Land myself (in Scotland), and the return was good, but it worries me that so many are turning their backs on country life in favour of the cities. One day they'll wake up and regret what their decisions.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-62092216900976046702016-10-05T14:44:44.087+01:002016-10-05T14:44:44.087+01:00Our children rarely come back to the farm as they ...Our children rarely come back to the farm as they find it isolating and boring. They are city kids now. I've read that in the US, land has become an investment for the younger crowd, since they don't make it anymore. Something tangible instead of the stock market. They will find something to do with it.donna bakerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13507579686738843451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-81770524850236761742016-10-05T12:44:08.517+01:002016-10-05T12:44:08.517+01:00I fear this is becoming Europe wide. One has to wo...I fear this is becoming Europe wide. One has to wonder where it will end.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-22788375201300422032016-10-05T10:50:48.631+01:002016-10-05T10:50:48.631+01:00I sold my cattle in the spring and just made hay t...I sold my cattle in the spring and just made hay this year. Our CAP payment was in the hundreds and cattle became to expensive to buy and keep over winter. Now I have land for sale. northsider https://www.blogger.com/profile/00716743611909673869noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-30070901039113301842016-10-05T09:56:15.661+01:002016-10-05T09:56:15.661+01:00That doesn't seem to happen here. In the north...That doesn't seem to happen here. In the north of France there are huge wheat-growing farms, but big farms here are a rarity. Too wooded I suppose.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-24803598062419630832016-10-05T09:54:37.743+01:002016-10-05T09:54:37.743+01:00I agree. Even the mono-culture doesn't pay ver...I agree. Even the mono-culture doesn't pay very well these days.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-83841520985247084222016-10-05T09:44:51.025+01:002016-10-05T09:44:51.025+01:00There is no money much in small farms here Cro - o...There is no money much in small farms here Cro - only the very big land owners make money, which is why when the small farms are sold they are usually bought by neighbouring farmers until they get a very large plot of land.The Weaver of Grasshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13947971556343746883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-70765049323055542412016-10-05T09:42:32.616+01:002016-10-05T09:42:32.616+01:00Smallholdings and self-sufficiency to an extent ar...Smallholdings and self-sufficiency to an extent are the answer. <br />Growing different crops instead of mono-culture.Patricia (La Chatte Gitane)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03188119208339437700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-13710955860334682802016-10-05T09:34:46.794+01:002016-10-05T09:34:46.794+01:00Your final word should probably have been 'poi...Your final word should probably have been 'poisoning'. It astounds me the muck that is sold in the name of 'food'. Thank goodness I have a small plot of land on which I can grow most of what I eat.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-58594087617118153652016-10-05T09:32:16.492+01:002016-10-05T09:32:16.492+01:00In the UK that's always a possibility.In the UK that's always a possibility.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-12857958415672474192016-10-05T08:51:02.428+01:002016-10-05T08:51:02.428+01:00Someone has to feed the people, .... who will that...Someone has to feed the people, .... who will that be in years to come, when the land is left unattended because it is seems simpler to go the city than work the land, and the farmers are finally squeezed out of earning a living, so who will feed the people? Oh, of course! The commercial food producers who bulk up the 'food' they sell by all sorts of chemical nonsense, which only serves to weaken the health of the people who they are 'feeding'. Verahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13235143664894609891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-60743106139437144412016-10-05T08:27:36.521+01:002016-10-05T08:27:36.521+01:00The farm next to our house is just about still goi...The farm next to our house is just about still going with a milking herd, but I was wondering the other day what would happen to the land as it is council owned - I dread to think of the beautiful countryside around us being developed.elaine https://www.blogger.com/profile/17075935631756457901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-54313137372676187202016-10-05T07:41:57.233+01:002016-10-05T07:41:57.233+01:00One of my neighbours has Gites.... lots of them.One of my neighbours has Gites.... lots of them.Cro Magnonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06840670227576695352noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5227064496185547313.post-65214408561120932812016-10-05T07:39:44.125+01:002016-10-05T07:39:44.125+01:00Philippe's farmer father has four sons and a d...Philippe's farmer father has four sons and a daughter. None of them are interested in taking on the family farm, they all have other professions. The sons just tend the vineyard and the chestnut groves.Suehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10787732343048847565noreply@blogger.com