Howdy folks! Just a quick update to let you know The Free Farm Geek now has a Facebook fan page! If you like the blog, please become a fan.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Free-Farm-Geek/144609364729
I’m working with a friend on more updates to the blog site, and am also working on the next podcast.
Stay tuned, more to come!
Howdy folks! I wanted to step out of character a bit and play a little devil’s advocate. Tonight’s topic – factory farming.
Now, most of you are probably painfully aware of the downsides of factory farming. They pollute the earth, mine the soil and their products lack nutrient density modern man so desperately needs. The consequences of “cheap” food are everywhere.
A good question is – why is the factory food cheap? Like it or not, being cheap is not inherently bad. My Corolla was cheaper than it’s domestic counterpart, and arguably a better automobile. The desk I got from Wal-Mart, while no hardwood heirloom, is leaps and bounds above the particle board garbage I lived with through college.
Factory farming is cheap because currently, in the United States, it’s really the only legal form of large scale farming (because of countless environmental regulations, which consequently are largely unenforceable). That “freedom” to operate has, for better or worse, bred efficiencies which have drove the price down and made all sorts of food products very affordable. There are obviously other factors, but I’m trying to stay OT here. :)
Family farmed food is often expensive for a number of reasons. Based on my personal experience, labor and inputs are the biggest cost to this type of farming. This is not including the cost/risk associated to operating legally under crippling regulations which do most small farms in or to operate under the radar and risk fines and even jail time for selling your product.
Labor is expensive for a number of reasons not directly related to farming specifically, but obviously folks value their time greatly especially with the cost of living always going up. Inputs are expensive because organic, all natural farming is still a small percentage of the overall market and the scale and demand to drive price down isn’t there yet.
Imagine if Cargill turned it’s agricultural might towards mass producing a quality kelp meal. We can be sure of one thing – it would cost much less than $50 a bag. Can’t be done? That’s like saying Apple can’t mass produce a quality iPhone. All it takes is consumer demand.
The solution is simple – food freedom. If small farms were free to conduct their business as they wanted, you could bet they wouldn’t stay small long. Superior food products would drive up sales and profits for well run farms, sparking more investment and entrepreneurial energy which would further drive down operating costs through innovation and scale.
Family farms don’t invest in scale because money is scarce. Money is scarce because we don’t have a free market in food. We have no idea what a free market in food would produce in the generations to come. You can bet it would be nutrient dense, environmentally responsible, and absolutely delicious. And cheap. Dirt cheap.
Here’s to food freedom and affordable real food.
Well, duh! :)
Here is a great interview with Doug Casey and Tom Woods on McCuistion TV. Dennis McCuistion finds himself caught off guard when he discovers, to his embarrassment, he’s interviewing two anarchists.
Both Doug and Tom offer elegant explanations of our current economic crisis, and skillfully put to rest any notion that you have to have government to maintain a peaceful society. Doug really hammers it home three minutes in. Tom is great as always.
Enjoy! Geek out.
Howdy folks!
I found this great primer to Ludwig von Mises’ Human Action – in comic form! Lilburne has a great blog, and these comics are a testament to his understanding of Human Action. They are easy to read and enjoyable. You can find them here. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Slow going on the farm. The rain has finally let up, and the sun is out. Temps are dropping but still pleasant. We had our first frost on Sunday, so that signals the beginning of the end of grass growth until Spring. No new baby calves yet, but we’ll keep you posted!
Until next time – peace! Geek out.
It’s an exciting time here on the farm as the new fall calves are being born. We have two so far, both sired by our Devon bull. I’m anxious to see how the Devon crosses perform! The idea, regardless of heritage, is to wind up with a set of genetics very well suited for this particular environment. This keeps inputs (and cost) down.
A Little Red Motley Faced Bull
A Little Dun Heifer
Current commercial markets prefer tall animals because they perform better in feedlot conditions, so these animals being slightly smaller will take a small hit for that at the sale barn. However, that should be more than made up for with reduced costs and increased performance.
Peace! Geek out.
