It's going to be a short post this weekend. Life is getting really crazy now with my job, my other job coaching girl's soccer, my other job trying to become a farmer, and my other job (the most important job) being a husband and a father! Oh yeah, and we are trying to build a farm from scratch ... but, I'll give some more updates on that next week. For today I just want to throw out some links that I found after a friend e-mailed me a link to an interview from Minnesota Public Radio.First of all, here is the link to the interview on MPR - CLICK HERE - You will have to find the link to the audio on that page. There are actually two people interviewed. Will Allen who runs an organization that promotes and helps build urban gardens and Audrey Arner who is on the steering committee of the Land Stewardship Project's Farm Beginnings program. I'm just finishing up listening to the interview now and it is pretty cool. I wish I was closer to Minnesota so that I could to take that class.
Here are the other interesting links you need to check out in conjunction with the MPR interview.
-First of all check out the Land Stewardship Project's Farm Beginnings.
-Next you can surf over to Audrey Arner's farm, Moonstone Farm.
-Finally, if you want to learn more about Moonstone Farm you need to check out an article from New Farm titled, "Farm, Food and Family" from a few years ago.
One last thing from the interview. Mr. Allen mentioned that the average farmer is over the age of 60 years old now ... meaning we need to be thinking about where our next generation of farmers are going to come from. That is of interest to me because earlier this week I put a "rant" (they wanted to know what I didn't like about farming) on my epi-log. One of the things I mentioned that frustrated me was the farmers that said they wanted to help younger farmers, but didn't follow through by sharing opportunities and knowledge. You can read my post here. One comment I received was from someone who grew up (and I just noticed I had another "farms are bad" comment) on a farm and said that their dad didn't have time to help or teach someone after all of the work. But, how then should farming be shared?
**Okay, one more last thing ... If you have made it this farm, I would like your thoughts on this comment from the epi-log post I mentioned:
I see what you are saying about the "younger" farmer. However, I would have to agree with the previous comment about why someone would encourage another to get into farming. I myself grew up on a farm and saw first hand the work and toil we put in for the very minimal return. Farming is your life, not your occupation. As a kid I was never in any extracurricular activities b/c I had to be home to "do chores." My dad was always late (if he even showed up) for any Christmas programs b/c they were usually during milking time. My dad who is now 51 has a body of an 80 year old. He's had multiple bones broken, shattered, pitch forks stuck in extremities, you name it. I told myself I would NEVER live on a farm. However, just before I left for college, my dad tried talking me out of it and staying on the farm. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I'm thankful that I didn't listen to him and did continue my education. My father as of recent threw in the towel and has now turned his "farm" into a winery. My husband and I dabble in forms of farming. We raise pigs and sheep. No milking for me, but you are right, farming is an art, but I have made it my "side job" as a way to provide healthy food for my family. I would say that the best advice that someone could give the "younger folk" would be to learn to live off the land. Not profit from it, but sustain your way of life.
