farming

by Ed Yowell, Slow Food NYC

Farming in the Northeast is different than it is in the rest of the country.  Northeast farms are small.  According to the USDA, the average farm size in the United States is 418 acres.  In the Northeast, it is about 105 acres, 194 in New York State.  By comparison, the average farm in California is 312 acres, with 5.5 percent over 1,000 acres.  In New York State, about 2.9 percent are more than 1,000 acres.  It’s not just size, 84 percent of farms in New York State are family owned compared to 79 percent in California.  Farming in our region is basically a family affair.

by Ed Yowell, Slow Food NYC

Farming in the Northeast, in some ways, looks more European than American.  Farms are small.  According to the USDA, the average farm size in the Northeast is about 105 acres, 194 in New York State, while the average farm size nationally is 418 acres.  By comparison, the average farm in California is 312 acres, with 5.5 percent over 1,000 acres.  In New York State, about 2.9 percent are more than 1,000 acres.  But the difference is not just size: 84 percent of farms in New York State are family owned, compared to 79 percent in California.  Farming in our region is basically a relatively small, family affair.

Farming is not a simple proposition. Besides hard work, it is science, art, luck and, to be successful, no small amount of shrewd entrepreneurship.  It is a profession that affords practitioners the ability to be far more independent in their chosen endeavors than many of us who labor in complicated social structures, like corporations and government.  If the great American personality trait is rugged individualism, then I think family farmers are where it is vested mostly these days. 

Farming seems like big business.  It added about $183 billion to the US economy during 2008, according to the USDA.  But is it?  According to the USDA, in terms of annual farm sales revenue, 75 percent of our New York State farms earn less than $49,000, 82.2 percent less than $99,000.  Only 18.8 percent of our New York State farms bring in more than $100,000 per year.  However, according to the American Farmland Trust, 125,000 of 2.2 million farms in the United States produced 75 percent of the value of US farm production in 2007.  In fact, farming overall is big business, but most farmers run small, family businesses. Nonetheless, where there is big business, there is big government.

by Leslie Boden The Glynwood Center, a Food Systems Network member in Cold Spring, NY, is working to build a thriving regional food system by reviving farming and revitalizing farm communities throughout the Northeast. Filmmaker and FSNYC member Sara Grady’s beautiful new film about Glynwood illustrates the challenges—high costs, low profits, land use development pressures, and inadequate infrastructure among them--that Hudson Valley farmers face, as well as the value that farms bring to their own communities, and the tremendous importance of those farms for an environmentally sustainable regional food system. Glynwood, it becomes clear, plays a critical and respected role in empowering communities to support farming and conserve farmland. Glynwood recently announced the 2009 recipients of its Harvest Awards, which honor farmers, organizations, and businesses from across the United States for innovation and leadership in sustainable agriculture and regional food systems. For more information about Glynwood and this year’s award recipients, click here. Glynwood Vision Statement: "Glynwood envisions a revival of farming and a revitalization of rural communities throughout the Northeast. We foresee harmonious working farmscapes supporting energetic local economies and vibrant communities. We anticipate that consumers throughout the region will have ready access to fresh, healthful food produced by local farmers who practice good land stewardship and environmentally sustainable agriculture. We intend to continue exerting thoughtful and energetic leadership in helping communities to realize this vision." For a higher quality viewing experience, visit Sara's website: http://www.saragrady.net/glynwood.php

Posted by Leslie Boden

While others ask how to build a more inclusive good food movement, Henry Harris has an answer: beets.

As a primary organizer of the Food Security Roundtable, Henry has recently worked with Mothers on the Move of the South Bronx to bring a ton of fresh organic vegetables, including over three hundred pounds of beets, straight from farmers in Vermont to communities where such quality produce can be difficult to find.

And now he is turning his energy to another innovative collaboration, working with staff and volunteers from Just Food and other organizations to build a diverse delegation from New York to attend the Growing Food and Justice Initiative (GFJI) conference in Milwaukee at the end of October.

The Growing Food and Justice Initiative came about through the work of Growing Power, Will Allen’s national non-profit. As the successes of Allen and his organization are being lauded by everyone from Bill Clinton to the Macarthur Foundation, this year’s conference will focus on building cross-cultural understanding for systems change.

Food Systems Network NYC will be holding a panel to celebrate the tomato and explore the tomato blight crisis and the impact on local farming. Farmers who grow tomatoes will talk about their tomato crops or losses due to late blight. A local agriculture expert and others will also contribute their views at this forum, the Network’s first evening program.  It will take place Thursday, September  24, 2009 at the Ethical Culture Society, 53 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, in the Library, from 6:30 to 8 p.m.  There will even be a few local tomatoes to sample, if available.   

Please let us know you are coming, as seating is limited. 

RSVP: 646-233-3058 or kristin@foodsystemsnyc.org.