As a community shared agriculture farmer I often spout the benefits of community-based farming. The CSA model is based on a mutually beneficial community model where the farmer supports the eaters by providing healthy, fresh produce; the eaters support the farmer by providing a steady market for their products; and the whole system supports the local economy and environment. Basically it's a win-win situation and I would encourage anyone who eats to join a CSA to experience first-hand the benefits of being part of a local food system. Now that I've got that mandatory spiel out of my system, I wanted to write about a few recent experiences that have gotten me thinking about the broader agricultural community.
The first such experience has been my spring ritual at the maple sugar bush. Since arriving in this community 5 years ago, it has been an annual occurrence of mine to help out at Don & Sheila Morden's sugar bush. With over 1400 taps, and collecting sap the old fashioned way, with buckets and a horse-drawn sleigh, the harvest of maple sap is most certainly a community event. When the weather is right and the sap is flowing, Sheila makes a few phone calls and by mid-afternoon the bush is full of bucket-toting sap collectors. When the job is done, everyone gathers back at the sugar shack for snacks and conversation. Many of the 'hired hands' are paid in maple syrup, which seems to suit them just fine. I myself have a barter arrangement with Don who plants & digs my potatoes in exchange for my help during syrup season. Maple syrup season at the Morden's is an event I look forward to every spring and a wonderful example of the type of community that makes rural areas thrive.
The other experience that has me pondering the meaning of community in agriculture has been my annual spring purchases of tools and equipment necessary to embark on the growing season. Farming in an area with large Mennonite and Amish populations certainly has its advantages in this respect. It's taken me awhile to get to know various members of these communities but now that I do, an amazing and diverse number of resources have presented themselves to me. I used to have to source everything for my greenhouse and market garden operation from large suppliers down south but now have found a local source for just about everything I need. It's a different way of going about it- you can't just google 'biodegradable plastic mulch' and come up with the name of the Amish family who supplies it (and an amazing range of other gardening equipment) out of the shed at their family farm. Similarly, I would have had no way of finding Danny Schmidt on my own who supplied me with organically-raised Berkshire piglets (he doesn't have a phone). When I ran out of potting trays this spring, it was a short trip to Elmira to buy a box from a Mennonite fellow who buys bulk greenhouse supplies to make them available to small farmers at a reasonable price. I've been blown away by the strong agricultural community that exists in our area....if you know where to go looking for it. And there's only one way to figure that out it seems...by talking to your neighbours.
Oh yeah, and while we're on the topic of community in agriculture...if you haven't joined a CSA yet...now's your chance.
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