Farm or Fiction

Abstract

Agriculture is a growing topic among all types of folks. It seems that now more than ever people are interested in the nitty gritty of local agriculture. It’s fairly easy to see if you pay attention; every cafe or restaurant has a menu full of organic and locally sourced options, farmers’ markets have become a staple in someones weekly routine and trips to the “country” for a day of apple picking have become a common Sunday outing for families.

The trend has really taken off in the past decade, but found its roots in the 1970’s with the emergence of environmentalism. People began to think more in depth about how the food system impacted the natural world and the ways in which it could operate sustainably. Agriculture needed to react to this newfound call for a more organic and local food system, all the while rapid urbanization of the 1980’s and 90’s(1) increasingly distanced and disconnected people from their understanding of how their food is grown and the realities and limitations of the farmers who grow it. The demand for a more sustainable food system put the spotlight on the local agriculture community, while bringing with it a population that wanted transparency and a certain growing practice but lacked the knowledge to actually understand what they were asking for.

Let’s break it down to some numbers. The average American is three generations removed from any agricultural experience. Farmers make up around 2% of the U.S. population and mostly reside in rural areas, while nearly 80% of the U.S. population lives in an urban area. This creates a huge disconnect between the farmer and the consumer. An overwhelming majority of the public does not have the hands-on farming experience to backup much of their demands.

Regardless of this disconnect, the demand for local-grown products has risen, between 2008 and 2014 locally-grown products sales rose from $5 billion to $12 billion a year and there isn’t any signs of that rise slowing down. Organically grown food has also been on the rise, with $45.2 billion worth of sales in 2017. The shift in consumer expectations is having an influence in the growing practices of farms, with millennials being the driving force behind a more sustainable food system.

But with the general public driving the trends and lacking the knowledge of the realities of farming, meeting these expectations often puts stress on small and mid-sized operations. In response to this shift and wanting to appeal to a new customer base that is looking for sustainability, farms inadvertently take on the role of educator. Small and mid-sized farms are continually trying to educate the community on what goes on behind the scenes and the hard work that goes into it. In a nation where farmland is continually declining with an average of 175 acres being lost every hour, net income of farmers decreased for a fourth year in 2017, and the price of production continually rising, and farm bankruptcies rising year after year, a shifting market can not only burden local farms but can also decide the fate of a farmers livelihood.

There are 5,600 farms in the Hudson River Valley, located some 100 miles from New York City markets. This book offers insight for Hudson Valley farmers to tell the story of how they are adapting to changing consumer preferences, and how they try to foster transparency and educate consumers on the limitations and triumphs they face as they try to meet consumers in the middle.