The Farmers Market

With all the new food contamination's and hormones being used in meat production, the world may be in for a big awakening. but who am i kidding its easier to produce a full grown chicken from an egg in 2 weeks. That doesn't sound natural but that doesn't matter because it's all about supply and demand and making a profit. The biggest problem is with chicken. The hormone levels that are injected in chicken are unhealthy. But, who is gonna start a farm with their busy schedules just to make a few meals a year a little healthier. NOT ME. But, there is an alternative solution. The farmers Market. There are not as many of them as their used to be and their not as convenient as a grocery store(some are) but the provide a plethora of healthy options. usually the Farmers market is a large produce stand but in large cities Like Birmingham or Mobile, Alabama. they are acre's upon acre's of produce, meats, and even other Agricultural materials like sod, flowers and other things and many times the price is almost half of the large scale grocery store. All farmers market products, for the most part, are farmed and raised by the person you will be buying from and shipped from less the 150 miles away and much fresher than grocery stores. The produce is normally less the 1-2 days old when purchased at a farmers market. So if you know where a farmers market is consider yourself lucky and try to support your local farmer.

Hunting Alabama: for you to know.

As many of us know, Alabama has one of the most liberal hunting seasons in the United States when it comes to white-tailed deer, and Georgia was a close second. Today's hunter is completely different than the hunters of the past. Today, there are nowhere near the number of hunters that there were 10, 20, 30, even 50 years ago. The hunter is a decreasing population but, the hunters that are around spend more money, travel longer distances, are are more involved in wildlife conservation than ever before. Alabama is a state that has allowed deer to flourish to an almost exaggerated over-population. I myself have hit 9(NINE) deer in the last 5 years while driving. One night i even hit 2 deer with in 5 minutes of each other. So I wonder, with the liberal hunting laws, why people don't hunt anymore. you can take 2 deer a day in the state of Alabama(2 does or a Buck and a doe). But this year there is a 3 buck limit for the season and each buck must be tagged and this is a law i do agree with since the doe-buck ratio is thwarted over the entire state. There are too many does for every buck with the exception of Conecuh and Escambia counties where there are to many bucks per doe.

So let me know what you think.

SMALL FARMER

I'm not the most knowledgeable person when it comes to Agriculture, although i grew up on a cotton farm in small town Alabama. My dad, now there's an Ag man. he knows it all. from cotton to vegetables and a good bit about livestock and how to work on his own equipment. A few of today's farmers didn't grow up on farms but have learned a bit about what it takes to make a living in farming and let today's high tech equipment do the figuring. They spent thousands and even millions of dollars a year on the Agricultural machines that make a large scale farm work, like 200 hp tractors and 40 row sprayers. it doesn't take a college degree to work, own or run a farm, although as much or more learned knowledge is required. But farming is not a profession to jump straight into. the price of equipment is high and the profits are many times a deep negative. when my father was growing up a farmer that is seldom seen today could be found anywhere. That would be the small farmer. The small farmer was the man that could do it all on his own or with minimal help. he would have to mix all chemicals for each specific crop(if he could afford them) or organically prevent weeds and pests. He had to do the mechanic work on his own equipment. He usually had enough food for his family to eat but then had to sell the rest for a minimal profit that sometimes barley paid for the years expenses. These men were truly Americas all around businessman. Dealing with changing food prices of the day with out a blackberry while today's farmer can have all of the above mentioned problems answered in real time by some guy 2000 miles away that has never even seen a farm. The small farmer is a dying breed but, a new kind of farmer is taking his place. The Hobby Farmer. this is a man that works his regular time at the office but comes home to the back yard farm. normally a hobby farm is a tax write off for some people or just an enjoyable type of work for others who may feel a tie to the land or specific area of their hobby farm. The majority of these farmers are successful in their 9-5 jobs and can support a farming operation that just would cut if it were a life line or lively hood for someone. As an Ag teacher at the high school level i will probably have a small plot of land in which i can farm to some extent, but i don't think it will be for an income that will sufficiently support a family.
I feel humbled to have grown up on a small 100 acre cotton farm and i do understand that farming will never be the same as when i grew up those few years ago. but i do see great things in store for the future of agriculture. Just remember the humble beginnings of the industry we know as Agriculture and it's father, The SMALL FARMER.