As many of you know, I have been
involved since 2008 with a special program called WNC Agricultural Options,
which awards seed money to diversifying farmers, helping to offset the risk of trying
new ventures. While I scaled back my duties significantly since I started
focusing on my own business endeavors in 2011, I still greatly appreciate the
opportunity to write up descriptions for each of the awarded projects for the WNC AgOptions website.
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| My last official WNC AgOptions site visit--one of about 200 visits to farms in three years. |
As I read through the recipient
applications, I'm always filled with such energy, as a vision for evolving
agriculture—one that is healthy for the consumers, the land and the animals—shines
vibrantly in my mind. While the recipients are not required to undertake
ecologically sustainable ventures to receive a grant, many of them are just
because that's what many successful farmers leading agricultural innovation do
these days.
I read the applications in the dead of
the winter (this year, parked at my house for three days during the season's
heaviest snow fall) when my interaction with customers are limited and I'm a
bit isolated. Yet at these times I never feel more connected to my community, even
at a long distance, as I share a lot in common with these small-scale growers
with such long-range visions. Tucked in the nooks and crannies of the mountains,
we're all working hard to make our creative mission-driven businesses
profitable, not just for our and our families' betterment, but for the
community as a whole.
I especially appreciated a statement by
Jen Stockbridge of Stockbridge Farms in Cherokee
County, who is improving her pastured poultry operation. "Several of our
customers are aspiring producers themselves," she said. "We find this
inspiring, not threatening. To grow your own food, or to try to, is the best
way to fully appreciate the value of food."
Her sentiment is exactly mine, and one
of the driving forces behind my business. As we appreciate all that goes into
growing our own vegetables, and taste the immense flavors that can come out of
our backyard, we are more likely to patronize other businesses that sell
healthy, locally grown, ecologically sustainable food. Any other produce begins
to taste bland and lackluster.
I believe the energy put into growing food
can be tasted and felt in it, so I'm so glad to live in a region where so many
growers are altruistically motivated, yet practical at the same time, ensuring
the longevity of their businesses.
