Labor efforts for this whole month of February in the orchard have been dedicated to pruning. The weather has not been all that cooperative but when we could get out we were working on trimming the trees. Not nearly finished, but we are making progress. Clean-up will follow and another season will be underway.
Purdue University sponsored the Indiana Horticultural Congress held in Indianapolis, Indiana, February 12th through the 15th. We were able to attend this gathering of growers and producers and were able to sit in on several interesting presentations on food safety, marketing and business succession. A trade show was also available to walk through and browse. There were lots of opportunity to discuss issues with the vendors at the the trade show as well as meet one on one with the representatives from Purdue University.
Farm/business succession has been on the discussion table quite often in the agricultural seminars that we have attended. We are all aware that the future of agriculture and rural communities lies with young people. However, the faces of those in agriculture are those of an aging people. Farmers want to pass on their family farms to those with familial bonds. Doing this is getting more difficult everyday as fewer and fewer members of the younger generation just can’t survive on family farms anymore. There are long lists of reasons to justify this mass exodus from family farming but no one solution has been found to turn it all around. Small farming operations are struggling to maintain their identity and keep from being swallowed up by conglomerates.
Farming is and has been the backbone of this country’s economic growth and success. People need to eat and their demand for food continues on a daily basis. Farmers have done their jobs so well that there is an abundance of food available to consumers at good prices. Actual food, (fresh fruits, vegetables, meats) at the grocery store is cheap and a great bargain. A bumper sticker we recently saw read, “If you ate today, thank a farmer.” Enough said.