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FREDERICKSBURG. VA,
FRiDAY. OCTOBER
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4 2c13 rHE FREE LANCE-STAR :-{.J;::.,i€
CSA fs win-win for farmeT, consumer
I'OINiNG
a CSA is good
I for your community,
I tn" f"r*", and vouiself.
Jtt i" good tor you'because
you save money by receiving
an unbeatable value. A CSA
forces you to cook at home.
Eood cooked at home has no
preservatives, is low in sodium, is healthier and tastes
better.
It's good for the commu-
it keeps local
farms in business. This promotes local green sPace instead of sending money tcl
mega-f'arms out west or in
nit1, because
other countries. Promoting
local green space promotes
cleaner water in the Chesapeake Bay.
CSAs help farmers transi-
tion from less-profitable
farming operations with
croi;s that are subsidized
bY
the government (causing
higher taxes-you'll paY for
your food, one way or the
Mega-farms and farmers
other) to fruits, vegetables
and laying hens which have
no government subsidy. This
in turn helps farms stav in
who only rent land, because
of "the nature of the beast"
and through no fault of their
own, are financially forced to
have a different business
business from one generation to the next.
Promoting multigenerational farming on the same
farm keeps the best ofthe old
EMMETT SNEAD
ways of farnring alive, ancl
melds them into new ways of
farming and marketing. This
SUCCESSFUL
r-r-rultigenerational knowi FARMING MEANS
edge of farming and having
DOTNG 100
advanis
an
farming"
"lived
tage that is so vast and
DIFFERENT THINGS
extensive that it compares to
lOO PERCENT
nothing of the modern variCORRECTLY.
ety'
In the past it could be
compared to a skilled crafts- punished by natural conseman transferring knowledge quences.
f,rom one generation to the
Multigenerationai farm
down a paying
next. Handing
trade these da-vs is rare todal'-
because of obsolescence and
economies of scale. Successful larming means doing roo
perspective. They have become like any other big
business whereupon onl-v
Land came before the
farmer. You cannot be a
farmer without having land.
Rentingland should never be
viewed as a long-term solu-
tion for a farmer because he
is then just a sharecroPPer
beholden to inflation, stand-
ing to iose land to deveiopers
and whims of landlords who
no longer share the passion
of personalll, working the
land. A renter is less inciined
to take proper care of the
land because he has no
vested interest in its longterm sustainabilit-v.
vear.
CSAs are good for the
CSAs help allow multigenfarmer because of the flexierational farms to have a
symbiotic reiationship with bility they provide, ailowing
the farmer to farm in a w-ay
the iocal community. The
he prefers. They give farmers
using
is
managed
farmland
the opportunity to change,
sound environmental pracevolve and adapt in order to
tices so it exists harmoretain their land. A CSA
niously rvith wildlife,
owners are much more likel-v groundw-ater and forests,
could be the difference for a
to sacrifice potential, imme- while ieaving agritourism
family farm staying in business from generation to gendiate profits to position the visitors to the farm with a
farm in such a way that it will good impression. This is how eration, or not,
be stronger in the future.
CSA n-rembers and farmers
Emmett Snead operates Snead's
Thel, are strongly motivated aiike can give back to the
Farm along Tidewater Tiail in Caro-
different things 1oo percent
correctly. If you make a
mistake farming, you will be by stenardship and legacy.
bottom-line profits are considered, as if this may be
their last year of farming'
They are financially forced to
sacrifice long-term sustainable improvements in order
to continue to farm the next
communitv,
line Counry