Improving Farm Economics

The prevailing trend in agriculture toward massive and highly mechanized production, with its heavy dependence on debt and credit as a means of raising capital, has been linked to the growing problem of bankruptcy among small farms. African American horticulturalist Booker T. Whatley has proposed a comprehensive approach to small farming that believes will bring about such profitability when combined with smart management and hard work.

Whatley emphasizes that small farms must generate year-round cash flow. To this end, he recommends growing at least ten different crops, which would alleviate financial problems should one crop fail completely. To minimize the need to seek hard-to-obtain loans, the market for the farm products should be developed via a “clientele membership crops that clients ask for, and to comply with client requests regarding the use of chemicals.

Whatley stresses that this “pick-your-own” farming is crucial for profitability because 50 percent of a farmer’s production cost is tied up with harvesting, and using clients as harvesters allows the farmer to charge 60 percent of what supermarkets charge and still operate the farm at a profit. Whatley’s plan also affords farmers needed. The CMC would consist primarily of people from metropolitan areas who value fresh produce.

The success of this plan, Whatley cautions, depends in large part on a farm’s location: the farm should be situated on a hard-surfaced road within 40 miles of a population center of at least 50,000 people, as studies suggest that people are less inclined to travel any greater distances for food. In alternative to sprawling corporate farms while providing top-quality agricultural goods to consumers in most urban areas.