A grassfed beef farmer is cutting back on production and saving the heritage herd. . . farmers are using up to date technology to send water above ground in a semi-hydroponic system outside in the field . . . shade cloths go up over high tunnels rather than green houses’ clear plastic for early spring–it’s too hot.
Rather than lament over what could have been, farmers are adapting and producing in the face of adversity. The rain deficient Central Texas area is the worst that it’s been in in 50 years, and some say, since the Dust Bowl. Add to that the dilemma of the water rights issue that is being discussed in the legislative session right now (it’d take more than a mapquest search to determine all the turns and routes that either the ‘ground’ water or ‘surface’ take in their legal ramifications), high hay costs (to keep feeding grassfed animals grass), and ever rising costs in general in farming–seeds, compost, labor, energy–and you’ve got some very, VERY resilient folks that just want to feed the public good, healthy food.
Please let’s support them, even as we have to spend more money to buy local foods. It’s a tomato in hand to ward off an emergency room visit later in life because of diet-related disease. It’s almost to the point that it’s best for your health to know the name of your farmer rather than the name of your doctor. It’s building of social capital to have relationships with your friends and family while you cook daily meals. The stock that you build up in the area of local food assets will never drop in value and will never need a bailout.
