Comments on: Economic development lies in agriculture, not away from it http://www.thesandb.com/opinion/economic-development-lies-in-agriculture-not-away-from-it.html Grinnell College Newspaper Fri, 10 Feb 2012 18:07:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Ronald Scheibel http://www.thesandb.com/opinion/economic-development-lies-in-agriculture-not-away-from-it.html/comment-page-1#comment-68920 Ronald Scheibel Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:15:39 +0000 http://www.thesandb.com/?p=2612#comment-68920 Jordan - your article is informative and well-thought out. You write with a social conscience that offers deep insight into an a issue that needs long-term planning. The only real sustainable economic direction for a land with such a rich history of farming is to bring that profession into the next level of sustainability. The smaller farms with specialties offer an opportunity for grass-roots businesses to work a needed niche in the food chain without the overwhelming requirements of a huge farm to sustain. These smaller farms that you advocate can develop products that are unique in their own way and can't be mass produced. This type of enterprise farm can subsequently develop distribution to smaller local and regional markets that support the long term financial health of the smaller enterprise farm. Ultimately, many smaller, financially successful farms employing local workers is an economically viable solution to the mass production farms that have become the norm in a state that always prided itself on it's agricultural past. Excellent article. Dad Jordan – your article is informative and well-thought out. You write with a social conscience that offers deep insight into an a issue that needs long-term planning. The only real sustainable economic direction for a land with such a rich history of farming is to bring that profession into the next level of sustainability. The smaller farms with specialties offer an opportunity for grass-roots businesses to work a needed niche in the food chain without the overwhelming requirements of a huge farm to sustain. These smaller farms that you advocate can develop products that are unique in their own way and can’t be mass produced. This type of enterprise farm can subsequently develop distribution to smaller local and regional markets that support the long term financial health of the smaller enterprise farm. Ultimately, many smaller, financially successful farms employing local workers is an economically viable solution to the mass production farms that have become the norm in a state that always prided itself on it’s agricultural past.

Excellent article.

Dad

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