What Farmers Want You To Know

What do you get when you put a large-scale conventional grain farmer from Iowa, an urban CSA farmer from Massachusetts, and a rural rancher from Montana in a convention center in Scottsdale, Arizona? 

An inspirational gathering of diverse minds and backgrounds geared toward a common goal. 

Family Farmers Working Together for Change

The National Farmers Union’s 122nd Anniversary Convention was a gathering of family farmers, fishers, and ranches from across the country. 

The order of business? Debate and adopt the 2024 grassroots policy. Every year the NFU Policy Book is revised to identify issues and propose solutions that the organization of 220,000+ members will bring to Capitol Hill. 

“We are the dedicated voice of family farming, and we aim to preserve a sustainable economy that benefits each of us where we live, while providing domestically grown, healthy choices for consumers.” (National Farmers Union)

As you can imagine with so many individuals there are many perspectives on how things should be done. 

However, everyone was on a common mission. There was productive debate and compromising when compromising was needed. Grain and produce farmers let ranchers and feedlot owners lead the discussion on topics of animal welfare and processing, and vice versa. 

The atmosphere of the convention was inspiring. Never have I been in a room of so diverse a group of people conversing and collaborating with such open-mindedness. Although people have their opinions on the “right way” or “best way” to farm, every farmer in attendance recognized the importance of every other farmer there. 

Ultimately, all family farms are respected and valued in the organization. The collective vision is: “A world in which farm families and their communities are respected, valued, and enjoy economic prosperity and social justice.”

What Farmers Want You To Know

I talked with several farmers to get their perspectives on what they’d like people to know. There was an overarching theme…

Know your farmer.

It’s more important now than ever before. 

Hannah, a CSA farmer in central Wisconsin, shared the harrowing truth of our food system: 

“The food system that most people know best — big-box grocery stores, mega-companies that own multiple brands — is highly corrupt. I’m not sure when we got to a point where buying food wrapped in layers and layers of plastic, trucked in from hundreds of miles away became more popular than buying a loaf of bread from a local bakery or a bunch of carrots from a nearby farmer, but this system is devastating for many reasons. In this system, we lose connection, nutrition and values. By putting profits first and allowing monopolies to impact food production, we are losing direct farmer-to-consumer relationships. Food is compromised by pesticides and lacks nutrients when it is picked unripe, packaged tightly in plastic and shipped across the country. For those out there who think they’re getting a deal when they purchase a $3 steak or a $5 package of shrink-wrapped tomatoes — good food should cost more than that. It’s not cheap to produce wholesome, local food. It’s not cheap to keep our local economies going strong. But things that are worth it require investment, passion and care.” 

So what should you know about your food? Romondo, an urban farmer from Michigan, shared questions you should ask: 

“How many “food miles” are in this product? Where was the produce grown in relation to where you live? When was the item packed and processed? Also, consider how much that product cost the farmer to grow/raise. It’s probably more than you think!” 

When you answer these questions about your food, you’ll likely conclude that you must know your farmer! 

Our supermarket shelves and online marketplaces are filled with green-washing and humane-washing. You never truly know where your food comes from until you visit that place and shake the hand of the producer.

Laurel, a produce farmer from Colorado, shares: 

“Farmers farm in as many different ways as shopkeepers keep shop or as leaders lead. We are an increasingly diverse group of people, many who chose this work because it’s a caring profession—we love feeding people. I’d encourage all the eaters out there to learn the biographies and practices and values of the small and medium-scale food producers they live nearest to. The bumper sticker says “know your farmer” and many of us also want to know you. We believe in re-investing in (and re-creating) local economies that behemoth conglomerates have stripped away in the last several decades. Eating food grown near to where you live, by small and medium producers, helps build more caring economies—ones that are founded in relationships instead of an extractive drive for wealth.”

Ultimately, food is the most important aspect of your life! Food fuels your body and your mind. Food has the power to make you feel more energetic, more alert. The right foods can reduce inflammation, reduce day-to-day aches and pains, set you up for healthier aging and longevity. 

But not all foods are created equal, as Hannah pointed out! The soil, the variety of vegetable or breed of animal, the harvest date, all affect the nutritional value of your food.

Lexi from Missouri encourages you to be proactive about your food choices!

“I want consumers to know that agriculture and production of safe, healthy food takes a lot of effort. That consumers should be asking where does my food come from? Who is local I can support? What are laws and regulations in my county that I can be active in to support farmers in my area? Going that extra mile as a consumer, puts money back into your community and is an investment in one’s own long term health. Get involved with your local farmers for a better tomorrow, you won’t regret it.”

Conclusion

So where do you start? Right in our community. 

Purchase your groceries from farmers markets, become a member of a CSA program, and find a farmer near you and support them with consistent orders. 

Eat at restaurants and shop at stores that purchase from local farmers. Attend Field Days and events hosted at farms. 

(If budget constraints are a deterrent from eating local, please don’t hesitate to ask about available resources. There are SNAP incentives at farmers markets. Some farmers offer work shares to decrease the cost of CSA shares. You can also purchase in bulk from farmers to reduce per pound prices. These programs are there to be utilized!)

Finally, listen to the struggles farmers are facing and how you can support them in policy decisions. Farmers face increasing supply costs, pollution of their land, expanding metropolitan areas and urban sprawl, and rising property costs. 

Remember: “Once in your life you need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, and a preacher but every day, three times a day, you need a farmer.” (Brenda Schoepp) 

Please know that farmers want to continue to provide for you. They strive to raise food, produce clean textiles, and craft every other product you need to live happily and healthily. 

Supporting farmers’ interests is also in your best interest.