Saturday, August 11, 2007

The Business of Farming

In a never-ending struggle to pay for this hobby/passion/obsession/dream job of mine, we actually do a little business here at the farm. We run a small CSA:



This is one of the two-person baskets from this month. We have done pretty well this summer; more berries, beans, and peppers than last year, but still waiting on cukes and carrots...

There's always eggs for sale:



And even Madison gets in the act; she raises and sell produce through 4-H to the local market. Here we are on the first delivery day, ready to deliver boxes of cocktail tomatoes:

(Always time for a little Max love...)

6 comments:

Lauren Dorsee Dillon said...

That's awesome, Melanie. I wish we had a CSA within a reasonable distance. You inspire me to figure out some way to grow veggies in the summer here. For now, I'm planning for fall. Let's here it for farmers!

Barbara from Nova Scotia said...

I like your blog. A farmer with a yarn habit gets me every time. :)

melanie said...

Thank you Barb! (Or should I use Barbara?) Frankly, anyone who loves yarn AND Diana Gabaldon, is OK in my book!

Kathy said...

We have a CSA Farmer's Market every Sunday morning in town here ('bout 7 miles north of us). A friend of mine and I went, but it was so hot we didn't stay too long.

Re: farming...I had a Prof. for Farm Management who said on the very first day: "If you want to make money raising livestock, first get yourself a good paying job." I have found it to be true for almost any type of small farming. I know we couldn't do it without one of us having a good paying job with benefits. It seems like a sad thing to hear, but when I think back to my grandmother's farm, they did the same thing...my grandfather was a house painter/carpenter and my grandmother a nurse, but she also did the garden, etc. when she didn't have people to look after.

melanie said...

Well, someday... I don't want to make TONS of money, just enough to keep me stocked in the essentials. If I haven't learned to spin my own yarn by retirement, then it'll be my own damn fault if my stash breaks the budget.

Anonymous said...

Well written article.