Farms
When farmers prioritize biodiversity on their land, it benefits the earth. Having more biodiversity results in healthier soil, less erosion, better water conservation, and healthier pollinators. This is all good news for the environment as a whole, making agriculture an important part of the cycle of life.
Five Benefits of Small-Scale Farming
Small-scale farming promotes communities. Small farms renew a link between the food people eat and the land they live on. If your food comes from a farm down the road, you can see the plants as they sprout and look forward to the food of a season. It is also a reminder that human hearts and hands work to make the food you eat, not just a corporate label.
Small farms create jobs. According to the USDA, one million dollars in sales in local food markets supports thirteen jobs, as opposed to only three jobs in markets without a local or regional food focus. Even better, a market report generated by Union of Concerned Scientists informs us that even, “modest public support for up to 500 farmers markets each year could create as many as 13,500 jobs over a five year period.” The full report provides a handful of case study examples of how farmers markets provided jobs. Here you can read the executive summary of the market report.
Small farms improve the health of the land. Smaller farms in the U.S. tend to grow a wider variety of plants, rather than monocultures of corn or soy. Natural systems are typically stronger when they have a greater diversity of species (redundancy!). If a disaster strikes the farm system, there is a greater chance that there will be crop species that can survive the disaster and so there is less economic risk to the farmer. Diversity of crops also improves the quality of the soil, as different plants use and replace different soil nutrients. Smart planting thus reduces the amount of fertilizer needed. Crop diversity also reduces the threat of pests and so also the amount of pesticide used. These are just a few key ways small farming can improve land health.
Small farms improve the health of people. Local and regional farms provide people with seasonal, unprocessed fruits and vegetables. The availability of fresh, healthy food could serve as an alternative to the average unhealthy American diet, which currently consists mostly of corn and wheat in different forms.
Small-scale farming provides a foundation for a more resilient American food system. Numerous small and mid-sized farms across America would provide a multitude of food-sources, creating important redundancy in the American food system. If any one farm has a poor season, Americans could still obtain fresh food from other local or regional farms in the area. In this way, economic risk is spread and we all can experience greater food security.
Source: Rural System
