Monday, Aug. 04, 2008

Small farms' future important to valley

Some farmers in the Southern San Joaquin Valley gathered last week to discuss the future of small farms.

Among the questions they discussed: Can smaller, labor-intensive farm operations take advantage of modern -- and constantly evolving -- technology to survive in a difficult environment?

For the sake of agriculture in the valley, we hope the answer is yes.

The Small Farm Conservation Day was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service; Hmong American Community; Lao Family Community Inc. of Fresno; and Cherta Farms, the Del Rey farm that hosted the event.

Small farms have always been a crucial part of the valley's ag industry.

High-value crops such as specialty fruits and vegetables may supply an increasing portion of the ag wealth of the valley in the years ahead, but they require more effort and greater care in the application of resources -- particularly water, as supplies are stretched thinner and thinner.

And farmers must contend with increasing demands that their operations do less to foul the valley's air.

Farmers have been tasked with a number of new restrictions on their operations in recent years as part of the clean-air effort. Past practices such as open-field burning of ag waste are prohibited, and farmers are obliged to reduce the amount of dust their activities raise into the atmosphere.

Technology may provide many of the answers, if machines can be built that, for instance, reduce the need for multiple passes across a field. That will cut fuel costs and reduce dust.

But many small farms can't afford expensive new machinery, and that has to be addressed. One answer that emerged last week was sharing equipment through cooperatives.

State and federal air quality funds might be appropriate to help. The Bush administration's stimulus package also included changes that give tax breaks to farmers who invest in machinery now.

Farming has never been an easy way to make a living. Market forces shift; politics are complex; consumers are fickle -- and there's always the weather.

If the early trend toward fresh, locally grown produce continues to rise, small farms will be increasingly important.

That argues for finding ways to make it possible for small farms to prosper, both for the sake of the families that rely on them for a livelihood and for the needs of consumers.