FoodTrust - Connections

Potatoes are, and have almost always been, cheap. Cheap, that is, for consumers to purchase. They are, however, not cheap for farmers to grow.

Low financial returns means that farmers are selling crops for less than what it costs for them to be grown. Small farms are declaring bankruptcy at an alarming rate all over North America because they are not receiving fair value for the crops they grow.

One of FoodTrust’s goals is to help farms to become sustainable. There are three key “pillars” to sustainability – environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic growth. Increased financial returns to farmers can help with all three.

John Ikerd has many excellent papers on his web site dealing with sustainability and agriculture.

Scott