Bad news on the farming front...........

Its been a tough year here on the east coast of Iowa. We have had waaay too much rain. We have had waaay too much cold. And the combination is causing a lot of discussion on the farming front.

Many of our friends' incomes (and ours!) have been cut by the weather conditions. We have been lucky that the demand is there for our products. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to deliver. Our crops have been damaged by too much rain, too much wind and too many cool days.

And that's playing out throughout the state. And the country. Region after region have been hit by drought, by flooding, by early frost. Farming has always been a gamble. This year, I would have made out better in Vegas.

Yesterday, I read this article. I lived through the farm crisis of the 1980's. I saw friends lose everything they had. Some .... came out stronger and wiser for it. But we humans have short memories. We lost a lot of farmland then to development and corporate farms. And we can't afford to lose any more small farms.

I read the articles you write. I hear the speeches that you give. You read the books. You see the movies. You want fresh, local foods in our schools, our homes, our diets. But are you just talking the talk? Or are you really walking the walk?

So .... I'm pleading. Please do your part. Visit a farmers market today. Stop at a roadside stand. Knock on a farmer's door to buy eggs. It may take a little extra time. It may take a little extra work. But we need you.

And more importantly, you need us.