By Lyndsay Ritzler, Farm Seasonal
With an increasing world population and a steady rise in global temperatures, there is a high demand for sustainable food production. People are looking for a way that we can produce substantial amounts of food in a way that doesn’t harm the environment. The answer to this doesn’t lie in some new agricultural technology, but rather in the past, with small-scale family farms.
Family farms have existed in North America since the 1700’s. Many people believed the rise of the industrial revolution would wipe out the need for smaller farm communities in favor of large corporation farms, however today small-scale farms consisting of 25 acres or less currently produce over 70% of the world’s food. They also provide an efficient and environmentally smart avenue for the future of crop and livestock production. Small-scale agriculture has many benefits, including strengthening rural communities, creating jobs, increasing biodiversity, and fertilizing local landscapes.
The most defining feature of the success of small-scale farming resides in the close relationship between the farmer, the livestock, and the environment. By strategically choosing crop and livestock fields, and maintaining a wide variety of species, small-scale farms have been known to outproduce large industrial farms per unit area.
Small-scale farming practices such as green manuring, cover crops, agroforestry and rotational grazing are all part of the beneficial way farming impacts the local environment. At Gallant Farm we specifically plant species of cover crops that benefit the soil in various ways, including nitrogen fixation and other nutrient cycling. This is also a type of green manuring, the process of choosing crops to plant that help maintain soil fertility, such as sunn hemp and cowpea plants. The cows and sheep of Gallant farm are also moved in a cycle of rotational grazing to maximize pasture fertility and to decrease feed costs. Overall, lots of small-scale farming measures are utilized by farmers to improve soil quality and maintain crop and animal health.
Another aspect of small-scale farming in environmental health has to do with planting and raising a wider variety of crops and livestock than large farms, which bolsters local biodiversity. Large-scale corporations are typically monocultures, which means they only produce or grow one type of product. Small farms increase food security by ensuring the resilience in crop varieties. A large amount of biodiversity is important in any ecosystem, but especially in regard to farming, as it is a way that people feed and make a living for themselves. The more diverse traits there are in a specie’s population, the more likely the species is to withstand sudden changes in its environment, such as the adverse effects of climate change or sudden disease outbreaks. By maintaining variety in their types of crops and livestock, small-scale farmers are actively protecting whole species from becoming extinct.
As the climate becomes less predictable and there becomes more and more mouths to feed, small-scale farming is an essential part of being able to sustainable produce food in a way that is both healthy for the environment and for the people.
Stop by Gallant Farm and check out what we are doing on the farm in-person. Through August 31, the farm is open Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Sunday 12 p.m. – 5 p.m. September through April you can visit the farm Thursday – Sunday, 12 p.m. – 5 p.m.
