D2B—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 10,1982 Copycat farmers switch models The trouble with most small farmers is that they try to mutate the big guys. That’s the conclusion of the southern agricultural expert who has developed a plan for those small farmers that will yield big returns. Booker T. Whatley, of Tuskegee Institute, believes the proper mix of high value crops on as little as 25 acres can produce $lOO,OOO in annual gross mcome for the far mer who is willing to work hard and stick with the plan long enough to allow it to work. As Whatley sees it, small far mers have hurt themselves by trying to compete in the corn and soybean market. Their volumes are to small, their costs of production too high, and they just don’t get the revenue to make a go of it. So what happens— tunes get tough and the small farmer sells out to a bigger farmer. One more small farm bites the dust. One more food producer heads for the city to find work. And, of course, there are the part-time small farmers who have already made the choice—they want to live in the country but enjoy the financial security of an off-farm job. But like their big scale farm neighbors, they too grow corn and soybeans. These crops are easy to manage, require very little labor, fit well into part tune schedule, and they’re easy to market. They also provide very little return, with the small-tuner being lucky to break even. But what’s the difference? He has a city salary and the joys of country hvmg. He doesn’t need to show a profit. There are those small farmers The New ROLL-A-MIX For complete mixing of silage, gram and haylage by low HP and less wear are two direct results of the tumbling action of the feed instead of the high resistance of conven tional auger mixing. 4 sizes —133,216,270 and 324 cu. ft. Built for those who need a little morel SOLLEKBERGER SILOS MC. 5790 Sunset Pike Chambersburg. PA 17201 Phone (717)264-9588 farm Talk Jerry Webb who want to make a living on the farm. Some now work off the farm, hut would like to devote full tune to farming. Others are struggling with a small full-time farm and barely hanging on. Still others have younger family members coming on who want to farm. To all of these Whatley says there is hope, but not with the traditional corn-soybean com mitment. The 64-year-old Alabama agriculturist, successor to George Washington Carver, is advocating a labor and land intensive mix of fruit drops and fresh market vegetables designed to com pliment each other, provide a fairly even labor demand and cash flow, and yield an mcome that will support a family. Here’s Whatley’s plan. Bear in mind he’s talking about Alabama agriculture. Some substitutions would undoubtedly be required in this area. *1 acre of bees—6o colonies *5 acres of sweet potatoes *5 acres of southern peas and other greens *5 acres of muscadine grapes *2 acres of rabbiteye blueberries *1 acre of strawberries *1 acre of blackberries That account for 20 acres—the • On the farm proven PUUET other five acres in Whatley’s 25- acre plan would be for farmstead, family garden, etc. And, of course, this system requires several years to get into full swing because of the tune required to get some of the fruits into production. It might also require as much as a $50,000 in vestment, not counting the land. A number of Alabama farmers have embarked on the Tuskegee plan, although it’s too soon for any of them to have reached the magical $lOO,OOO gross target. But Whatley assures them it can be done. “At our test farm at Tuskegee we did much better than that. Our production of berries and sweet potatoes was enough to bring in nearly $B,OOO per acre for some things, more for others,” he said. Whatley believes the acre of bees is necessary for proper pollination of the crops and it returns a nice mcome. The blueberries, at 25 pounds per plant and 60 cents a pound, produce a $9,000 per acre income. Whatley says that once the system is fully operational, a farmer has something to do and something to sell almost every month. That may be a larger commitment than many farmers are willing to make, but the scientist believes it provides a \ /t :2