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
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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
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12/10
WASHINGTONrD.C. - The U.S.
Department of Agriculture’s Na
tional Advisory Council on Rural
Development will hold its first
meeting April 14-15 in Washington,
D.C. The sessions will be public.
Frank W. Naylor, Jr., under
secretary of agriculture for small
community and rural develop
ment, and co-chairman of the
council, said the agenda would in
clude various issues affecting
smaller communities, such as the
impact of new federalism on rural
areas.
“The council is expected to play
a leading role in assisting USDA’s
mechanism for those who truly
want to farm for a living to step out
of the small farm category and into
the mainstream of today’s big
dollar agriculture.
The Tuskegee plan is obviously
not for every small farmer and it
doesn’t have to be followed to the
letter. It does provide some
alternatives for the little guy who
is tired of trying to act like a big
farmer on 50 to 100 acres.
PRECISION
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JttssibteoptioM\
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Rural Development
advisory council meets
Office of Rural Development
Policy develop hcaruigs and other
ways the USDA can determine the
needs and desires of rural com
munities,” ifaylor said. “In addi
tion, the group will be briefed on
regulatory reform and pi wate sec
tor initiatives.”
Secretary of Agriculture John R.
Block appointed the 22-member
council last month, saying: “The
council will assist me in identifying
rural problems and in supporting
administration efforts in rural
development groups. It also will
provide state and local rural
development groups with a forum
for the discussion of important
issues affecting the lives of rural
people.”
Block said he would appoint
another co-chairperson at a later
time. Willard Phillips, Jr., acting
director, USDA’s Office of Rural
Development Policy, will serve as
executive secretary to the ad
visory council.
The council will meet in Room
107-A m USDA'S Administration
Building, 14th St. and In
dependence Ave. S.W.
GROWING