Sustainable food confronts elitist past
A force multiplier for sustainable farming is provided by SPIN-Farming. SPIN is a non-dogmatic, non-technical, easy-to-learn, inexpensive-to-implement farming system that makes it possible to earn significant income from land under an acre in size. Minimal infrastructure, reliance on hand labor to accomplish most farming tasks, utilization of existing water sources to meet irrigation needs, and situating close to markets all keep investment and overhead costs low. SPIN therefore removes the 2 big barriers to entry for new farmers – they don’t need a lot of land or money.
There is now a growing corps of farmers across Canada and the U.S who are taking up SPIN-Farming wherever they happen to live. Some are practicing it in their back yards in the city. Others are doing it on front lawns in the suburbs. Some are doing it part-time, others full-time. Some are young and just starting out, while others are older and on their third or fourth careers. Some have more money than they know what to do with, and others have less than they need. Some are convinced the world is doomed while others are trying to save it. SPIN spans geography, generations, class and ideologies, and is providing a practical tool to make farming as a profession accessible to many more people. And it is helping to spark a populist farming revival that provides common ground, quite literally, beneath everyone’s feet.
Agriculture at Yale? Hah. Give me a break. At Cornell, we grow the Ivy. Seriously, land-grant schools are much better at this stuff.