The Future of Farming in America?

[@christiepyle7516]

Thanks for the video, Pete! In July, my husband and I bought 49 acres with a pond, and hay that was ready to be cut and baled (the seller was very generous). We are so very blessed! We have chickens and cattle again, and piggers too. I called the butcher last week and the first available date for pork butcher was May 2022...unbelievable! We hope to become as self sufficient as possible. My husband has bought a tractor, rake, baler and all the equipment necessary to get things up and going. He found your video on making hay, and since then we watch ALL your videos and always learn so much. Thank for being an inspiration, and keep those videos coming!

[@larrysnoddy7841]

Learn how to butcher your own hogs. I was raised on a farm we always butcher ours.

[@luigisola8264]

Quasi 200.000 metri quadri, tanta terra, tanto lavoro, buona fortuna.!

[@christiepyle7516]

@@larrysnoddy7841, we have been thinking, and talking about, that very thing. I have been looking at recipes for sausages, etc. Thanks for the positivity! I appreciate you.

[@larrysnoddy7841]

@@christiepyle7516 thanks

[@clairestaffieri4398]

Christie, are you selling food yet? If so, where you located. I want to be a customer.

[@larrydesormierjr6940]

I totally agree with Homesteading or just small home town farms, especially in today’s world we need farmers market! I started last year raising our own food. Because of your channel I now have 4 pigs, 3- Dexter’s( which are not common around here) meat birds( second batch of 25 just butchered last month) and have 15 layers! Oh I even start my own Bee Hives! Pete, Keep up your great teachings and great entertainment videos! THANKS FOR ALL YOU CONTRIBUTE!

[@pacomaciasarrate6809]

Congratulations!! Glad you could do that.

[@artemiasalina1860]

I'm in favor of small farms for the sake of food security. Small farms represent decentralized food production and huge corporate farms represent centralized food production. Decentralized systems are always more resilient than centralized ones. With many small farms the produce doesn't have to travel as far to the consumer, and this reduces transportation costs and supply chain vulnerability. Small farms have smaller flocks and herds which are distributed over a larger area so contagious diseases and other disasters are more likely to be contained (i.e. built-in social distancing for animal herds). The old wisdom is still true: don't keep all your eggs in one basket!

[@jeannedigennaro6484]

Exactly.

[@tasobouzinelos8027]

Well a lot more cities are allowing small subsistence farming provided you have the land. I think it’s a beautiful idea

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

@@guydaubenspeck9206 A distinction needs to be made between family farms who happen to have organized as corporations, and the corporations I am talking about: Cargill, Bayer, and their ilk.

[@artemiasalina1860]

@@guydaubenspeck9206 I have nothing against corporate farms, it's just that I think there is an important place for small local farms. I agree about taxes (I see taxes as a violation of property rights) and I also have a problem with zoning laws (more property rights violations) which restrict people from using their land for farming.

[@blaircox1589]

My Grandfather on my mothers side had a small farm. Most of that side of the family did. It's a hard go.

[@jamesrobinson9304]

Hi Pete, I watch your videos with every new broadcast. I love to watch the farm life and I live vicariously through your daily life with Hillary. I am now almost 80 and I still feel the pull of the soil and the animals. Years ago I lived in SC and worked on a research farm that was affiliated with Clemson college. They were trying to crossbreed Polworth sheep (from Australia) with Southdown sheep (from VA). It was a learning experience for me in genetics as it wasn't until the third or fourth generation that showed promise. The Australian sheep were known for their fleece, and the VA sheep for the meat. I particularly love your “Sunday talks” The leatest was a great one. I compare it to the wonderful educational talk on “TED”. Your are a wonderful speaker and teacher. Please keep up the wonderful programming.

[@jeannedigennaro6484]

I’ve am encouraged by seeing many couples going into small farming/homesteading. Sometimes it’s because they are looking for a second career in their forties or 50’s and some are just tired of the stressful rat race, expensive child care, and lack of time to spend together as a family. I wish them well!

[@andrewslagle1974]

That is what i did/do in orange county ny. It is hard work, i wear many hats and do many things on my small farm property for income .But i love being my own boss and having the land is a gift from god!

[@jeannedigennaro6484]

@@andrewslagle1974 Here’s hoping for your continued success.

[@home-powersystems7782]

Pete, You have a true insight that people need to hear. I love your talks about life and our values. Best wishes.

[@curtisfarmsnaturesbalanceh1436]

I totally agree with the need for people to connect with nature I say on the deck this morning with a cup of coffee watching the sunrise and calves playing in th pasture

[@jennifersvitko5997]

I was at the Ithaca Farmers market this past Saturday (Oct 9). My friend, who I go to the FM with every weekend, said she purchased a chicken from a supermarket. She said she roasted it as she had one of your chickens, and she said it was tasteless. She said "I won't be buying a chicken unless it is from here (the FM)". I agree with her. I bought a fresh chicken from you (actually, Hillary) and I roasted it and it was so tasty, tender, and juicy afterward, it was wonderful! I've never had a "good" chicken since I was a child. Thank you for all you do.

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

That's great to hear Jennifer! Thanks for your business!

[@theart9163]

As an Iowan, I was away over seas in the 80's. In only a few years, I came home to dozens of friends who were then in town, bagging groceries, or laboring somewhere. Asking why, with variety of skills and a farmers work ethic, they explained that farmers were no longer running their own farms. Banks were telling them that investment in better equipment and production. Those who were independent were accused of bad management. Suddenly land prices dropped, and the collateral no longer matched the farms value. Because the banks themselves were vested in real estate, they pushed up interest and farmers couldn't cover debt. Meanwhile government thought giveaways were good for international relations and prices dropped. Nearly 37% of farms collapsed in only 2 years. The banks themselves got gobbled up by asset junk buyers, wall street term pocketing. Junk bonds, bond raiders, short yields...the american way, is killing the american way...

[@joshk.6246]

It's a disheartening trend.

[@anthonyrespass3090]

Yep

[@big.g.fromohio3546]

Amen. Now people (Bill Gates) who have no intention to farm are buying up farms as quick as they can. Over seas investors and countries should not be able to buy American land.

[@big.g.fromohio3546]

@@BeingMe23 I disagree we need less government and less regulations. There’s monopoly laws that just need enforced. Government regulations and government telling us they’ll take care of us is what ruins this country. Jmo

[@andrewslagle1974]

@@8tomtoms8 we can if we stand up to these tyrants it takes numbers with the same mindset!

[@karenpage9383]

Dude, spot on!!! I would like to add that there is yet another group of people searching for alternatives for their food. Those of us who have acquired health conditions as a result of current methods of food processing, like the "refining" of flour and other products. Not quite a homesteader yet, I seek out the grass raised, the pasture raised, the non-pesticide, and the wholesome and then cook it from scratch to avoid the preservatives, the fillers, and the additives. I've learned so much about the food industry since developing an autoimmune disease. You look back at how folks were eating before myocardial infarctions and autoimmune diseases were common place and it was heavily based on red meat, raw butter, raw milk with cream, raw cheese, lots of bread made with unrefined flours. Then you look at the new diseases that have popped up since the industrialized production of food and the invention of Roundup (glyphosate). Once you see it you can't unsee it... and you can't continue to buy all your food from the grocery store. For folks who don't live in areas with local farmers, consider buying from Azure Standard. Oh, and the last couple years have shown how "efficiency" in the food industry has multiple different single points of failure, as is true with the lean manufacturing methods of most other industries. I personally am so incredibly thankful for small farmers and their drive to stay on the "alternative", healthy, responsible path. Thank you for your service to your communities and your willingness/stubbornness to keep on despite the government and corporate pressure. Not all of us are sheeple believing everything they say on the news or all the health "experts" on tv telling us how to eat and what to be afraid of. Thank you Pete for all you do, including the education you provide. I wish you had a bigger, more diverse audience. Sadly I think you are just preaching to the choir and the folks who really need to hear things like this still have blinders on.

[@jeannedigennaro6484]

Right on!

[@karenpage9383]

@@saltwaterinmyveins You are the 2nd person to refer me to Weston A Price recently. I am lucky to have a local chapter too, so I reached out to the contact for my area and she provided some more resources, including local sources of food I wasn't already aware of. Their site is a wealth of information and I appreciate their views on the health concerns of the last couple years. Now I'm off to check out your other recommendation. Thank you!!!

[@user-yy8lk3ye2z]

Another great video. Thanks for taking the time to make these great videos. 😊😊😊

[@BillTheTractorMan]

We have been doing everything we can to dig our heels into the dirt and get a start on some land for farming. Between the city folks influxing the country life, and big farms constantly expanding land is unreasonably expensive. I can't even get my foot in the door to rent marginal land anymore. We haven't stopped working towards buying land to run a farm, but in our area, we need a solid 80acres to do what you do. That's our goal, is to run chickens, hogs, and cattle to sell locally. We have the experience, and most of the equipment to do the work because we have been renting land. We just can't get out of the red so we stopped renting land and turned to saving money from town jobs which is painful and slow.

[@cindyboard7816]

Growing up in the 70s and 80s in Central Kentucky, anyone with even a few acres farmed to some degree. Everyone grew a garden and most preserved food from their garden. With the loss of the small farms, families and individuals stopped growing their gardens and preserving foods. Back then you didn't need a tractor or heavy equipment to grow food for your family. Everyone had a neighbor or family member happy to plow a garden spot. This has mostly vanished with more and more depending on the big industry for food. When that industry fails like with Covid or something else, the skill set to feed your family is absent from a whole generation. Thanks Pete for sharing!!! Stay safe!!!

[@rancancookcanoy9768]

Pete, another great video. I hope the small farms grow as I guess I fit in the foodie category. Quality outweighs quantity. I believe that you become what you eat. I think you are right about the trends. I will continue to support my local farmers and buy locally grown products. Have a great rest of your Sunday.

[@richardnelson1580]

Thank you Pete! I hope that we as a people change our habits to support our small family farms.

[@tommy5499]

Meat is very important, After watching Joe Rogan And Jordan Person, Carnivore Diet. I look into it some more. So I decide to try it. And had 3 to 4 positive effects to my health in 48hrs. I am 90% meat only. I have lately had more grass feed beef and other small farm products. The taste is better and richer in these products. Dr Ken Berry has wonderful information on You Tube. I don't think there is a on size fits all in what each of us eats. Then eating better products that have been raised or grown more naturally is important to everyone's heath. Thanks Pete Love your farm. Do you ever watch Our Wyoming Life?

[@billbyrnes4703]

Thank you Pete. You have revived the kitchen table discussion. Just speaking in a manor that is non argument is a breath of fresh air. Can or do we change anything ..... most likely not, but something to think about in a quite respectful way is just wonderful. Thanks again.

[@TowManG]

Thanks for thinking of us to the north! Another great small farm Sunday video!

[@theodorejohnson3459]

Corporate farming could not exist without explicit government policy. It really got going when Ag. Sec. Earl Butz told farmers to "get big or get out" in the 70s under Nixon, also the president who "opened" China which led to the decline of industry in the US and the emergence of the rust belt.

[@jarvisaddison8560]

Yep! Which is why they push "small government" code word for getting the government out of the way so these corporations can dominate!

[@13owie]

Had to make sure the food did not inflate too fast once leaving gold standard for fiat. Farmers should embrace a Bitcoin Standard.

[@simonrowe3124]

Corporate framing needs to exist to feed the ever growing world population and the growing populations born into, and remaining in, poverty. Corporate farming equals affordability for the larger and larger low income populations.

[@uncleted9362]

@@jarvisaddison8560 you misunderstood what he said. Government policy is what drives the corporatization of farming. Read Joel Salatin’s “Everything I Want to Do is Illegal”.

[@kevinschertz4089]

I like that the animals seem to enjoy your talks as much as I do.

[@randallgoldapp9510]

There will always be a place for niche operators producing specialty and premium products. That is true for my employer. We a producer of electronic components, one of the most competitive markets on the planet. We have survived by focusing on specialty products. You can survive the same way. You have to go after the markets the large producers don't want.

[@WatchWesWork]

I'm in commodity country in NW Illinois. The pay back period on tillable farm land here is now 40+ years. That means if I were to buy farm land, that land would likely never be profitable in my lifetime. This has created a scenario where the only people who can afford to be a farmer are those who are already farmers and can inherit land tax free or borrow against land that is paid off. The average farmer in my county is in his late 60s. Young people absolutely cannot break into farming without a lot of help that most people just don't have.

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

That is probably one reason you don't see as many small farms in commodity country. The other is a lack of customer base. There are plenty of young small farmers where we live who have successful operations and have purchased their own land. It also requires a willingness to clear fallow land, lease land, and farm on sub-optimal land.

[@kenraterink]

And the current president is trying to make it so you can't inherent land tax free... will make it even harder or impossible

[@WatchWesWork]

​@@kenraterink I'd imagine that opinion depends highly on your personal situation. You can currently receive something like $10 million tax free without doing anything other than being born. But if you work and earn money you pay 40% in taxes.

[@andygallagher1236]

@@WatchWesWork love it when I see one KZbinr I follow, watching or referring to another. Mustie1, Fitzee’s fabrications, Diesel Creek, Hamilton farms, etc.

[@highroad3580]

It does seem that way. Joel Salatin has a number of great books and videos that addresses this issue well.

[@keithnavarro2930]

As always, Pete, you bring up excellent points. Much to consider and ponder. Thank you.

[@kathryngooding1476]

Thanks Pete! Great Sunday message as usual! 🦃🍁💙

[@prvtme767]

Your insight into how corporations have taken over the markets not only in meats but also the grains is amazing. I am several years older than you and grew up on what today would be considered a small farm and when you mentioned being in the pasture with the cattle it brought back many good memories. Thanks for the video

[@freddking4389]

Great talk Pete. Sometimes scary truth but always great! Thanks for taking the time to do these videos brother.

[@big.g.fromohio3546]

The trend of grass fed animals and custom farms that grow heirloom vegetables might save some small farms. I notice more and more in my area going in that direction. Even had a dairy farm start bottling their own milk again. On the other hand a lot are selling out for housing developments, it’s hard for some to turn down 20-45 thousand dollars an acre.

[@cyrilhudak4568]

On the flip side, in the rust belt, people are abandoning their properties and cities are downsizing substantially. Land banks are acquiring these properties, clearing them and bundling them into acreage for cultivation.

[@rollingacresfarmstead206]

Hell here a 100 acres tract went for 48 million. I really cant blame them either

[@big.g.fromohio3546]

@@rollingacresfarmstead206 not quite that expensive near me yet. A friend of mine bought a building lot back in the 80’s for $250000 in Florida. So it’s different everywhere. I’m in the rust belt and no one is clambering to move here.

[@jacobhoward1008]

Wait till that food chain gets interrupted again and them shelf's are empty

[@brentderksen6576]

Thanks for the well wishes for us in Canada Pete. Brent from the Edmonton area in Alberta.

[@charlescarriere76]

Thanks Pete for your whishes on Canadian Thanksgiving. Best to you all out there. Hope will see you at the farmer market when the border will be opened. Keep the good work

[@camillaanderberg2956]

Growing up in a big city, without any connection to agriculture, I agree with you to the fullest about the disconnect from nature and not understanding the impact our decisions have on the environment. Now almost in my 30s I'm studying agriculture science and have worked in the agriculture business for a few years. I'm now trying to make people understand this disconnect, and how vital it is to fix for it is what will allow us to obtain a more sustainable agricultural system. Thank you for this video, it was so spot on. ❤ Greetings from Sweden.

[@awilliams5660]

I feel like I get a college course with you.,.lots to think about. Thank you for sharing.

[@jacksonseibert6081]

Hey Pete, I’m 31 and my wife and I just started our journey of farming. Thanks for your videos, they are super helpful. I especially love small farm Sunday. Keep it up!

[@marclanglois7546]

Pete. wow, as a french Canadian engineer, that follow you for couples of years now, i thank you so much for this and every other videos of your chanel. As a son of a costal fisherman, now exteinct, i so understand the value of small farming, fisherring and other small earth business. It is difficult to admit but we just are too many human living on earth right now. Happy ilfe to you and Hilary and childrens. (pardon my english, french born here :) )

[@spitfirespilie7931]

I fit into all 3 categories and love supporting my local farms. We just bought a whole pig, some beef and eggs from a local family farm.

[@randomcountrystuff7953]

Hi from Ontario Canada 🇨🇦 Great video and facts about small farms! me and my parents live on a 200 acer retired dairy farm and cash crop farm,11 years ago when prices of fuel and other things in life set in we had to sell all of our other property we used to own but now we got back on our feet and we got some chickens,calve and bull and our horse. And we run IH tractors and are happy to be doing what we used to do! Keep the great content coming!!!

[@leeannmillet8215]

Watching the seed grow is so fun.

[@sglc7100]

Thank you for the Thanksgiving wishes Pete! 🙏 I am truly thankful for you sharing your knowledge and wisdom. When I take a bite into my turkey this evening I will think of all of the small farmers out there making our world a better place. Take care and I wish you and Hillary all the best.

[@bay9876]

There is a Spanish duck farmer who feeds his duck acorns from oak trees that adds the taste to the duck liver pate. Maybe the black walnuts add a unique flavor to the Ham meat product thus making a desirable product that nobody else has.

[@lpatters18]

Pete, also loved your values in life. Love you Bud

[@jamesmorrison1884]

Hello Pete and Hillary. Thanks Pete I didnt expect to hear that south of the border. Will be having a grand dinner today with all the trimmings. You've touched on alot of things subjects, some much to say, so many things but people just dont see. Well they see choose to ignore things maybe to lazy. Have a grand day.

[@mvfc7637]

Glad to see you respond to viewer feedback by feeding the pigs with the black walnuts, it’d be great to see them eating acorns from any producing oak trees you have on your farm.

[@ritabrunetti381]

Thanks for this video. A lot to think about. Hoping farming will always exist for those of you who love what you do. And we appreciate the products you provide to us. Be well.

[@drk218]

Find the Ice Age Farmer channel on Odysee. He had a KZbin channel for a very long time, but has had to leave that and move to Other platforms. He has some mind blowing info about farming and he backs everything up with documentation. I’m praying more and more small farms like yours, Pete, will start popping up and stay in business. We need them and not Technocracy! We need more meat! Bill Gates and his fake meat can shove it!

[@pH7screwtube]

I have not seen the channel yet on Odysee, but thanks for pointing it out! I have followed them, and will start watching. Only farmer I have been watching on Odysee so far is Curtis Stone and big family homestead. I would love it if I could completely dump y.0.ut.be because they are ASSHO.

[@lisastrozzieri9043]

I have zero interest in eliminating meat from my diet, quite the opposite. I want grass fed, small farmer raised products. For my health and the health of the animals and the environment.

[@allanulen3809]

thank you Pete. will all the stuff going on you're the calming breeze on a hot day. loved how the turkeys came after you.

[@croftplumbing]

Hey thanks for thinking of us 👍🇨🇦 love the videos been watching since the start keep up the great work👍🇨🇦🇺🇸

[@wolfhillfarms1007]

You should start a podcast, I would totally listen to this the tractor

[@gregbobrowich7]

Thanks for the shout out to us, your friends north of the border!!

[@mikehoncho6109]

Love your “Pete talks”. 😊

[@Dan-qy1rg]

Wow Pete, what a dose of reality you gave us! I had typed a long comment, but deleted it and now, to change the topic, I see the pigs area is really clean compared to when you first put them there. Thanks for your video and thanks for the Eye Opening thoughts. Be safe and have a wonderful week, see you next time!

[@bradw6413]

I agree 100%. We are getting same returns on our cherries as we did in the late 90’s. The warehouses/packers make their money and we get left overs. Cost are continually increasing; fuel, sprays, labor, equipment, trees fertilizers.

[@COIcultist]

What sized cherry farm? It looks like you need to look at your marketing mix. Could you open a small packing line and sell direct? If you get a higher percentage profit from that, you can then look at diversifying more of your production.

[@bradw6413]

@@COIcultist 17 acres. Way to small to pack ourselves. Government requirements in last 10 years is over the top. I need a written plan to reduce/eliminate birds pooping in the trees, coyotes, deer running through orchard and their poop as well.

[@lpatters18]

Pete, what a great message. Your right on all counts.

[@Buninvictoria]

Hello Pete. I so enjoy your channel . Really appreciate your thoughtful assessments! You and Hillary have become like friends and I have re watched your segments several times. I was raised on a farm in central Alberta . I have even watched your tractor rebuilds and only wish my dad could have seen your channel. He’d have been a fan. Thank you for your Thanksgiving wishes.

[@williamkernz7013]

I like you philosophy on small farming. I agree more and more people are getting into small farming to secure there own food living and making a decent living. I farmed small back in the early 80s in WI with dairy cattle and a few pigs. In my neighborhood area it was a lot of small farms and now as many of us aged and retired from it our old neighborhood is just a couple of huge farms. Hang on to your way of life and keep showing what you are doing. It is great to see and hear you both.

[@AaricHale]

I really loved hearing your thoughts on everything ! I remember as kid you would just take your pigs to the stock yards and they would cut you a check . There is no places like that around me anymore . My grandpa was a big hog farmer in his day . He raised somewhere around 1000 pigs on a a few hundred acres of woods and pasture . I remember by the late 80's he could hardly sale his pigs because all kinds of rules changed . By 1990 he lost the farm . Thank you so much for sharing !

[@delprice3007]

You're correct imo about industrial ag transmogrifying ranching and raising beef

[@caroleewalker5546]

Thank you so much for your intelligent, funny stories of your life on the farm, the market, the land and the animals.

[@donemery2593]

I'm glad you touched on this thank you Pete have a great 👍 week

[@dennispalmer6007]

Thanks for the shout out to your neighbours Canada and acknowledging our Thanksgiving. Enjoy your show and your insight into farming for small farms

[@Void9961]

May your farm live long and prosper Pete 🖖🏻

[@HisWayHomestead]

I went to Homesteaders of America Conference (or like I like to call - The Beards & Babies Conference) and there were a lot of young families that are super interested in having a small farm and being self-sufficient. There is hope in the next generation for sure!

[@highroad3580]

Yes, we small farmers, who started for whatever reason to grow food are an option that certainly can back up issues with the big guys. With creative ideas, we are able to raise more numbers, species, rotations, etc. while growing soil and improving the land. Heritage stock and seeds give us diverse improved genetics. This is a fascinating movement and we are grateful to YouTubing homesteaders and farmers spreading the knowledge. I only started seriously growing organic 9 years ago. This is a great topic and my crystal ball leans toward an exponential growth of small farms for all of the reasons you stated.

[@jacobdietrich999]

I believe this video is something everyone needs to view. Pete explained everything so well.

[@GritandGumption1]

We love your videos! You are one of our favorites!

[@AccountantByDay553]

Happy thanksgiving from Canada!

[@David7pm]

Pete, I love the talks! Take care and thank you.

[@colinomeara1608]

Thanks Pete for your Thanksgiving Wishes, from Toronto ! Cheers, Colin

[@kenanibranovic6602]

Keep going there’s always people that want quality, doesn’t meters how much will coast, keep going man, no worries.

[@gerryhand]

Loved seeing the turkeys following you as you walked and talked. They love you Pete! Or maybe they are just curious critters. It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada. I enjoy your videos.

[@clairestaffieri4398]

Gerry, I was thinking the same thing !!! Pete is magnetic. All his critters can't seem to take their eyes off of him. He passes by and they are drawn to him. What a guy. No wonder Hilary said "I do"

[@jenquick8427]

Noticed your shirt! I am a Huntington University alum and loved my experience there!!! Just found your channel, and enjoy the videos.

[@Noah-qi3ct]

Thanks for the video Pete and happy Thanksgiving to you as well! From northern Alberta🙂

[@HisWayHomestead]

What you are saying makes a lot of sense. Time will tell for sure. Thanks for doing what you are doing!

[@dwaynekoblitz6032]

You're very clearly well versed about all of this. I'll have to watch this several times to soak it all up. I'd love to sit down and talk with you for a month. I could learn a lot from you. Even being a couple years older than you. Really well spoken, Pete. Fantastic video!!

[@johnrosier1686]

Thanks for the points to ponder. Many things change and not always for the better but we need to adjust and make the most of the opportunities that arise.

[@michael7423]

I’m all in for small family farms and farmers markets! I think high fructose corn syrup is partly responsible for the problems with obesity and type 2 diabetes in the US and spreading around the world

[@jackfrost1460]

Hi Pete good video 👍🏻 The only reason they haven’t captured the cattle industry is the amount of land it takes. Cow calf operations don’t do that good in a confinement settings or in dry lot settings they need pasture land to graze on like the cow was designed to do! This country would be a much better place if tractors were never made more then a 100 horse power and chemicals did not be come part of farming! Those 2 things let farmers go from farming a 1000 acres to farming 50,000 acres ! Right there you can see that just shut down 49 small farms and maybe more per 50,000 acres . If you take 49 farm family’s out of a community you can now see why small towns in the Midwest are becoming ghost towns. The bottom line is the less farmers you have the easier it is to control the food supply and not for the good!

[@MrMantraMan]

I'm in my late 50s and when I was a boy I knew farmers in my part of the corn belt who made a living on a quarter, prime ground but still only 160ac.

[@jackfrost1460]

@@MrMantraMan I agree a 100% ! I’m not far behind you in age and growing up everyone had to cultivate for weed control not just spray everything! Considering it took at least 2 times thru each row crop field and you couldn’t go but maybe 2 miles per hour the first time thru so you didn’t cover the corn up it would have taken a army of guys and tractors to cover 50,000 acres like they farm now. If you figure 38 inch rows and your pulling a 8 row cultivar that’s 25 foot a pass. Now you go to a sprayer traveling at 12 mph with a 120 foot booms . That means the sprayer is covering 4 times as much ground per pass and doing each pass 5 times faster. So now you know where all the guys that are not needed on the cultivars have moved to the cities and not on the little farms where they belong!

[@kylanve]

Love it Pete! Most people dont or are afraid to talk about things like this or how big corporations are taking things over and its not for the better.

[@0mnidirectional]

A small farm, like yours, can only exist, when a premium product is needed, my opinion.🙂

[@simonrowe3124]

…. and there is a willingness to pay the premium charged. Supply and demand. Rising premiums continue to price people out of the premium farming products market, which unfortunately has a knock on concerning lower income people’s health. If you can afford the higher premiums and have access to better quality food, the healthier you’re likely to be.

[@0mnidirectional]

@@simonrowe3124 the situation is similar in Europe, I am from Ukraine and life there resembles a struggle for survival (now I have moved to Poland)

[@billmansfield309]

I was thinking about this video a lot and I appreciate your knowledge and your ability to information and teach. Thank you for the great study, Professor!

[@sterlinghao1492]

You are spot on in ALL you said. I see it in big box stores who are eating up the “ Mom & Pop” stores. It concerns me as out country in seriously changing and not necessarily in the right direction. Thanks Pete for your insight

[@phnxnn8120]

Pete, u don't have to worry about your business. There are many still looking for Organic food. If I live close to your area, I would get some of the beef or chicken

[@frankgibson8861]

Hi i find your sunday after noon talks very interesting keep them going all the best from N Ireland .

[@348Tobico]

ps; Pete, you are a great" no pressure" educator. Many thanks.

[@jewelcitizen2567]

Small Farmers have certainly been closed out by the Corporate/Globalist drive for ever greater efficiency. But an economic model built on perpetual growth is ultimately unsustainable and so in time (after some considerable economic turmoil) the small farmer will rise again.

[@kevchard5214]

I agree: With the corporate farms destroying everything for more and more profit it shrinks the supply chain to a narrow window that can fail with one disaster. It has been know for thousands of years you don't put all your eggs in one basket and corporate farms do exactly that.

[@jewelcitizen2567]

@@kevchard5214 Indeed, Pete commented on the inherent fragility of Monoculture, especially on such an industrial scale.

[@herbhouston5378]

I don't know if it's as much efficiency as it is control. If you control everything about anything then you can dictate what other people, including consumers, will do... because they have to. You have them over a barrell and you know it! I know a small butcher shop/fresh meat store operation close to my house that is different than most, in that, you can tell them what cuts you want. Most butchers will tell you they cut what "they want", take it or leave it! In a lot of big conglomerate businesses there is a coldness... an indifference... that causes them to hire people that know nothing about animals... and couldn't care less. On your farm, and others like yours, you have genuine regard for what you raise. You see them as more than $ on the hoof... and your customers as more than "objects" with money. You care about your customers like you care about your animals. You want both parts to be "happy". Big corporations only care about one thing... and that's money... and are willing to do ANYTHING to get more of it. Right, wrong or indifferent... they care nothing for the animals or the people who grow them or the people who buy what they produce.

[@jewelcitizen2567]

@@herbhouston5378 Efficiency & Control go hand in hand. Those who seek ultimate control are often intent on establishing a monopoly. Monopolies are only attained through continual growth and continual growth is only achieved by reducing costs i.e. efficiency.

[@kevchard5214]

@@herbhouston5378 So very true. If only more people would realize this.

[@jason27swg]

Great video. Another point look at the lumber industry. A few big lumber mills. A few big box stores ie: Lowes and home depot. Prices are out of the roof because they control the market. Not many mom and pop hardware stores left. The lumber you buy now is pos and the prices are sky high. The landowner who has the timber gets screwed because you don't have people bidding on his trees. He sells it for what Georgia pacific or wheelhouse offers him

[@mariafritz4697]

I grew up in South America in a coffee farm eating free range grass feed beef and free range chicken, eggs and pigs that were raise just the way you raise your pigs. 0ne of many things my generation of immigrants from my old country noticed was that supermarket conventional meats didn't taste the same here. I refuse to buy white factory eggs, my mother found them taste less leave along the way that chickens are treated in those environments plus they are found to be less healthy. I only eat grass feed organic beef, but very little and few times a year and buy organic chicken most times. I appreciate your amazing effort, sad to be to far away; planing a stop on our way to Buffalo at the farmers market.

[@GutenGardening]

So much Food for Thought! We are gradually exiting the system and growing our own food. Feels good to be GROUNDED. Thanks for sharing.

[@randallquiring9525]

I grew up in south central Nebraska, the northern edge of the Ogalla Aquifer. We are a very intensive irrigation area. In the '80's we did see a drop in the water level in some wells. Some people who had shallow wells had to extend the pumps. Five years later the levels had come back up with more normal to wetter years. My point is the aquifers ARE being replenished all the time. Just like you have wet years and dry years the aquifer goes up and down only over longer periods of time. This has been my experience

[@lolosonny1997]

Thank you we wish you guys are here to celebrate Thanksgiving. All the best Pete and family as usual nice vlog

[@DeWittPotts]

My family owned a small fruit farm. My family were part of the Palatines that settled in the Hudson Valley in the late 1600's to early 1700's. When I was growing up in the 60's I would work on my grandmother's farm. There was a shift in the late 60's with apples where farmers were switching from the traditional apple trees to the newer dwarf trees that you see today. The Apple farm was very labor intensive partly because the trees were so large. It took time to climb up and prune the trees in the spring and picking the trees involved using large ladders to climb the trees. They found that they could produce more fruit per acre with the dwarf trees and the smaller trees were less labor intensive. Also in the 70's regulations started to change on pesticides that were used on the trees. Farmers now had to pay for certification in order to purchase the pesticides which were also getting much more expensive. My uncle sold the family farm in 1974 because there was no longer a profit in it. It would have cost too much to tear out the old trees and replant the orchards with the dwarf trees.

[@mjgbabydragonlet]

This was very on point! Have a great week!

[@nixer8984]

Pete you would have made one heck of a teacher.

[@ronkennedy213]

Thanks for the Thanksgiving wishes, and the same to you and your family.

[@Pete21079]

We have a small goat farm in Texas. We are retired lol or so we thought. I own a company and just can't seem to let go. So I'm building a goat farm to help me transition. My husband has a great retirement but we watched and listened to my retired clientele. So we never knew we'd love it like we do. I've chased that buck and now I wish I would have chased peace. I have 7 kids and I passed the hustle and bustle on them. If you can do this earlier in life do it. God bless your wisdom. Pass it on. Angel

[@interestedobserver9352]

Very insightful commentary. I agree with your concerns about the duality that forms the foundations of social/political/economic structures. Your perceptions are wise and it's always pleasurable to listen to your "chats".

[@mikeklar9031]

This Canadian thanks you for mentioning us in your video.....Happy Thanksgiving

[@JustaFewAcresFarm]

Happy Thanksgiving Mike!

[@farmperfect]

Definitely Right! We are losing the middle in a lot of areas, but I would say they are moving to other areas. I would say the homesteaders are one of the middle, maybe not it actual dollars, but in whole. Farm on!

[@robinmetcalfe3416]

Brilliant Pete, you hit on the nail.

[@JP-bv7bf]

I do believe the Gov has messed up our farming, I also believe more and more people like myself with compromised immune systems are needing more and more healthy choices of food like what you grow. We need more people like yourself to keep doing what you are doing. Thanks. 🇨🇦

[@rockeerockey6941]

Pete, it all boilers down to the 7.8 BILLION people on Earth! Pollution, conglomerates, technology, mechanization! We (farmers) can feed the world, but it costs in the long run!