What Happened?

I know we have some 'splaining to do, some have wondered why we departed from the farm after three years.

It started in late August of '15. Within three months the Lord provided me with an IT opportunity, we sold our animals and associated equipment, relocated the family and moved all of our belongings.  We also found a great church and started making new friends.  We suddenly went back to suburban life for a number of reasons:

1. We could not generate sufficient income fast enough.  Because the effort started with endeavors that no one involved had previously proven to be successful, by the time one was found we were already 2+ years into the effort (the pig endeavor had the potential to generate sufficient income, there were ~150 and counting by the time we left).

There were also two "macro" reasons that affected income generation in our new environment that I had never been exposed to before:

A. The local economy was dysfunctional.  Approximately half of the people in our area were on some type of welfare, so half of the people had essentially withdrawn themselves from contributing in any meaningful way to the economy and served as a drain on those who were productive.  It bred a type of "hand out" / entitlement mentality and strange ideas on how a economy supposedly functions.  It wasn't uncommon for people to ask for an additional discount on something that was already reasonably priced; as if prices should be set based on people's means and not on the cost of production.  For example, in order to expedite our move I listed things inexpensively.  I asked $85 for three used electric fence reels with poly wire that retailed for $275.  The first day I received five calls and all wanted me to drop the price further.  Since I had enough of this behavior I increased the price at $125 and sold them in two days.

Much more could be written about the difference in rationale in areas where people are industrious and areas where they are not.  While previously working in IT and in a suburban area I never perceived how the structure of a local economy can change the way people think and behave.  For example, in areas where people are dependent, they support and clamor for gubmit to force the appropriation of other people's wealth to meet their needs (and thanks to public schools they've been conditioned to believe that's somehow "fair" or it's necessary to "level the playing field").  I've wondered how much different they are from Bolsheviks.  For some reason they can't make an association between the failure of grand redistribution schemes (like East Germany, Communist Russia and currently Venezuela) and the economical malaise they live in.

Hard to change topics before mentioning at least a few more goofy ideas (especially since I'm talking about the belt buckle of the "Bible belt!!!").  Occasionally you'd hear of the need for a business to "give back to the community," as if there was something inherently negative about them and they needed to make amends for it. Hearing this was like the sound of fingernails on a chalk board (or at least like that feeling after realizing you just used a permanent marker on a dry erase board).  Most locals couldn't comprehend that businesses ALREADY gave and give back EVERY DAY simply by providing products and services people want. Another favorite really flawed perspective was hearing farmers complain about those living off of the rest of us by collecting "welfare" and then lamenting that the farm bill needed to get passed - which is nothing more than welfare for farmers!

B. Too much regulation / Dept of Agriculture interference and unnecessary costs.  (At least too much for me, there are some who were still able to do well in the environment we left and I admire their perseverance.) For example, with pigs, did you know that feeding them table scraps could destroy all of the agriculture in the US? (If that sounds like crazy talk, good; your ability to reason is not impaired).  This piece of fear mongering came from a director at the Dept of Agriculture.  I've learned that this type of interference and central planning in the "home of the free and land of the brave" exists in most areas of our economy today, from selling eggs (see HERE) all the way to mundane things like buying insurance or natural gas.  I think most of us don't realize to what extent central planning exists because most of us have been employees all of our lives.  The missed opportunities and keen awareness of the costs of regulation or the fines, fees, licenses, permits and other excuses made for expropriation seem to only be appreciated by the self employed or employers.

The challenge with pigs was to reduce feed costs.  Near the farm there were institutions that were filling landfills with literally tons of food each day.  One was a college that we approached about collecting the left-overs from student's plates.  I was told it was "illegal." I was incredulous and thought surely, this person was misinformed.  To my dismay I discovered that it was true - feeding pigs table scraps and then selling those pigs really was illegal.  I was told by a wise central planner (most likely a political appointee who admitted they had no experience in raising pigs or other animals as a business) that the practice of raising pigs on table scraps, which has been done since time immemorial, was dangerous because it could sicken my pigs and spread an illness to the entire country and destroy the US pork industry (I'm not making this up.  We can probably thank the public school system for this person's education).  To that I politely explained that we've got a big problem - her health inspectors were allowing restaurants all over the state to serve food unfit for pigs.  My epiphany was completely ignored of course.  I have not done the research but I strongly suspect the impetus of the regulation was the big meat producers (i.e., crony capitalism, they line the pockets of politicians and regulators who then create regulations that favor the pocket liners). Regulations like this protect the market share of large producers by severely hindering the ability of small producers to exist and eliminate choices for consumers (we also saw a small local competitor crash and burn after state and local public "custodians" fee'd and regulated them out of existence).

And there are also a few "micro" reasons:

2. I trusted the natives.  I was so naive that I didn't realize I was among natives.  They looked just like me (except for those in the pic).  And from stories I've heard from missionaries, my experience was not unlike being in a 3rd world country.  What I did not realize was that in an environment where the economy is impaired, others will see you as a threat and they'll either take advantage of you or marginalize you.  It was like being back in high school.  They're cordial and gracious in your presence, but ruthless behind your back as they "bend the ear" of others.  It wasn't until six months into the endeavor that another successful farmer from whom I started gaining insight from noted that I was working with hillbillies who were trying to eliminate me.  I noticed it in town also.  I had to replace a truck tire and ball joints and the shop tried to overcharge me $300.  Initially I didn't want to believe it because after all we had moved to the "Bible belt."  Another time it was at a land auction, I was told the day before the auction that the owner had settled the debt so it would no longer be available.  The next day I overheard the same person mention that it had sold that morning.  I inquired as to why I was told it would not be available and surmised that since I wasn't a local they didn't want me to participate.  Lesson learned: if you're ever in a new environment work thru someone you can trust until you understand the inter-personal landscape.

Also the native's reliance on "tradition" was a problem.  There is a line in a Twenty One Pilots song that appears to be about the bleak life in a small town called Hometown and says to put away the gods your father serves.  It reminds me of their weird stubbornness, or insistence in doing things a certain way that was based on some perceived tradition.  For example, when we were tapping trees, TJ did the research, consulted with others who had experience, and inexpensively procured the appropriate hardware (items that incorporated efficiency and taps designed based on the latest understanding of what works best for sap collection).  The natives whittled taps out of wood and there was mention of how things used to be done "around here" I guess about 100 years ago.  Besides unnecessarily wasting a lot of time whittling, there was another reason to prefer non-wood taps since wood encouraged the presence of bacteria that would compromise the quality of the syrup.  TJ also used tubes and lids to cover the sap as much as possible.  The natives did not, their collection system was exposed and occasionally would offer surprises like dead squirrels or mice.

"Yes, it's sweet but has an interesting taste - like that of wild game with a hint of acorn."

3. Too much in-efficiency.  And when issues were realized, it was extremely difficult and costly to recover from the effects of poorly designed systems.  A good example was the water system discussed in previous posts that the natives implemented ("mechanized" and extremely time consuming).

So for now, farming is behind us but we do miss its benefits.  Especially, those opportunities to teach the kids how to drive...

Liberty: "ok Sammy, it's going straight now, more gas!"

Sammy: "Whaaat? Back to processed foods!?"  (Thankfully no, there is always someone relatively nearby who will sell you food from their farm.)

And even though we're back in suburbia, there are still farm-like chores like dropping trees (watch for the piece of wood that almost tags Trins the camera girl)...