There are both heartbreaking and heartwarming stories occurring on farms in Yankee's territory these days.
An example of heartbreaking:
Politics of the Plate: Selling the Farm
One cannot help but identify with the Borland family in this well-written and moving article. That is especially true for those of us — and this includes many readers of this blog — who have similar stories in our own families, of farming for generations in Vermont or New Hampshire or New York. We understand this story from the inside.
An example of heartwarming:
Inaugural Vt. Cheesemakers Festival to be held Sunday
Most of us have little in common with the Druart family. For starters, most of us did not grow up in France. And yet one cannot help but be inspired by their story, which continues this weekend with the first ever Vermont Cheesemakers Festival at Shelburne Farms. This article is from today's Burlington Free Press, the "Savorvore" section which appears every Friday. I encourage you to read the paper edition today if you can. There are many heartwarming food stories in this section, including profiles of the Dancing Cow Farm and the Champlain Valley Creamery. All of this will be especially interesting to those Yankee employees, directors and guests who were on the farm tour last month at Jasper Hill Farm.
The stories above are an example of what the Austrian economist Joseph Schumpeter called "creative destruction." Ah, leave it to an economist to strip out the emotion and "explain" everything. But don't dismiss the economists' view of the world just because it leaves out emotion. It takes both emotion and reason to understand the world.
These are depressing times on many farms. Try to keep in mind that the future does not hold just peril, it also holds promise. Have courage.
