So, this is what it has come to. America's small farmers, generations of people who lifted this nation to greatness, have become a burden to society. So says the Prometheus Institute, a pro-globalization "think tank." Suspending every ounce of disbelief, I let myself absorb the inflated import of an article on the group's website titled "Free Trade Hurts: Why the farmers must lose their jobs":

There's a silver lining to the storm clouds of globalization. We let our farmers and factory workers lose their jobs because we want them, and the country at large, to be doing bigger and better things. 21st-century American labor should continue to move away from growing grain....

Pictures of the young, perfectly groomed "thinkers" gazed back at me from my computer screen with sweeping arrogance. I looked at the demagogues who author the website editorials and wondered by what authority they could write such blather. Are they farmers? After looking at the entire site, it's a sure bet the answer is no. Do they have a background in agriculture? Again, I'm leaning towards no. Have they ever been on a family farm? The answer is no; I'll bet the farm on it. Yet, this self-proclaimed "think tank," with no background, experience, or context to frame an intelligent opinion decides family farmers should become extinct:

It's the loss of jobs in farming... that helps evince the winds of change in the world economy and keep [sic] America ahead of the curve.

The self-described "thinkers" (I have my doubts) go on to deliver a blistering assessment of farmers' contributions to the American way of life:

There's no guarantee that you can make a living doing whatever you like (remember the free lunch?). To earn a living, you must do something that creates value for people. Otherwise, you just aren't helping society....

In the opinion of the Prometheus Institute, the family farmer is no longer an integral part of a strong and prosperous nation. They are certain beyond question that farmers aren't creating value for America in the global economy. I am equally certain that they are wrong, and I'm not alone.

Unconventional wisdom

Historically, farmers have had to adapt their growing practices to meet changing market conditions resulting from conflict, natural disasters, and emerging technologies. Farmers of the 21st century are no exception; the machinations of globalization are reshaping the face of agriculture, this time worldwide. As large corporate farms swallow up smaller, less competitive family farms on every continent, it seems only natural to assume that the decline in small-scale agriculture is deepening. Nevertheless, the assumption would be wrong, because once again American agriculture is adapting to the course history has set for it, and adapting well if you ask Bud Kerr.

There is no more judicious observer of American agriculture than Howard "Bud" Kerr, Jr. Mr. Kerr (who prefers to be called Bud) is the much-admired former Director of USDA-Cooperative State Research Service's Office for Small-Scale Agriculture (OSSA). He's retired now, but while he was working in government he was also working in small-scale agriculture. In the mid-sixties Bud and his wife Carol, purchased 16 acres and went to work planting peach trees. In all, they planted 14 varieties of peaches, a total of 900 trees. Then, for good measure, they threw in five acres of strawberries and thornless blackberries. Bud put in four hours or so three times a week on the fruit farm while he put in his full-time hours for the USDA. He likes to tell people he has two sets of calluses, one set on his "ca-rear" from riding a chair in Uncle Sam's rat race and one set on his hands from small-scale part-time farming. Bud's understanding of small-scale agriculture comes from wisdom only a farmer could know: "Knowledge gained by operating a farm business outweighs printed words taken from books or lecture notes of years ago." This bold acumen combined with a Masters degree in agriculture economics gives Bud Kerr a vantage like no other: a distinct perspective built on serious study and hard work.

Unlike the self-professed "thinkers" swimming on the bottom of the murky think tank at the Prometheus Institute, Bud Kerr is highly qualified to ponder the future of American agriculture. To those who say farmers have only two options in the global economy, get big or get out, Bud Kerr responds:

Nonsense, get small. Now is the time for change. It is important to focus on small-scale farmers as they become major players in the agricultural arena of the 21st century.

This was Dr. Kerr's admonition as he spoke to the growers at the 1995 5th Annual Greenhouse Tomato Short Course.

Twelve years later, as the world trembles in the face of dangerously skewed free-trade policies, these words seem eerily prescient. It seems there is a fly or two in the globalization ointment, and consumers are noticing. There is a growing concern about food imported from other, less developed countries. One only has to pick up a newspaper or turn on the tv to learn of the string of contaminated food recalls, everything from pet food to apple juice. Multi-national food processors rely heavily on un-inspected imported food ingredients to keep the costs of their product down, with abject disregard for the toll such policies exact on the nation's economy or health. These same corporations are standing in the way of implementing Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) in the United States.

Poor-quality foreign imports aren't the only bane consumers have to deal with; huge factory farms are constantly recalling tainted food, everything from meat to spinach. In addition to cold disregard for the health of American consumers, these corporate operations harm the nation's economy by paying sub-standard wages to immigrant workers, who are often here illegally. Consumers, it would appear, are getting batted around pretty good, ricocheting off one product recall to the next. Increasingly, the public is calling for a safer food supply and economically sustainable farm policies. Meanwhile, as corporations and the government do the globalization two-step, American consumers are defecting en masse to their local farmers markets and value-added producers for safe food and economic security. Small-scale farmers have become major players in the agriculture arena of the 21st century, just as Bud suggested back in 1995.

Odd man out

Official census statistics put the number of people making their living from farming at 2% of the population. Anti-farming ideologues like the Prometheus Institute argue that this number is so insignificant that no one would miss American agriculture anyway; they argue there is no value left in farming in the 21st century. Once again, they're wrong. The 2% figure fails to include the fastest growing, most economical viable sector in farming: small-scale, part-time, and value-added farmers. According to Bud Kerr:

Part-time farming now dominates domestic agriculture. The number of farmers in the U.S. has steadily declined over the past several decades, while the increasing number of so-called "hobby gardeners" who enter into agricultural business entities annually are overlooked. With an aging population, more leisure time, and a heightened entrepreneurial spirit, the trend toward alternative agriculture, special agriculture systems, niche markets, and exotic flora and fauna compound the issue of how to best meet the growing demand from this largest segment of American agriculture—the full and part-time small-scale farms.

As consumers step up their demands for a clean, safe food supply, American farmers have once again stepped up to the plate and delivered. Bud Kerr believes just because the government has failed to notice the contributions of small-scale farmers, it doesn't make their efforts less real or less important:

Small farmers are really the seedbed of agricultural opportunity in America. I have been told that 10% of American farmers produce 50% of our agriculture. Well, the important thing to me is that 90% produce the other 50%!

So, what is the definition of a small farm? Many experts and agencies have devised incomplete and often sophomoric descriptions. Here are a few offered up by Congress and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (or as Bud likes to call it, the U.S. Department of Aggravation):

• All farms except large, nonfamily corporations;
• Farms with no hired manager; no nonfamily corporations or cooperatives;
• Farms using less than 1.5 person-years of hired labor; no hired manager;
• Farms with less than 3.0 person-years of labor; family supplying at least half of labor;
• Farms with less than 1.5 to 2.0 family workers and the same or fewer number of hired workers; buying and selling in the market; self-managed;
• Farms where agricultural production is either the primary occupation of the operator (or is an important contributor to family income); that provide at least half-time employment for an operator, family member, or a hired laborer; and that are operated by no more than three extended families.

All of these definitions, no doubt the result of copious amounts of committee briefings and tax-payer dollars, are woefully inadequate. They try, unsuccessfully, to make distinctions between farmers based on number of employees or family members working on the farm. Still others have proposed limits on acreage, income, or animal units to define small-scale agriculture enterprise. Here's where Bud Kerr's economic know-how shines. Here's the definition he proposes:

Any individual or farm family engaged in any enterprise of agriculture, either full or part-time, for the purpose of earning income and who files a Schedule F farm income tax return with the Standard Form 1040 to the IRS on an annual basis.

It's a perfect fit. It doesn't pit producer against producer based on animal units, acreage, or income. It does, however, prevent corporate farms from masquerading as small family farms: Corporations don't file the Standard Form 1040; only individuals file that particular form.

The unconventional farmer

Bud Kerr believes American agriculture is like a clear mountain lake, fed by many gentle streams. No matter how small, all of these streams count; they keep the lake whole and healthy regardless of their size. It's the same with small-scale and part-time farmers. According to Bud, "... they are growing and compose a very important part of our American agricultural structure." Be it small goat cheese producers, growers of exotic flora and fauna, or a family run CSA, small-scale farming feeds the lake that is agriculture.

"Select and grow the right product," advises Bud. This seems like a simple enough statement, but below the surface, it is a complex bit of advice. To select the right product growers have to be original; growing what every other small farmer in the area is growing won't cut it. Bud's advice is to grow a high-end version of commonplace items, like cucumbers. English cucumbers (the long thin ones that are often wrapped in plastic in grocery stores) grow well vertically on a trellis or a fence, making them a logical choice for growers with limited space. They taste far better than the waxy stubs passed off as cucumbers in grocery stores, and they command a higher price.

He also thinks garlic is a smart choice for people growing on smaller acreages. "Do you know how much money you can make growing just one acre of garlic?" Bud asked me when we spoke on the phone last summer.

Truthfully, I had no idea. I had never even thought about it. But Bud Kerr has; he thinks about things like this all the time. "Well, I'll tell you, It's a pretty penny," Bud insisted. And so it is, according to the University of Kentucky :

An acre of well-managed conventional or organic garlic that is directly marketed at prime locations by the producer (perhaps in braids and other forms) could return in excess of $5,000 per acre.

Five thousand dollars an acre, not bad for a part-time farmer on one acre. It's what Bud calls "economy of scale."

Bud insists that economy of scale is essential for success in small-scale agriculture. When growers and producers have pushed output to the limit but maintained steady or lowered production costs, they have reached an economy of scale. It's at this point he warns against unnecessary expansion. There is a tipping point where higher output results in higher production costs: a diseconomy of scale. Taking on huge debt can trigger a diseconomy of scale and lead to economic ruin for small producers.

He has no grand ideas of fabulous wealth earned from small-scale farming, but it can provide a significant part of the overall income. His advice to those considering a future in small-scale or part-time farming: Don't quit your day job. Instead, get ready to develop two sets of calluses, just like he did.

Small growers also need to be excellent marketers. Bud is adamantine: "Networking is important. Don't just remember names, remember details. Contacts are the biggest asset you can have." Small-scale growers and value-added producers must cultivate relationships with customers and the community at large. He recommends "tithing in tomatoes," or giving leftover produce to churches, senior centers, and other community organizations. Building a reputation as a good grower and good citizen will eventually benefit the small-scale producer's bottom line.

Avant- garde

During the Carter Administration, while he was working as a government agriculture economist in Beltsville, Maryland, Howard "Bud" Kerr, Jr. earned himself a reputation as a maverick, a reputation he's still quite proud of. In 1978, while others were predicting doom for the American family farm, Bud predicted otherwise. He predicted that American agriculture would grow by 17.3%. Three years later, when the information from the 1980 Census was analyzed, the numbers showed that agriculture had grown 17.2 %! He was right on target then, and 30 years later, he's still shooting straight when he insists that American agriculture is continuing to thrive in the 21st century. One only needs to look as far as the USDA to confirm it.

It appears that the government, unlike the "thinkers" at the Prometheus Institute, hasn't put all of its eggs in one basket when it comes to agriculture and globalization. While negotiators hammer out convoluted trade policies, and lobbyists for giant agri-businesses court the congress, the USDA is paying more attention to small-scale farmers than ever before. It would seem that, in spite of all the accolades the government throws at globalization, policy makers understand that small-scale agriculture is an ace-in-the-hole in case something goes wrong—and we've already gotten a taste of what could go wrong.

A recent report by the Congres-sional Research Service (CRS) indicates that every state "has some commercial specialty crop production within its borders." Specialized growers are those who "receive at least half of their gross value of production from the sale of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts or horticultural crops." The report by the CRS reveals that more than half of all specialty crop producers identify off-farm income as their main source of support. Bud Kerr is right again: Small-scale, part-time farming is an important and growing part of the economics of American agriculture.

According to the CRS, these specialty crop operations accounted for 50% of all U.S. cash farm receipts. As part of the 2007 Farm Bill, which passed the House of Representatives in July, the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 extends block grants to states to help growers of specialty crops with research, marketing, education, disease and pest management, production, and food safety. Congress voted to fund it at 60 million in 2007 and to increase the amount by five million each year until 2011.

In addition H.R. 2419 benefits small-scale growers by pledging to:

• authorize $20 million in annual appropriations for grants to communities to help them operate organic gardens or greenhouses for growing fresh produce in urban areas;
• establish a matching funds grant program to help state and local governments, grower cooperatives, and other eligible organizations improve the cost-effective movement of specialty crops to local, regional, national, and international markets;
• authorize appropriations to improve the gathering and timely distribution of market news for specialty crops;
• provide $35 million over five years to expand and enhance an existing program that promotes direct farmer-to-consumer marketing activities, including farmers markets, roadside stands, agritourism, use of electronic benefit transfer systems, Internet and mail-order opportunities;
• provide $20 million over five years to support a network of facilities to be sources of pest- and disease-free planting stock for horticultural crops; and
• authorize appropriations to support a grant program to improve underserved and socially disadvantaged communities' access to locally produced foods.

Clearly, the government of the United States recognizes the importance of small-scale, part-time producers and the value they create for their communities.

The un-branded

It seems somehow fitting that Bud Kerr should be labeled a maverick; the term has its roots in American agriculture. In the mid-1800s a Texas rancher by the name of Samuel Maverick steadfastly refused to brand his calves, believing the effort to be a waste of time since everyone else's calves were branded. Soon, area ranchers started referring to un-branded strays as mavericks. It fits Bud Kerr, a well-callused independent thinker who is immediately recognizable as such. He understands the benefits of global trade and appreciates the role small-scale producers play in the free market. Yet, he remains un-branded, refusing to be wrangled in by defeatists who say the small farmer has met his end in the 21st century.

The term maverick captures the heart of small-scale farming: a pragmatic independence. The "thinkers" at the Prometheus Institute, and other pro-globalization groups who have branded America's farmers as useless in the new world economy, are sorely mistaken. The numbers prove them wrong, and numbers don't lie. America's small-scale family farmers, the un-branded, are flourishing in the new economy. Yes, the un-branded are harder to count, because they're harder to herd, but that doesn't mean their number is insignificant or unimportant. In the words of Bud Kerr, "Each one of you counts." Every time another brand of food is recalled, consumers go looking for mavericks: the small, local producers who remain the backbone of American agriculture.