Election Brings A New Breed Of Prepper

I don't know Sloth I do pretty good at small farming and it has been my only job for the last 17 years. From 40 acres owned and 60 leased pasture/hay I pull $175,000-$225,000 in direct to end consumer sales per year with an average 39.7% profit margin. On a low year my net in the pocket money is around $69,000 I am not getting rich but I am not in the poor house either. I do work 100+ hours per week April through October and 45-50 hours per week through the off season. All of my sales are generated from the On Farm Store, the delivery route and the two farmers markets I own. I refuse to do wholesale for pennies on the dollar. I am diverse with Meat, poultry and eggs as one division, Fruits and berries as one, Value Added as another, Vegetables as yet another, and the post oak tables and Benches I make as yet another.

Some argue my wife's job and income support the farm since she is a Government employee and her position and salary can be be searched online. So it is auto assumed that since her salary is $125,000 that is what keeps the farm going. Reality is we don't touch each others money other than sharing the general household expenses. And my farm existed and was thriving long before the marriage. I most enjoy it when she get me a new $1000 Stihl Chainsaw for Christmas though LOL.

Funny thing is a topic very close to this one is playing out on a couple of FB groups centered around market gardening. One group are the more conservative independent small farms that overall are a couple thousand successful small farmers. The other group the left leaning progressive farmers in name only that spend most of their time crying about the Government not doing enough to support them and how they get a living wage. The few of them that are successful have trust backing them or wrote a book on how to succeed growing short crops.

It is my business to know everything that goes on in local food in my region. Sounds weird but I have spies in every organization and every area and market in the region. Last year 37 new farms started up 29 of which were belly up before October. Combined those 29 failure raked in $1, 044,000 in Federal and State Grant Money that was just pissed away. All 29 were left leaning progressives. 5 of those that survived season one are left leaners that have very large inhertances or trust funding their 3 acre farms in conjunction with a average $136,000 worth of grant funds for another $680,000 of tax payer money pissed away. The 3 final that survived season one are conservative to middle of the road types that started up on their own dime and did reasonably well for their first market season. at $8,700 $9250 and $12,500 in the black. Which is not bad for the first season cautiously dipping your toes into the business part time.
I have invited 2 of the three to join my markets in 2017. The third is done with the "Liberal Candy Ass back stabbing Markets" Which most markets are. She is instead going to focus on developing her farm business with road side stands. More power to her. All 3 of those have a very high chance of being here and in business 5-10 years from now. The other 5 the writing is on the wall, even with virtually endless funding to operate in the red.... They will get bored and move onto the next thing in a year maybe two. Just look at market vendors over the course of 5 years and you will find a handful that are there week in and week out year after year, you will find the rest are a revolving door. Don't get me wrong there are few left leaners that do very well and last but they are the exception and not the rule.

As far as breaking even yep it happens now and then, but rarely. Diversity and rigging the game in your favor goes a long way to preventing that.

 

Good read T5R

 

I would welcome the impute of some snowflakes. We have our perceptions of their position that is based on our view of them and to some degree we respond and prepare based on that. Their impute would help us correct our misconceptions of their position as well as how they may respond and the net outcome of their response. This would allow a more reason based response and preparation on our part.

 

Why, thankyou, fedor, my 6 year stint at educating the conservative members here seems to be paying off (though sometimes very unappreciated).

I don't see conservative vs progressive as being a black or white dichotomy....but as a continuum, where there can be much overlap in beliefs and values between two individuals who hold to generally opposing viewpoints. Often, surprisingly there can be much common ground that can be a useful in building mutually beneficial relationships regardless of whether one is living in the "good" times....or in a TEOTAWKI SHTF environment.

In time of war, the soldiery regardless of class, politics, race, creed, or colour tended to put division aside, for the necessity of mutual survival....I may be an optimist, but I think that, as a social species the tendency towards cooperation will tend to take precedence over division and conflict.

I look at individuals, as people, rather than as the properties of the categories and classes that my perception may assume them to be.

 

Hard to find any common ground now days.

 

LOL when you go to a market and they have these signs painted on boxes all around the market and point out quite clearly that anyone who is not a hyper liberal progressive is someone who eats rescue kittens with pound puppy jelly. Real hard to find common ground indeed. EDIT: BTW that background is a Community Garden that if you pay taxes you contributed to the 1.7 million dollars for it.

 

Nice.

 

This made me chuckle:

Guess he missed the last 8 years of tyranny, under the Obama regime, eh?

 

Progressives prepping? Not here. They still think the deer here will sustain them. Anyone storing away food is a hoarder and crazy. I want it to stay that way. The last thing I want is progressives with guns.

 

They don't store food because they think the government will save them. Plus they probably couldn't afford it anyways.

 

It's just possible they could survive longer than we thought:
https://www.quora.com/How-long-could-you-survive-for-if-you-only-ate-Doritos-water-allowed

 

Some thoughts... Honestly, I cannot say I am a true 'conservative' and I cannot say that I know any hard-nose, ultra-right, 'love it or leave it' conservatives....at least none come to mind, not sure I have ever met one to be truthful. Most of our political species have our own point of view on some matters that differs from the pure conservative line. I certainly do. I admit to having more conservatives viewpoints than liberal but I confess that on some topics I do have a liberal leaning. And, when asked, "Are you a conservative?" I normally, reply "Nope. I am an Independent" or "A bit, yes." or " I am in the middle." In my opinion, I do think the general Conservative seems to be much more compromising than their opposites, the Liberal. I also think the Super-Liberals are as bad for their cause as the Super-Conservatives are. Anyway...just some thoughts.........am I going to get kick out of the tree now?

 

Don't you just love that word they have hung on themselves, "progressive." So, by painting themselves that does that paint us by default as...you guessed it, "regressive?" LOL!!! War of words as well as ideology.