Meet Your Neighbors
Hello, I am delighted you are reading the inaugural issue of American
SMALL FARM magazine. If you have a small farm or want to have a small
farm, this is your magazine. My goal is to help you, your family and
your farm to reach the goals you have selected. I also want to help you
stretch your aspirations, expand your vision and dare to have big
dreams.
We will write about the business and science of agriculture and will
share the values and opportunities inherent on small farms. I believe
that through this exchange, by sharing and caring, each of us will more
fully realize the joy and profitability of our small farm lifestyle. Our
purpose is to provide you with information that will help make your farm
more efficient, more profitable, and work easier.
Another goal of American Small Farm is to raise the family's income from
both farm and off-farm sources. Small farms will continue to prove to be
one of the most resilient segments of American agriculture in the coming
years. The combination of farm and non-farm income should help families
weather periods of low prices and allow many to remain in farming who
would otherwise be forced to leave.
We want you to use your magazine to share your ideas with other small
farmers. We know you are going to glean many good ideas you can put to
use on your own farm. We anticipate receiving two major groupings of
letters: letters to the editor and letters to readers to give
information and to seek information. Both kinds of letters are
encouraged.
We want you to use American
SMALL FARM as a place to meet your fellow small farm owners
and as a forum for the exchange of ideas and information. We are also
asking you to send us any good photos you have taken on and around your
farm. We will give you a credit line for photos we use. We also want to
hear about your ideas, gadgets, businesses or any other interesting
activities. We want you to share your successes and failures -- your
problems and solutions. You can help others by doing this and you will
probably find help from others.
Please keep those letters coming they help us do a better job of serving
you. We really want your participation. You can send the letters to
American SMALL FARM, Andy Stevens, Editor, 560 Sunbury Road, Ste 6,
Delaware, OH 43015. I eagerly await your letters.
This publication's beginning stems from a demand for a publication
devoted exclusively to the business of small farms. The
American SMALL FARM magazine believes that its readers have
equal and distinct interest in both the business and lifestyle
characteristics of their acreage. This magazine, by design, will serve
both of these reader interests.
We plan to provide practical, "how-to" information about farming and
farm management. We will give coverage to traditional crop and livestock
production. In addition, we will also focus on new crops, livestock,
other enterprises and marketing techniques. We will look at problems of
rural communities, interpretation of national legislation related to
small farms, marketing information, family living and farm events.
Because you will have the opportunity to read my comments in each issue
of your magazine, please permit me to describe some of my magazine and
agricultural background. I was reared on a small farm in Central Ohio.
In addition to farming, my father worked at various jobs including more
than 25 years as a carpenter. I am one of seven children. By the time
all of us were grown and in school my mother, in addition to being a
homemaker, worked as a wallpaper hanger and helped do chores around the
farm. She still lives at the farm now (2007) and checks on my animals
everyday. Her 90th birthday is in October and she still fits Dad’s
playful description of “Rambling Rose” because she still finds time to
drive to many events.
During my youth, I was active in both 4-H and FFA. I earned the State
Farmer Degree in FFA. We grew corn, wheat, oats, soybeans, chickens,
hogs and dairy cows on our 39-acre farm. We also grew at least 1,000
tomato plants each year. Most of the tomatoes were marketed to people
who stopped at the farm. When my children were growing up, we milked
cows and tried alternative crops, including tomatoes and strawberries.
I taught vocational agriculture in Central Ohio for 5 years before
joining the editorial staff of The Ohio Farmer in 1963. I have
two degrees in agricultural education from The Ohio State University.
During my undergraduate days, I earned part of my college expenses as a
DHI milk tester and construction worker. I still own a few registered
Ayrshires.
I will not bore you by bragging about my limited farm successes, but
some day I may tell you about some of the disasters. You soon learn that
many farm undertakings do not turn out as you have planned. That is why
it is so important to study new endeavors carefully -- read all the
information you can find and listen to all the people you can who are
willing to share their experiences with the enterprise you are
considering. As you read your magazine, you will meet many different
writers. You will see that they come from a variety of places and have
different experiences. However, you will discover that all of us have a
tie that binds us together. You will find each of us has empathy for
farming and farm people.
Empathy is the capacity for participation in another's feelings or
ideas. We have this empathy because of our agricultural experiences and
backgrounds. We understand how farm people think, what they worry about,
what they feel is important and what irritates them.
Make every
day a GREAT ONE! – Andy Stevens, editor
