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>> Julie talk to me a little bit about sustainability, what does it mean to you?
>> Sustainability in farming is one of those concepts that nobody really knows what it
is, so there are a lot of definitions that people think of. But for me, I think of it
in terms of having a viable income from the farm, and also preserving the land, so that
it’s for the next generation. The land is a resource which we only have so much of.
So sustaining the land is a really important factor in sustainability. But if I, as a farmer,
can’t make any money, I can’t sustain myself. So you need to sustain the farm family
as well as the land. And there are many ways that people do that.
It’s not always easy choices. If you’re an organic farmer, you will have weeds. If
you are a conventional farmer, you will have big costs and you may have unintended consequences
to the environment. So it’s not really as easy as people would like to say. And it’s
not…are the conversation around sustainability hasn’t really gotten to a big enough part
of our population to have people really think about it.
I mean, a lot of people think that if you’re an organic farmer you’re into sustainability,
and that may or may not be true. You may not be able to make enough income to sustain your
family, which means that you’re not sustainable. But you also may be using chemicals which
are poisonous. Arsenic is an organic chemical. It is a poison. So, you have to be really
well educated when you make your choices, and there are a lot of choices and compromises
in farming.