We’ve had a lot of help and support since we began working to build a farm and a family enterprise. It’s impossible to list everyone who has helped because literally everyone we’ve been around has assisted or supported us in some way; even our detractors. Even though the blood, sweat and tears are ours and the results are ours, we must acknowledge the assistance we’ve had from so many. We aren’t there yet, not even close, but we are a lot closer than we were three years ago. We’ve met a lot of people doing similar things with similar reasons and philosophies. Everyone of them in the same boat, struggling with day to day success, pushing past day to day failures and proceeding in faith today with the hope of success in the future. And everyone of us could be out of business tomorrow. Not just in farming. All of the small businesses we interact with are in the same boat. If 2020 taught us anything, it should be that every day is a gift and access to resources is essential for survival. As humans we need Food, water, shelter, clothing and, here’s the non-tangible one, companionship. Humans will die without any one of these items. Most Americans, unless you live in the desert southwest or Flint, Michigan take our water a little for granted. We also take clothing a little for granted. But 2020 revealed how loose our grip on these things, even in America, really is. Do you know how the lumber for shelter gets from the forest to your home? Do you know where your food comes from and how it is grown? Do you know when you will see your loved ones again and if anyone you know will be able to see you if you fall sick and wind up in a hospital or nursing home? I can’t answer these questions, except I know where my food is coming from. Because we grow a large portion of our own food. Before we sell a food product to a customer, we eat it ourselves. But, as I said above, that is only a bad day away from not existing. Then we would have to rely on others to grow the food we eat. Except, if it comes from 3000 miles away, can we count on it? 2020 taught us that no, we can’t. We can’t trust that the next problem that the nation faces won’t cause us to not be able to get food from California and Arizona, or lumber from the pacific northwest. And certainly not the tools and machines that we use to grow that food from a different continent across the world’s largest ocean. We would have to get those things locally. Except many local businesses are in the same situation StoneField is. That is, one bad day from being done. And then what?
We’ve had a local dairy in the news lately. Almost everyone in central Virginia has heard the warning from Richland Creamery. They are one of the few independent dairy/ creameries left in Virginia. Homestead Creamery is another one that comes to mind. In news reports, they have talked about the doubling of costs for feed and materials and fuel. Nothing has been untouched by rising prices. High price points for small businesses makes it difficult to pass these costs onto customers. That leaves very little room for a small local company in an industry dominated by a few large businesses. Over 50% of milk is produced in California, Wisconsin, Idaho, New York, and Texas (USDA). Dairies in Virginia have been closing at a rapid rate for years. Local dairies are almost extinct. The small, local producer relies on a consistent local customer base.
What does that mean for us? Richlands is just one local food producer struggling to keep providing a local source for food. Stonefield Farms’ feed prices have increased twice this year. As a result, we are getting ready to raise the price of our pastured products. As prices rise and local businesses can’t keep up, larger non-local businesses will fill the gap, but their prices will not stay low. They face price increases, too. When there is no local competition to these large companies, there will be nothing to keep their prices down and we’ll all pay more for food.
The world says “to bad for them, only the biggest survive” and “just raise your prices and pass it on” and “let them get what they can afford.” But we do not conform to this world. One of the goals for StoneField Farms is to provide good food at an affordable price to our neighbors. We aim to be able to provide our immediate neighborhood with access to fresh, quality, nutrient dense food. If prices start making food sources difficult to obtain, we want to be poised to fill that gap that modern stores will have difficulty filling, even though we know that a large portion of the population will not be able to pay the prices we typically charge. Never the less, we are called to “Share with the Lord’s people who are in need” and “Practice hospitality.” But we can’t do that if we fail before then, and neither can the other farms working to provide a local source of food for the citizens of Virginia.
We don’t need a pandemic to put us there. Poor government planning, social unrest, natural disasters and old fashion run away inflation all could put us in that situation. Need a further example? Look at the violence in South Africa the past two weeks. It will be hard to find in the American media, but google will find it. After the looting, burning and killing, food prices are exploding and making food difficult to obtain for the poor. Look at Venezuala of the past decades. Once the prosperity star of South America, now food shortage is a constant problem.
What can we do? For StoneField Farms, we support local business whenever we can. Starting Next week, all StoneField Farms “From the Kitchen” items that include milk in the ingredients will use Richlands Dairy and Creamery milk, exclusively. We already source locally as much as possible, when we can’t use ingredients from our own farm. For instance, our Zucchini Bread is made with Zucchini from Archlynn Farms. When we buy Richland Creamery milk, we will be purchasing it from Spring Hollow Farm Market. So, when you buy Zucchini Bread from StoneField, you will actually be supporting four local businesses. Two in Buckingham county, One in Dinwiddie county and one in Charlotte county. We will list on our web site and on our FaceBook Page the local businesses that support us and that we support. By supporting local businesses, we help ensure that those businesses are around in hard times as well as good times and that we can “carry each other’s burdens, and in this way … fulfill the law of Christ.”
- Jamie.