So, to sum up the last installment, the spreadsheet was willing, but the flesh was weak (but we're working on that too - more later).
We knew the Farm Business Cycle i.e. Planning before Marketing, Marketing before Management, and Management before Production, i.e.
Planning => Marketing => Management => Production
that we we workd out over some years was still valid, (it won us the Premiers award, and led to me writing my first book) but the gap was in the Production part; just Suzie and I working alone couldn't guarantee we would produce enough to mainatain a CSA. What to do?
We still believed in the vision of showing others how to grow great food in a way that was both environmentally and economically sustainable. We wanted to help create a local food infrastructure that would be insurance aganst those 'bad times' we are pretty sure are on the horizon. I've got kids (and now a grand-kid!) so I've got a stake in the future even beyond my own survival.
And, we saw our farm eventually becoming a place of education and contribution as well as food production.
Just as an aside, you might be wondering WHY we have stuck with this crazy idea of fostering a sutainable food network. It's because we have found no greater satisfaction than growing great food for ourselves and appreciative customers, and teaching others to do the same.
I hope that love of what we do comes across. I think many people these days are 'living lives of quiet desperation'; little to no satisfaction in their work (if they are lucky enougn to have a job) and bleak prospects for the future.
I had to take work off-farm when our medical catastrophes struck; what keeps me going is 1 - being able to come back to this place; and 2 - having a vision and a plan to get back here full-time. Otherwise I might be a little 'quietly desparate' myself!
That's how holding a viison helps. Vision is looking forward (in several senses of that phrase). A vision aids decison-making and priority-setting.
If it's a True Vision, the Universe will line itself up behind you (trust me on this, I've experienced miracles)
More coming, until next week, Happy Growing!
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