It’s Valentine’s Day & I hope you are spending the day with the person you love most. This Valentine’s Day, like the twenty-five before it, will be spent with my wife Sandi on a typical overcast Oregon day.
We decided to attend church service last night, so we could lounge today. Oh yeah, the smokin hot lead singer of the choir who wears the cute nose ring announced she and her husband are expecting their first. I’m pretty sure I heard a tambourine in the background and some depressed hormonal teenage boys express themselves during that announcement.
So far today, we ate breakfast, did our chores and will join as a family at 12 noon to start our mandatory family fun. 
We awakened early as our Golden Retriever-Surf-sensed she had enough of this sleeping and wanted outside to play. As I was getting my boots on in our mud room, my wife smirked and handed me her Valentine’s Day card to me. I’ll let you share the experience for yourself.
Anything to do with small farms and farmers and my wife and I love it. Sandi and I grew up in rural Northwest Arkansas where my family owned a 500 acre farm for almost 50 years. Sandi’s dad had his own business where he provided chemicals to farmers in the area. So our family understands the plight of so many farmers and what chemicals go into our vegetables, chickens, and cows. We know more today then we did back then.
I don’t know how to put into words, but I really believe there is a relationship between natural farming, the culture of serving food, and small business stewardship. I think there is probably a natural order that most of us don’t understand or care about when it comes to connecting earth, food, serving, and livelihood.
Can someone help me put what I’m trying to say into words that more people can understand?
Yesterday, Sandi and I watched Food, Inc., a documentary describing the challenge of today’s farmer desiring a natural farm without the use of chemicals. The documentary really shows the power of four companies to control what we eat, when we eat, and how much we pay to eat. So like a die-hard Saints fan on Super Bowl day, Sandi and I cheered farmers like Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms. You might feel like you know what he stands for by watching this video clip from the documentary.
In recent years, I’ve become mindful of being a good steward and what I’m learning about stewardship is we view the impact of our work differently when viewed through the undistorted and natural lens of connecting business with stewardship and sustainability.
My observation is most of us small business owners don’t connect our non-farming small business to stewardship and sustainability the way some farmers do. And I’m not just talking about environmental changes, I’m talking about an entire business mindset paradigm change more in harmony with calling, character, and community.
I’ve learned more from business in the past two years from specialty Oregon farmers, vineyard owners, and specialty artisans then I have from big business case studies found in many of the latest best selling business books.
Truth be told, I’d rather hang-out with a local Willamette Valley farmer then some big company business putz most any day.
What can we as small business owners learn from natural farming? Name 3 things.
- Your #1 answer
- Your #2 answer
- Your #3 answer
What would it be like if you … & then share with us.
What can we as small business owners learn from natural farming? Quite a bit.
1. You must respect the seasons. If you don’t plant at planting time, there is nothing to reap at harvest.
2. You must think long term. A whole year’s worth of work may be wiped out by a hailstorm or a drop in the cattle market.
3. You are part of a community. Farmers help each other out.
(I could go on and on….)
@Becky I respect your guidance and what you are doing for small business owners everywhere. Love the “respect for seasons” wisdom.
Aw, this was a really good post. In theory I’d like to write like this also – taking time and real effort to make a good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and never seem to get anything done.