Other people should be our business too . . .

We went to some farms around the Portland area, searching for idea about farming and what we wanted to do with our far (should we ever be blessed with one). Most of what we saw was too small in scope, or much bigger than we wished to do.Remember, we want to eventually build a wedding venue, not just a farm. And also keep in mind that this is a bigger vision that either a nice place to gather or a nice place to get food. But one thing leads into another and so every step must be considered in advance of need. Some of the farms we saw had glaring holes where opportunity lie.

One thing I abhor is wasted opportunity. And since I intend to build a uPick farm (a place where people come to get personally involved with their food) I looked at what others were doing with the idea. In nearly every case I saw the same lost opportunity . . . They wasted a lot of food in their orchards by allowing food to hit the ground and rot. Row after row of peaches, pears, apples, what-have-you, fell from the trees and was lost. We resolved to try and stop this loss to mankind. But what to do?

Here are a few ideas we think might help, each taking on a life of its own and opening other opportunities for increasing the use of the land sustainably:

1. Put down some sort of ground cover to keep the dropped fruit from being damaged beyond use.
2. Pick up the downed fruit and use it in products to sell whenever possible. (Converting these lost objects to cash allows for more good in the world.)
3. Preserve these found products so that their benefits might be used out of season.
4. Give away as much as the tax system allows to feed people who need fed.

Each of these things opens another business opportunity, makes clear the need to add more aspects to our business as it grows, and perhaps shows others that farm practices can be improved for the benefit of more than just the farmer his or her self.

We want to give it all away. So how do we maximize what we have to give? First step is to not loose the opportunity to have gifts to bring. The Second is to minimize the things we need to exist comfortably. . .