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From VOA Learning English, |
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this is the Agriculture Report. |
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The United States is one of the world's |
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leading agricultural powers, |
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but few Americans are farmers. |
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One recent study showed just two percent |
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of the population do the job in agriculture. |
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Yet, small farms seem to be appearing in many areas |
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to meet a growing demand for locally produced food. |
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The people operating these farms often have little |
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or no experience in farming. |
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Mark Mills once worked as a pastry chef. |
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He decided to leave his secure job and turn to farming. |
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He says his decision was based on two things |
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- a strong interest in agriculture |
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and his ignorance about what it takes to be a farmer. |
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Mark Mills was a history major in college, |
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all he knows about producing food |
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comes from growing plants in his home garden |
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and 26 years of working in restaurants. |
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So why did he become a farmer? |
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"Well, it's beautiful. |
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Why wouldn't you want to come to work here? |
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I'm my own boss. |
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But really, it's my love of food," Mills said. |
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In recent years, |
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many Americans have developed a taste |
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for fresh locally grown foods and vegetables. |
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The number of farmers' markets has increased |
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over 50 percent in the past ten years. |
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Federal, state and local governments |
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believe now is the time to create jobs and new businesses. |
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Mark Mills was one of four people accepted |
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in the New Farmer Pilot Project |
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in Montgomery County, Maryland. |
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Sarah Miller works with the local |
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Department of Economic Development. |
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She says the program has worked better |
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than many people expected. |
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"Boy, we didn't even know how many we would get. |
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We thought maybe one or two would be great, |
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but I don't think that we expected four," Miller said. |
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The project provides the new farmers |
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with specialised business training, |
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like marketing and business planning. |
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"They provided the connection with the landowner, |
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so I could actually have the land to farm on, which is key. |
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Then, certainly, they provided the financing |
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for the deer fence and the irrigation, |
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some basic things to get going," Mills said. |
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The program links the new farmer with an experienced one. |
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For Mark Mills, that person is Woody Woodroof, |
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he works at the Red Wiggler Farm in Maryland. |
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"The big thing to work with him on now is season extension, |
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helping him to do the things that will allow him |
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to harvest crops deeper into the fall |
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and early winter," Woodroof said. |
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Mr Mills' first year in farming was successful. |
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He produced about 450 kilograms of turnips, |
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90 kilograms of carrots, |
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and 130 kilograms of green leafy vegetables. |
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The hardest part was not growing the crops, he says. |
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The problem has been selling them. |
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Mr Mills says, his farm probably lost more money than it earned. |
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Luckily, his wife has a non-farm job, |
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and can provide financial support, at least for now. |
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Experts say many new farmers need to support themselves |
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with another source of income. |
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And that's the VOA Learning English Agriculture Report. |
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I'm Bob Doughty. |