Today's post is the first of two that capture a conversation I had recently with my dad. We started by talking about the economic turmoil that is on everyone’s mind these days.
For retired folks like him, the gas prices over the summer had a big impact on discretionary income – forcing choices between common expenses and recreational activities. And that is not to mention the fear of impacts to savings and retirement accounts from the pervasive economic risk from the banking crisis.
One of the things that came to mind is the recent Progressive Farmer article that I mentioned last month – the farm resources that are needed to generate a livable income for a family of four, in terms of land or animals. For most of his childhood years, dad lived on a small family farm in the Stoneville, NC area, just a bit south of the VA/NC border, near Danville and Martinsville.
He told me that they got by on 40 acres. There were two types of crops on the land: 10 acres of “truck crops” – mainly vegetables for sustenance or for taking down to the farmers’ market; and four acres of tobacco – the “cash crop”.
The truck crops were similar to the ones some of our older neighbors in Alexandria grow on their double lot – squash, corn, tomatoes, and peppers. But the interesting part of my dad's story was about the tobacco crop.
When I was growing up and visiting there as a child in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s, tobacco was everywhere, characterized by its bright green and yellow colors, and the distinctive crop management process of taking of the lowest leaves for curing as soon as they were ready. Also I remember the curing barns scattered around the area. I even remember seeing tobacco farms like that in Maryland, as late as 1990, when I first moved back to this area – a familiar site that brought back memories of visiting relatives.
I've broken this topic into two messages, there is a second post coming tomorrow.
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