Welcome back to my mini series on being “Just a Farmer.” I recently saw a facebook meme that said “Farmers make 14% of the retail price you pay in the grocery store, that means a the person producing your food only makes $14 of every $100 you spend.” This felt very realistic, but I wanted to do some checking. An article from earlier in the year put out by the Washington Post had even worse news. It stated that farmers only get 7.8% of every dollar spent in stores. That isn’t a good number for farmers. In fact, in many cases it’s devastating. We can’t afford to farm much longer. It’s simply too expensive.
So that is where, in my humble opinion, the most important part of farming comes into play. Having Big Dreams. We must have, grow and cultivate a lifestyle of dreaming. Because dreams breed hope. Hope breeds passion. Passion breeds action. And action breeds results. It is through our dreams that we continue to find motivation. It is through our dreams that we continue to see each sunrise as a new opportunity. A chance to make better and create change.
Over the last several years, as I look through blog post, journal entries, facebook shares and the hundreds of conversations I have seen development and growth. Ross and I have come up with approximately a bazillion ideas for our farm. Very few have come to fruition at this point. However, our vision has narrowed, our goals developed and reality has pushed us.
So this is your warning, be prepared. We don’t do this for the money, we do it for the love of the farm, for raising our children in this wonderland. There will be more craziness and ideas coming your way. More opportunities to invest your time and energy into a small farm in Iowa. More memories to make, more pleasures to seek, more life to live. Please continue to share in our ventures, experiments, ideas and big dreams. We thank you deeply.
From our farm and hearts,
Happy Harvesting,
Leah & the Stammeyer Farmstead Crew
Harvesting Roots 
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