Over the past 100 years, the way we eat has changed dramatically. As our food production moved from small diverse family farms to large-scale monocultures, from small-scale processors to commercial manufacturers, from regional distributors to global trade, we have become separated from how we feed ourselves. The systems we set up — based on efficiency and profit — exploit workers and farm animals, pollute our land and water, and often produce food that is nutritionally lacking and lifeless.

According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, the largest farms in the US (at least $5 million in annual sales) make up less than one percent of total farms but 35% of all sales. In 2017, just 2.3 percent of food grown in the U.S. was sold locally. In Pennsylvania, as is the case across the US, the number of medium-sized farms is decreasing while big agriculture gets bigger; from 2012 to 2017, the number of harvest cropland from farms larger than 2,000 acres increased from 318,288 to 383,579.

As more of us have become aware of the problems large-scale industrial food systems have brought to our culture, health, and environment, we’ve started to rebuild an alternative system, re-learning how to grow food and feed ourselves. A resurgence in small farmers and farmers markets has fueled a growing interest in where our food comes from. Across Pennsylvania, eaters have increasingly more ways to access locally grown food, especially produce, meat, eggs and dairy.

The reclamation of staple food production by independently owned sustainable farms has lagged behind. But these crops -- like beans, grains, and oilseeds — make up a major portion of our diets and it is critical that we also grow these locally and sustainably.

Grains and beans play an important role in crop rotations; they prevent erosion, act as weed suppressors, and build soil health. They provide a source of accessible plant-based protein, which should take up more room on our plates than animal protein. They are storage crops, which means the supply can be more stabilized as our climate continues to destabilize; a stored bumper crop can hold us over during a bad harvest season.

These are not new crops in Pennsylvania. Farmers already grow corn, wheat, rye, sunflower and canola for oil. We need to continue to produce more of our staples locally; which requires infrastructure like combines, threshers and dehullers, storage bins and mills.

The local food movement should not be exclusive, and by intentionally including a diverse group of stakeholders, we can ensure that the local grains economy reflects and benefits the wide range of farmers, producers, and eaters in our state.                                                                                                                                        - Katherine Rapin

Sources:

Pennsylvania Agriculture: A Look at the Economic Impact and Future Trends, Version 1

Historic Agriculture Resources of Pennsylvania, 1700-1960: National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form