Exploited Farmers

Rereading my entry about the Farm Bureau rebuttal to Time’s article, I am struck by one huge irony:  the commodity farmers “at the heart of the quantity-over-quality” food system are among the ones being exploited.  Why would the Farm Bureau defend the current system?
And: What the heck is the Farm Bureau again????
I have tried to get this answer from my Country Insurance guy (not CountryWide) since they are backed by the Farm Bureau.  His answer involved a historical set up:  “back in the day,” “farmers helping farmers...”
By joining, I do know I get a 30% discount on eyeglasses.
I think that commodity farmers, many of them having been in the biz for all of their adult lives (40-60 years), are committed to the system largely due to the size of their investment.  The investment in machinery and land as a commodity farmer is gargantuan.  Legacy is really the only way to get in the game today.   For the committed commodity farmer, asking him to change his style of farming might be like asking Todd to stop skateboarding.  Or something like that.  There ARE organizations out there trying to persuade farmers to grow organic commodities, one being a certifying agency in Wisconsin called MOSA.   They help the farmer see marketing opportunities outside of the status quo.  Way outside.  Like Europe.
AS FOR NEWS ON THE FARM
Chickens are doing fine, by the way, as long as the dog is accompanied by a watchful human.  They are giving us about 9 eggs a day.
Frost last week took out our bed of chard.  If we don’t see some sun, we may not have more lettuce for market.  Come out sun!