• 21st Century Family Farming
“The fight to save family farms isn’t just about farmers. It’s about making sure that there is a safe and healthy food-supply for all of us. It’s about jobs, from Main Street to Wall Street. It’s about a better America.” -Willie Nelson, President, Farm Aid
When Mother Nature is your boss work can most assuredly be a gamble. The weather is rarely cooperating from year to year we are witnessing extremes of too hot, too cold, no rain, too much wind, no wind at all, a drought, an infestation of bugs, a new undiscovered disease but that is not the most dangerous nemesis of the family farmer it is rather their competition, the corporate farms. Most family farmers today have to possess an extremely flexible attitude about their livelihood in order to compete with the large government and corporate farms that have changed the farming landscape. In fact, the traditional family farm of yesteryear has become a bygone relic. In its place family farmers have had to step off their tractors and onto the stage turning their once serene acreage into a multiplex of games, rides and activities bustling with nostalgic simple fun. The lonely isolated life of farming where in history a farmer could spend an entire day in the field never seeing another human soul has dramatically changed to the family farmer-playing host to hay rides, petting zoos and corn mazes.
It is no wonder that family run farms have had to stretch their money making potential when the cost of a new combine or tractor is often well above the average home price. Many family farmers believe that the government and corporations are in cahoots and are planning on taking over agriculture completely, which would eventually result in price fixing and that is rarely good for the consumer. The inception of Farm Aid in 1985, where musicians and artists perform concerts and attempt to give something back to rural communities by spreading the word of the family farmers plight, has brought some attention to the decline of this way of life and the need for action from everyone who eats and is concerned with where their food is coming from.
It is a quandary for most family farmers today, survival, and one that Karen and John Pendleton can certainly relate to. They have had to adapt to the costumers needs, the demands of weather and our changing life-styles. Karen Pendleton says, “When we married and I moved to Lawrence, John had already started farming with his dad, and I was working at KU. A grant that I was working on ended, so I decided that it would be great to be able to stay home and help with the farm –great idea- no money. The early 80’s was a difficult time in farming as interest rates hit 21%, weather was bad (21 straight days over 100 degrees in 1980), and prices were hitting rock bottom. Farmers were loosing their farms all around the country. Most farmers we know were looking for other income producing areas. We put in ½ acre of asparagus to add a little to our family income. We weren’t sure the demand for asparagus was there…24 years later we now have 20 acres of asparagus! We added other products as people asked…They wanted more to buy when they came to the farm so we added spring crops that came on the same time as asparagus, like rhubarb, hydroponic tomatoes, peonies and bedding plants. In 1990 we began growing more flowers in our field, and now we have about 6 acres of flowers.”
Although, neither John or Karen went to school to study agriculture nor horticulture it was a natural fit that they would end up running a farm considering that they both come from a long line of food prevarers. John’s grandfather Pendleton ran the Kaw Valley Cannery in Lawrence, and his great great grandfather Theodore Phoehler owned Phoehler Mercantile here. His grandfather Higginbottom owned a grocery store in Winfield Kansas. Karen’s grandmother Riley grew up in the grocery business, as her father owned the Marcus Nieman grocery store in Piqua Kansas and her grandfather Strathman owned a wholesale company in Seneca Kansas.
Even though the Pendleton clan knows farming both Karen and John’s parents think they are crazy for letting people onto their farm. Karen states, “They are concerned about liability, and just having people around were we live all of the time. But we are the only “farmer friends” many of our acquaintances know, and we love sharing our passion for agriculture with people.” A new aspect to surviving in today’s farming landscape is the idea that your land; barn and home are all susceptible to being used as a revolving door to quench the public’s thirst for a rural taste of life and for your own farm’s growth and prosperity.
What are some of the activities that are hosted at the Pendleton’s Country Market? Karen gleefully responds with a litany of happenings, “We will be holding our Fall-For-All event again it is the 2nd weekend in October. We have arts and crafts vendors, food concessions, activities for the kids, fall decorating ideas and of course pumpkins and hayrack rides. On Labor Day weekend we will hold our annual employee garage sale, which coincides with a one weekend perennials sale, and monarch butterfly tagging. This last 4th of July we held a Dragonfly Festival that featured 4-Hers and Stan Herd making an earthen work to celebrate the 100th anniversary of 4-H, arts and crafts for kids, and bug hunts with entomology project members. The weekend before Thanksgiving we have our annual Holiday Sale featuring dried floral decorations for gifts and the home, and poinsettias. At this sale we also invite many local farms to come sell their products as well. Last year we had about a dozen other farms represented.” If you are unable to attend any of those scheduled events then meander out to the farm on any day of the week to pick your own flowers or fruits and vegetables or to beef up your perennial garden with a few of their potted plants for sale. Whenever you go there is always plenty to do.
Karen does not view their farm as an “agritainment emporium”, which is agriculture and entertainment condensed into a single word. She says, “Maybe we’re just lazy – we are growing vegetables and flowers on the farm, and it is easier to have people come out to the farm and pick them up, than for us to drive all around town delivering them. In order to attract more people out to the farm we started adding activities and events.”
What does the future hold for Pendleton’s Country Market in this unpredictable farming climate? No one really knows. Karen and John’s children have expressed desires to not take over the family farm but then again Karen never expected to be a farmer, she was planning on working in an Advertising Agency. So, the best-laid plans are never a straight and narrow course but if Karen were to try to see an image in her crystal ball, she says, “We will continue on with special events – trying to get more people out to the farm. We go to the farmer’s market, but we can take only a fraction of the products we carry to town. I’m hoping we will be the connection people have with food and agriculture, but I’m also realistic that it takes time to come out to the farm – something none of us have these days. I would like to keep people coming to the farm, getting fresh produce and flowers, and understanding where their food comes from.”
I can think of very few activities to partake in with your children around Lawrence that are both educational and inspiring. Food is the fuel that makes us strong and smart and we would all benefit (parents and kids alike) from knowing where it is coming from, Pendleton County Market can supply that knowledge. An abundance of fresh air and space to run and play well above and beyond any neighborhood park in Lawrence is also something that is in no short supply out on the Pendleton’s farm. So if you are in need of some good old-fashioned country living at its finest then load the family into the minivan and go soak in the ambience, learn a little, and do your part in keeping our family farmer’s a strong vital part of our American culture.
Did you know?
· The number of farmers under the age of 25 has decreased 50% in the last decade.
· 20% of American jobs have ties to Agriculture.
Sources:
Karen Pendleton