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PTR  ·  2557 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: A growing number of young Americans are leaving desk jobs to farm

Accurate.

And energy mitigation looks a lot like shitting into sawdust compost, sleeping in a trailer-house hybrid, small gas engine pump irrigation, wood stove, all hand tools except a walk-behind tractor from '89 that has no easy-to-find replaceable parts.

CSA shares supplemented by twice-weekly farmers markets might get you $3,600/month, but you've spent enough on gas and storage at this point that the real value you've incurred after a day at market is about $1.75/hr.

The only decision point that makes any of that easier is growing for a market with a cashable crop like fruit/berries or wholesale grains (non-optional at the scale discussed here) instead of growing for self-sufficiency and a portfolio of produce. To speak of something I know about, you can pack a shit ton of blueberries into 5 acres.