[Vision2020] Farming/ was Sen Schroeder

[Garrett Clevenger]

I should have been clearer about the type of farming I'm advocating. Obviously the Palouse, which has some of the most fertile soil in the world, has a lot of large farms, which mostly grow wheat that is mostly exported to join the unsustainable global economy. They don't need to irrigate because there is enough precipitation to grow these dry-land crops. One person can farm 100's of acres in this type of farming.

On our farm, we grew about 35 crops last summer on a quarter of an acre. This food was consumed locally. Many other crops could be grown here, mostly dependent on irrigation. These are higher value crops than the larger farmers grow, and it is labor intensive farming.

We will double in size next summer and I will hire a worker to help. It's a lot of work, but very rewarding.

If we had $100 million to invest, we'd build greenhouses, and plant orchards, vineyards, berries and hops, among the other veggies we now grow, all of which would be consumed in the region. We wouldn't need a miracle crop, only access to water.

If we had the 200 acres Hawkins will gobble up, we'd be able to grow a lot more food and provide a lot of jobs which actually creates wealth, rather than redistributing it as retail and service does.

Hawkins is a national drain since more than likely most of the goods sold won't be made in the US. The money spent at Hawkins may fund some jobs, but a significant portion of that money will be shipped overseas to invest in other countries. That is short-sighted.

The only miracle I see needed in this conversation is one that will dig us out of the hole our fragmenting economy and ecosystems are leading us into. You can keep dumping trillions of dollars to rescue the economy and  keep wasting precious limited resources to build your mega-mall, but that is no guarantee our grandchildren will be better off. It seems we're actually leaving more of a mess our insatiable lifestyle is creating for them to clean up, which is completely selfish and irresponsible.

I'm curious, what goods will Hawkins offer that you can't find elsewhere in Moscow? What will you buy at this mega-mall that is so crucial to your well-being? Is that really worth the large footprint this mega-mall will create?

Garrett Clevenger