American Company Helps Small Farmers Make Money

American Company Helps Small Farmers Make Money

Five years ago, American James Faison could not imagine what he is doing today.

Faison worked in the state of Florida as a lawyer for large companies until 2012, when he moved to Virginia to start a farm business. But now, instead of raising crops, he is raising the earnings¹ of local farmers.

Faison seems at ease with life on a farm. Members of his family have been farming for many years. When his grandparents died, he and his brothers and sisters inherited their farm. He says that began the process of trying to decide what they were going to do with it.

Four years ago, Faison left his job as a lawyer in Miami and returned to the family farm in Virginia. Slowly, he began to learn about the economic issues farmers face.

“A lot of small farmers are struggling. And they’re working very hard, but they’re not able to drive the income from farming to sort of make it economically viable². The issue with agriculture in America is we only spend 6.8 percent of our income on food, which is the lowest in any industrialized nation. And so, since we spend so little on food, we expect food to be inexpensive, which means in order to make a living doing it, you have to have really, really big volumes. And so having big volumes of, of, of anything can be very expensive in terms of having enough cattle, having enough hogs³ or having enough infrastructure⁴ to support having those animals.”

Faison said he met with several farmers who raise animals naturally -- in other words, they do not give them hormones⁵, antibiotics⁷ or steroids.

After the meetings, Faison created a company called Milton’s Local, named for his grandfather. Today, his work day is very different from his work as an attorney⁸.

Milton’s Local markets and transports all-natural meat from local farms to stores and restaurants. Faison says the company helps farmers increase their earnings, supports the local economy and satisfies the buyers of these meat products.

“When you’re eating locally, you’re able to sort of support that farmer who raised it, you support that store who sold them the feed -- where you’re keeping more dollars in your community. The other part I, I think is people are really concerned about what’s being put in, into animals. So I think about 73 percent of all antibiotics used in the U.S. are used on animals. So that’s a really big problem -- especially in terms of antibiotic⁶ resistance. So I think that both movements will, will continue to, to grow and hopefully we’ll be able to grow with ‘em.”

Milton’s Local products are sold at MOM’s Organic Market in Arlington, Virginia. Chris Wolfe is the head of the store. He says it and other stores like it seek to sell all natural, organic products.

Milton’s Local products have been sold at the Arlington store for more than a year. People like the products, not just because they are natural but because they come from local farms.

“The farm is growing because we are demanding more because our customers are demanding more.”

That is good news for James Faison. He now works with more than 30 small farms in Virginia and North Carolina. He hopes Milton’s Local will expand, become more profitable⁹ and help more small farmers.

Words in This Story

viable – adj. capable of succeeding

volume – n. an amount of something

infrastructure – n. the basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly

hormones – n. a natural substance that is produced in the body and that influences the way the body grows or develops

antibiotics – n. a drug that is used to kill harmful bacteria and to cure infections

steroids – n. a drug that is sometimes used illegally by athletes to help them become stronger and more muscular and by farmers to help their animals grow larger more quickly

1 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

2 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

3 hogs   

n.（尤指喂肥供食用的）猪( hog的名词复数 )；（供食用的）阉公猪；彻底地做某事；自私的或贪婪的人

参考例句：

• 'sounds like -- like hogs grunting. “像——像是猪发出的声音。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• I hate the way he hogs down his food. 我讨厌他那副狼吞虎咽的吃相。 来自辞典例句

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

6 antibiotic   

adj.抗菌的；n.抗生素

参考例句：

• The doctor said that I should take some antibiotic.医生说我应该服些用抗生素。
• Antibiotic can be used against infection.抗菌素可以用来防止感染。

7 antibiotics   

n.（用作复数）抗生素；（用作单数）抗生物质的研究；抗生素，抗菌素( antibiotic的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the discovery of antibiotics in the 20th century 20世纪抗生素的发现
• The doctor gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 医生给我开了抗生素。

8 attorney   

n.（业务或法律事务上的）代理人，辩护律师

参考例句：

• He acted as attorney for me.他充当我的律师。
• The attorney for the union accused the Mayor of playing politics.工会的律师谴责市长在这次罢工中耍阴谋。

9 profitable   

adj.有益的，能带来利益的，有利可图的

参考例句：

• That business became profitable last year.那项生意去年变得很赚钱。
• The convention business is very profitable for the hotel industry.承办会议业务能给旅馆业带来很高的利润。