Sophia
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What's happening in the area I live in, small farmers are becoming non existent true, so the growing of potatoes, carrots, strawberries on the usual 20 acres, can't compare to the ones that have gone bigger in that area, with their own pickers, wrappers, cool stores, bigger machinery etc.
It's either go bigger or go bust.
And most of the farmland now is being used by flower growers, and vineyards, and agistment.
Some orchardists are still doing okay, with cherry trees etc.
At one stage, friends of ours, had a beaut lemon orchard, and lemons were worth nothing at a certain time in the past, and the trees were costing them a fortune to look after, especially if there was frost.
So they took all the lemon trees out.
Now, lemons are something like $1 each, 2 for $1 if you are lucky.
It's all to do with timing.
A lot of these older farmlands are being sold as 'renovated house on acreage' it's a desirable personal thing now to have space around a place. Some people even bother to have their own vege patch, the rest they just slash or mow with tractor or big ride on mower.
Hence what is happening to what once was an intensive farming area owned by many families making a living off 10 - 20 acres.
The old farmers retire, the kids don't want to farm or be farmers (they hated it since having to work on the farm as kids).
So that's how the dynamics of a place can change.
Sometimes by choice, sometimes, giving in to the larger companies that can take over (as they say, big fish eats little fish).
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