The Role Of Values In Decision-Making Of Small, Vegetable Farmers In The Minneapolis-St. Paul Foodshed

Abstract

In a simplified and often romanticized view of agriculture, many consumers may think small, vegetable farmers are a straight forward group—persons in rural areas seem similar in nature through planting, growing, harvesting, and selling their produce. In reality, the farmers making up the small, vegetable farming community are complex and diverse. For example the farmers who participated in this study have identities as business-minded farmers who use social networks as a means of gaining skills and business connections, farmers who rely heavily on close-knit family groups and see farming purely as a job, farmers who fell in love with the humbling work of farming and see it as a connection to a higher cause, and generational farmers who see farming as a way to change the food system. Layered underneath each of these typologies is a complexity of forces driving small, vegetable farmers to farm. These dynamics forces influence how individuals evolve as farmers and interact with policies. This paper uses a mixed methods approach to better understand the values of small, vegetable farmers serving Minneapolis. With the goals of Homegrown Minneapolis, the food policy council for Minneapolis, in mind this paper aims to give better insight to decision-makers. By better understand the perceived pathway for change rooted in farmers’ perception of quality of life, epistemology, and perceived barriers, policy makers are better be able to create targeted polices and, in turn, reach the key goals outlined by Homegrown Minneapolis.