Among the producers we spoke with, there was a range of thoughts on the existence of competition and the willingness to share.

 

Most of our new producers expressed little concern with competition and were more open to sharing.

 

P10 felt that since there was so much demand competition was really a non-issue. he explained:

“My experience with it has been that there’s very little concern about that...I totally don’t see people being competitive, mostly I think ‘cause there’s so many in our area, there’s such a gigantic demand for this stuff, that it’s totally unable to be met at the moment by local farmers that I kind of feel like the more we can all, the more farmers there are doing this, the better we’re all doing, the better it is in terms of us having more resources in our community related to farming.”

 

He elaborated, saying:

“If there were way more farmers doing what I’m doing or farmers growing commodity corn who were growing vegetables, I would see it as a total asset instead of as competition and I don’t envision that even if every farmable acre was being used in my region that it would be enough to satisfy the demand.”

 

P13 felt similarly, saying:

“For the most part, at least where we are, we don’t really have any competition...just not that many growers in the area. There is plenty of market out there…whatever it is 1 or 2 percent of the population that goes to the farmers market...I think the more knowledge you have and the better you can do, the better it is. My experience is farmers are very open to sharing what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.”

 

On the other hand, P14, another new producer, felt that producers were less open to sharing. She expressed some hesitation regarding sharing farm journals, saying, “I feel like that is more of a like a personal thing. I’m not sure if people would be willing to.” She also felt that not all producers would be willing to share their crop plan since, in her mind, “it’s kind of proprietary information, it’s what you’re going to make your living off of.” Personally though, P14 did choose to share her crop plan with 40 students at a college she taught at, claiming that “it really just depends on the person.” Even though P14 had some reservations about producers sharing tools such as farm journals and crop plans, she felt that most were open to answering specific questions that she had: “I definitely asked some local farmers ‘what are your best varieties for carrots,’ ‘what salad mix varieties do you use?,’ she said, “they generally tell you that stuff without any issues.”

 

Some of the more established producers felt as P14 had thought some would, that competition was a real threat, limiting the potential for sharing among produces.

 

P5 mentioned how P3, who worked at the same farm as him, once asked one of their neighbors for cuttings, but the neighbor refused thinking it would result in “direct competition.” P5 went on to say that “farmers are funny, they can be real personable and real non-personable.” 

 

P2 said that some of his competitors were “a little more guarded” and that “farmers are private people, you know,” though he was surprised by the willingness of some producers to share. "Organic farmers are more open to explaining their tricks than I thought," he said. This may have been in part due to producers struggling together to ‘figure out’ organic and champion the cause, as explained previously.

 

P3 believed that there was a “real range on competitiveness, some farmers are very helpful while others treat information as very proprietary.” He went on to say that “for the most part, other farmers are generous about sharing.”

 

One of the apprentices we spoke with, A2, mentioned how, in his experience, the “old guys” who ran the farms in his area had already “made their decisions about how they’re going to irrigate” and other such choices which are now “points of contention” among other producers in the area. “They get kind of uppity about it,” he said and two of them do not even speak to each other anymore as a result of what he said was “a lot of ego.” A2 went on to say that part of this contention was because “who you are is very public within the farm community” and “it’s very evident how well you’re doing” since you easily compare pounds produced or see that “that’s good looking broccoli or those turnips need more phosphorous.”

 

Some of this variation in thought on competition and sharing may actually be more of a result of where these producers live and the market in their area than the fact that they are new producers just starting out versus established producers more set in their ways.

 

P14, one of the new producers, touches upon this point, saying:

“Sonoma County is saturated in organic farms but there’s still a huge need for people to be eating organic and nutritious food, so I think there’s a lot of room for growth. There’s competition but there’s room for growth, and I think it’s healthy for there to be competition, it makes everyone strive for better quality control.”