ABSTRACT
While at a statewide agricultural meeting in Iowa, the author had a conversation with a new community-supported agriculture (CSA) producer. The 'big guys' in Iowa also benefit from a well-established economic support system that alleviates many of the financial risks, and therefore much of the stress, of farming. Commodity producers have access to federal price supports through the farm bill, and numerous crop insurance programs are in place to cushion the impact of crop failures resulting from natural disasters such as floods, hail, and drought. Farmers on small CSA farms do not have access to any of these support systems. Chief among farm hazards is the tractor, with rollovers and runovers causing the most injuries and deaths. The schism between alternative and conventional production runs deep; it is not limited only to health and safety outreach. Social science researchers have also helped to widen the gap between conventional and alternative production.
