Everyone knows what farming is, but what is microfarming? And why is everyone talking about it?
Microfarming is a somewhat intuitive concept. It’s like farming but done on a much smaller scale. Instead of having dozens of acres of land to use for raising animals and growing crops, people are making the most of the space they have, whether it’s a patch of dirt in their backyard or a garden on the roof of their apartment building.
So why is it that microfarming is becoming more popular? And does this trend have the momentum to continue?
The Possibilities of Microfarming
There are many ways in which a person can tap into the power of microfarming:
- Animal rearing. Though some spaces may be limited in their potential for animal rearing (either due to legal restrictions or lack of space), some people can raise specific animals for meat or other products. For example, with even a small backyard, you can start raising chicks, eventually collecting eggs, breeding chicks for sale, or ultimately harvesting your hens for meat; in the meantime, you’ll have fun distributing snacks for chickens and watching them greet you each morning.
- Crops. You can also grow a multitude of different crops. Vegetables, fruits, and herbs are some of the most common, but you can also grow something more obscure (and more profitable), like gourmet mushrooms.
- Other options. Of course, you can use your land for microfarming in a variety of other ways as well. You can raise bees, grow flowers for sale, or even forage for edible plants and useful natural items.
Why Microfarming Is Becoming More Popular
So why the sudden trend? Why is microfarming becoming more popular?
- Desire for sustainability. A whopping 77 percent of people want to learn how to live more sustainably. Environmental sustainability is a topic of increasing interest and importance in the general public, and microfarming on your own property is one easy way to reduce your own carbon footprint. Growing your own crops means having total control over conditions, so you can grow sustainably; it also means you don’t have to drive to the store or buy crops that were shipped across the entire country to get to you.
- Desire for interaction with nature. Most of us have jobs where we stare at a screen or work with machinery all day. We don’t get the benefits of interacting with nature in our jobs, so we grow to crave it. From there, spending some time with animals or tending to flowers and crops can be richly fulfilling on a deep level.
- Wanting to be self-sufficient. Many people lean into microfarming because they like the idea of being as self-sufficient as possible. They don’t want to depend on going to the store for all their culinary needs. They don’t want to blindly trust other companies or individuals to provide them what they need. Plus, harvesting your own food tends to be more gratifying than simply buying ingredients from the store.
- Taste and culinary aspirations. There’s also a surge in interest in microfarming because of taste and culinary aspirations. Millions of people practice cooking as a hobby, and they’re always looking for ways to make their dishes “pop” or stand above restaurant-quality food. Many people report that the foods they’ve grown in their own backyard are tastier than what you can buy in the store; this could simply be because home-grown foods are fresher, but other factors may be in play as well. In any case, the desire for tastier home-cooked food is driving part of this trend.
- Monetary savings. Some people get into microfarming because they like the idea of saving money. Food in the store isn’t necessarily expensive in the United States, but in many cases, you can still get a much better deal by growing the food yourself. Seeds cost mere pennies, and with just a bit of watering each day, you can eventually turn them into a robust harvest of crops.
- New techniques and options. There are more options to start microfarming than ever before. You can purchase products designed specifically to make microfarming easier, such as indoor hydroponic gardens, or tap into the power of “life hack” style time-saving techniques in the microfarming world.
- Social possibilities and public knowledge. Microfarming is also becoming more popular thanks to social connections and public knowledge. Anyone with an internet connection can read a seemingly infinite number of online guides about microfarming, they can connect to other microfarmers on social media, and they can buy everything they need.
The internet will likely continue connecting microfarmers together and introducing them to easy, straightforward agricultural techniques. And the demand for greater sustainability is unlikely to go away anytime soon. Because most of the motivational factors on this list are likely to persist, it’s practically inevitable that participation in microfarming will only continue to grow.