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Lori Anne Lau My husband and I raise grass-fed beef and lamb on our family farm in Soda Springs, ID. We moved out of commodity agriculture a little over 4 years ago. We saw that our farm which had supported 4 previous generations of Lau’s, would not support our family if we stayed within the commodity agriculture model. Now that we are direct marketing our animals the farm is supporting the family, instead of a town job subsidizing the farm. I am passionate about creating a agricultural system (aka. Food system) that 1) feeds America, 2) pays America’s farmers a living wage and 3) is environmentally sustainable. Rural roots can help bring that about by helping to give food producers the information they need to create a vision that will work for their unique set of skills, and resources; by educating consumers about the current shortcoming in the industrial food model; and by informing policy makers about how their actions will affect the ability of people to produce, or purchase, the food of their choice. I believe that we will need food producers at a variety of scales to produce the food and fiber America needs. We need sustainable produced grains, meats, fruits, vegetables and fiber crops and all types of crops should be able to provide a living wage to those producing them. I’m hoping to use my familiarity with food producers at a variety of scales to help RR to recruit new members in the SE Idaho area. I am also aware of some of the issues that larger and/or commodity type producers face and so will advocate for programs that will benefit them, and thereby encourage their participation in RR and the sustainable agriculture movement in general.
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