Small Farmers....Relics or the Future?

T-Rex tells us about an opportunity the Democrats are missing, small farmers.

....when I started this site, I thought of small farmers of relics of an older time that needed to change with the times. But I've changed my mind on this one. Through interactions with some actual farmers and through reading Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation, I've discovered that small farmers are basically the same as small businesspeople -- hardworking, mostly honest men and women who are just trying to make their way in modern society. And are getting screwed by large corporations and the Republican Party. The Democrats are missing an opportunity here, as these people largely vote Republican by default. Republican policies are destroying their lives, but the Democrats aren't offering anything any better to them, or really any different. If the Democrats got wise -- and lived up to their "party of the people" mantle -- they'd work harder to help out the small farmer. Some on the left have worked on this problem, but it's usually entertainers like Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, when it needs to be politicians.

Of course it goes without saying that this would be a great way to pick up some votes in the "Red States". There is another reason, the same thing that's going to be responsible for the major changes that are going to take place in the way we do business and the way we live, peak oil. While small farmers may depend on cheap oil the large corporate farming operations are totally dependent on it. As the diesel fuel to move the trucks that move the bounty of the large corporate farms becomes increasingly expensive more of our food will have to be grown locally. The small farmer is ideally suited to take advantage of this change and the corporate farms will go the way of the "Big Box Stores" when transportation become too expensive. The Republicans are only concerned with big corporate America not in small business or small farmers. The Democrats need to communicate that fact with actions that support both. In addition to political pay back they can help guaranty the survival of both. They will once again become the base of the US economy as increased transportation costs drive economics local.