Agriculture of the Middle
Note: Term used by Klaus Mager to describe small-to-medium farmers during his Regenerative Agriculture discussion on the OGM 2025-11-06 call.
Who Are They?
Small to medium-sized farmers who:
- Can't access wholesale markets
- Too big for just farmers markets
- Too small for industrial agriculture
- Squeezed by economies of scale
The Problem
Market Access:
- CSAs + farmers markets = only ~3% of total food sales
- Can't compete with industrial agriculture
- Can't afford capital-intensive "smart agriculture"
- Being excluded from market
Equipment Costs:
- Need different equipment for regenerative practices
- Cover crops require special machinery
- Expensive initial investment
Klaus's Solution
Aggregation/Bundling:
- Small farmers working together
- Combined access to wholesale markets
- Shared infrastructure
Dual Revenue:
- Food crop (traditional)
- Environmental services (new)
- Makes regenerative practices economically viable
Why They Matter
This segment:
- Can adopt regenerative practices
- Not locked into industrial systems
- More flexible and adaptive
- Collectively significant scale
Schumacher Institute Project
Working to:
- Get food hubs into wholesale markets
- Create secondary revenue streams
- Enable regenerative transition
Related Concepts
Back to README