ENHANCED LOCAL ECONOMY
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When most of us consider terms such as "farm" or "agriculture," advanced economics is often the furthest thing from our minds. Perhaps it should be the first thing on our mind. Agriculture is a lifestyle, a vocation, and an avocation, but it is also a business. As a business, it plays a significant role in our local economy.
Small and mid-sized farms help reduce unemployment rates by hiring local workers. Property and income taxes generated by farms funnel back to the municipalities and support community services... while using fewer of those services per acre than their non-farming neighbors. Farmers sustain other local businesses as they purchase goods and services from within their communities.
The effect of these farm businesses cannot be overestimated. The Austin Independent Business Alliance reports the significance of local businesses on our economy:
Shopping at locally owned businesses puts three times the dollars into our economy. A landmark study found that of $100 spent at a local business, $45 stays in the community. But that same $100 spent at a chain store would put only $13 in our local economy.¹
Consider the accumulated impact of even just one farm supporting local hardware stores, farm supply stores, business support providers, and the like. It is for such reasons as this that agriculture has been called the backbone of our country.
As you think about supporting your local economy by supporting your farms, The Bobolink Project offers a unique opportunity. Instead of using your purchasing dollar for corn, apples, or beef, your dollar provides habitat for one of our disappearing treasures: the Bobolink. In the process, you provide farmers with a new niche market (ecosystem services), support open spaces, promote water quality, and help reduce carbon in the atmosphere.
How's that for a guaranteed return on your investment?