How to Make a Living Off 1 Acre

“You can’t”.

That was how the Chris Smith workshop at The Organic Centre started today. Here are the sums: 1 person must work 60 hours per week for around 8 months. This person needs a kindly spouse to put in an additional 20 hours per week around their ‘normal’ job. A WWOOFER (willing worker on organic farm) volunteer adds another 30-40 hours to the pot each week. The remaining 4 months can be managed by 1 person for around 20-30 hours per week. Et voila, a gross turnover of about €25,000 p.a.

If you are lucky enough to have a willing wife/husband/lifepartner on hand, bringing in a cash income, and working part-time for you for free, AND if you are happy to open your home to give bed and board to a student/stranger (albeit an organic one) in return for them working for free, then by my sums you can pay yourself around €7.95 (£5.30) per hour. If you have to pay for this labour, you are probably looking at €2-3 per hour left for yourself. The truth is, it’s rarely possible to pay for the extra help, and small scale organic hort seems only to work with access to free labour, and/or a second cash income for the grower.

There are non-financial benefits to being an organic grower – you get to work from home, work for yourself, work outside, be in touch with the land and the seasons, and have access to the best, freshest, healthiest, tastiest produce to put on your family's table.

BUT realistically, is it any wonder that local organic produce is in such short supply, and most people invariably buy plastic wrapped organic imported veg in supermarkets? What little there is exists only because it is heavily subsidised by the passion and determination of the growers. Relying on this does not add up. Maybe peak oil will drive inputs and transport costs up so much that conventional food prices will continue to rise, and local organic might end up being the comparatively cheaper option. Isn't there something we can be doing until then though??