I don’t usually write blog articles addressing general social or political topics. It’s not that I don’t have opinions on these topics, but mostly it’s that I have limited time and energy, and my talents are best used elsewhere. But in this moment, which feels on the brink of existential, I feel compelled to make a public case for why independent small farms and food businesses matter.
Friends, family, and even I sometimes struggle to understand why I toil away to keep our business going. Most often, I say nothing to these questions, as they’re usually posed as musings or offhand remarks after I’ve complained about a particularly bad day, and the question is there more to remind me that I have options rather than to suggest that I should use them. But if given a soapbox to stand on, I’d tell everyone that I love this business; it has provided me with an opportunity and an outlet to exercise creativity and problem-solving, and to grow as a person. I’ve experienced challenging situations that have helped me learn, mature, and flourish. This business has helped me hone my craft, my communication skills, and my humanity.
But even more than that, I deeply believe in what we’re doing. I believe that our customers, guests, employees, and our community benefit from what we’re doing as much as I do. That’s what makes this moment in the culinary world so distressing: the kinds of small, independent food businesses that bring so much value to their communities are struggling to survive. We see this in our own business, hear it from friends and colleagues in other small businesses, and see it in the loss of so many wonderful small-scale dairy farms, cheesemaking operations, and independent restaurants.
The Math Doesn’t Lie
Running a small farm and independent food business in today’s economy feels a little like trying to swim upstream in a flood. Across the country, family farms, artisan producers, independent restaurants, and locally owned shops are facing pressures that are often invisible from the outside. Costs have risen sharply, labor remains hard to find, and customers are understandably watching their spending more carefully than ever. We’re incredibly grateful for the people who continue to support small businesses in a moment when nearly everyone is feeling stretched. Yet despite all of this, small local businesses continue to make communities richer in ways that extend far beyond the products sold and the money exchanged. They create jobs, preserve craft and culture, provide unique experiences, and offer places to gather and feel connected.
For most small farms and artisan food businesses, the financial math has become brutally difficult. Feed, utilities, insurance, fuel, packaging, equipment, freight, and ingredients have all become more expensive. To name two examples among many in our own business, our costs to ship cheese have gone up 35%, and our liability insurance has increased 15% in just one year.
And skilled labor is both harder to find and more expensive to keep in an already labor-intensive industry. A small dairy or restaurant can’t automate away the care involved in tending to animals, making food by hand, aging cheese, cooking meals from scratch, or serving guests with warmth and hospitality. On top of that, small businesses spend a tremendous amount of time and money navigating insurance, licensing, inspections, food safety requirements, taxes, and compliance paperwork — obligations that serve real purposes but are far harder to absorb at a small scale, where a handful of people wear every hat instead of spreading the load across dedicated departments.
Scale compounds the problem. Large corporations benefit from efficiencies small businesses simply can’t access: bulk purchasing, industrial production systems, national distribution networks, and the ability to spread costs across millions of units. A small artisan cheesemaker or family farm making food carefully and intentionally can never compete on price alone with industrial-scale production. Nor should it have to.
The lingering effects of the COVID era have also left many independent businesses more fragile than they were before. Some depleted their savings during those years just to survive. Others took on debt, delayed maintenance, or lost experienced staff members who never returned to the industry. Now, many are trying to manage rising costs and uncertain supply chains with less financial cushion than they once had while customers are busy navigating their own economic precarity. Nearly everyone feels squeezed.
This creates a painful tension for small businesses. Customers see higher prices and sometimes feel frustrated. Business owners understand that frustration because we feel it too every time we pay an invoice. The reality is that many independent farms and artisan producers are not raising prices to increase profits. In many cases, and certainly in ours, we’re simply trying to stay afloat while preserving the quality and integrity of what we make.
What You’re Actually Paying For
Small independent food businesses provide something fundamentally different. We provide food with identity and character: food made by people who know every step of the process, care deeply about ingredients, and personally stand behind what they produce. We make foods made without unnecessary additives, stabilizers, preservatives, or shortcuts designed to maximize shelf life and minimize cost. In many cases, we provide products that consumers find easier to digest, more satisfying, and more flavorful.
Beyond the food itself, artisan food businesses provide something harder to measure: delight. A small farmstead cheese, a creatively prepared meal, or a handcrafted loaf of bread is not merely calories. It is pleasure, discovery, comfort, and connection. It’s the experience of tasting something made with care and intention rather than industrial efficiency. These businesses create gathering places, traditions, memories, and opportunities for human connection in a world that can feel increasingly impersonal.
Local businesses also return value directly back into their communities. When customers support independent farms, restaurants, and shops, more of that money circulates locally through wages, local suppliers, taxes, and community investment. Independent businesses help create vibrant downtowns, preserve agricultural landscapes, and sustain local food systems that might otherwise disappear.
We’re Not Asking for Pity — Just Understanding
Supporting small businesses today is usually not the cheapest option. Everyone is making hard financial decisions right now, and that reality deserves compassion and understanding. Still, when people choose to support local farms and artisan food makers when they can, they are helping preserve something important: diversity, craftsmanship, regional food culture, and a more connected local economy.
Small farms and independent businesses are not asking for sympathy. We’re asking for understanding. The prices customers see today reflect a much larger economic reality unfolding behind the scenes. Despite the challenges, many of these businesses continue doing the work because they believe good food, honest craftsmanship, hospitality, and community still matter.
In a world increasingly shaped by consolidation, automation, and sameness, small independent businesses offer something rare and worth protecting: the human scale of food, craft, and community.
Come Say Hello
So, come out and support our local independent businesses, keep your dollars in the community, build relationships, and find delight in the unique adventures we offer!
In case this got you wondering what you can do to help, here are some ways you can support our business and other local small businesses: Got a gift to send or want to treat yourself? Come visit your local independent shops. Shop at your local farmers market. Ask your grocery store to stock more local products and suggest the businesses you like.
And here’s one of my favorites: Give your local independent business a five-star online review. If you have critical feedback for a small business, by all means give it (we need your help to improve), but do it in person, or through an email or DM rather than using a public review. Your positive online review helps small businesses compete with deep-pocketed corporations that can game the system, but negative online reviews feed an algorithm that advantages companies that pay PR firms and advertisers. Plus, your privately given negative feedback is easier to accept, helps drive change, and is more likely to result in a satisfying resolution to your problem.
At Green Dirt Farm, we can send gifts and cheese for you through our ecommerce shop – https://www.greendirtfarm.com/shop/ or visit our restaurants in Weston (creamery.greendirtfarm.com) or in downtown Kansas City (oak.greendirtfarm.com) and enjoy the company of our real folks.
