Brett's Agroecology Blog #5

 Social and Political Lens of High Rock Nursery

Every farm is a unique part of the larger food system. High Rock Nursery is unique because they grow and sell food for the people that know of their farm and food stand. There is no distribution to stores or anything of that hierarchy. They are a small family farm that sells to the town of Lexington, however High Rock Nursery still falls under the umbrella of a larger food system. The corporate power is ultimately  hurting High Rock Nursery and other small family farms because of the fact that in big name stores the selection of good food options is small and it pushes these independent farms out of business. Thomas has the direct influence on what goes on and how it is ran as the owner, there are other factors that go into his decision making because of internal and external social factors. Although Thomas holds power of what directly goes on at the farm, he has little to no power when it comes to outside connections for growth and reach of products. The sole factor that will keep High Rock Nursery in business for years to come will be the advertisement and distribution to more people in the area of Davidson County, there are other bigger farms in Lexington that sell their crops to big distribution and corporate companies. The uniqueness of buying fruits and vegetables from a stand three minutes down the road is why my family has supported and bought High Rock Nursery's products for the past 5 years. The more people know about High Rock Nursery and everything they grow and sell the better they will succeed. I believe in 20 years High Rock Nursery will have had some growth and will be selling from multiple stands around Davidson County.