Crop Mobs Coming to a Farm Near You

Mobs of folks wielding pitchforks and shovels are storming small farms across the nation. But I assure you, they're not angry, nor are they hunting witches, ogres, or any other kind of monster. They just want to revolutionize agriculture.

They're crop mobs, a new phenomena that's taking off everywhere from major cities to small towns in rural America. How it works is this: A group of agricurious people organizes informally, usually through Facebook or some other form of social media. Once a month or so, organizers email the group with the location of a small, local farm. Members looking to get their hands dirty and pitch in for the day then descend on the farm, and voila, a crop mob.

The original Crop Mob started in North Carolina in 2008, and since then the movement's been growing almost as fast as the produce volunteers plant. According to USA Today, there are more than 30 crop mobs throughout the U.S. The relatively new Twin Cities Crop Mob lists 160 members on its Facebook page, while the original North Carolina mob boasts more than 400 members on its email listserv. Of course not all these members show up to every event, but most mobs consist of anywhere from 10 to 50 participants.

The idea is cutesy in a Green Acres sort of way, and it definitely fosters a sense of community just like any other volunteer organization. But what's most important about this burgeoning trend is just how strongly it pushes the sustainable food movement forward. Volunteers show up at these small, local farms for the day and help with any number of tasks, from building pig pens to preparing summer gardens to pulling rocks out of the ground. And for them, it's just one day of fun and a free lunch. But for farmers, a group of 20 volunteers working together can accomplish months' worth of work in a single afternoon. Small, ecologically minded farms typically lack the resources to hire all the help they need, relying only on the farmer and a couple of farmhands. Help from a crop mob—even if it's just for one day—acts like a godsend for these struggling farmers.

I'm also hopeful that groups like these will encourage more people to take up farming. The sustainable food movement really depends on small, ecologically minded farms to provide local, seasonal fare. But the life of a small farmer can be filled with back-breaking labor, low paychecks, and not a whole lot of social interaction. "It's not sustainable physically, and it's not sustainable for people personally: They're working all the time and don't have an opportunity to have a social life," Rob Jones, one of the founders of the original Crop Mob, told the New York Times. "So I think Crop Mob brings a sense of community that people are looking for, and you get a lot of work done. And we have a lot of fun." Crop mobs bring a communal feel back to small farming, much like old-fashioned barn-raisings did.

I think this movement is also inspiring for all the non-farmers out there. Sometimes it feels difficult to really impact the sustainable food movement when you're not, in fact, a food producer. Crop mobs represent a way that everyday folks—be they doctors, lawyers, or insurance salesmen—can help revolutionize agriculture.

Photo credit: emillette via flickr