Update 2: This thread is still hot several months later, but a more recent episode of the Agroinnovations Podcast summarizes the conversation that has happened since this was published. Episode #160: The Failure of Permaculture Redux

Update: My response to some of the criticism of this episode is posted here.

Frank Aragona shares several articles that depict small-scale sustainable agriculture as a financial struggle, even for those with abundant capital and land resources. With story after story of small-scale sustainable producers struggling to make ends meet, he characterizes the permaculture movement as a failure on socio-economic grounds. Some suggestions for moving forward are offered. The episode concludes with a brief clip from an interview with Dr. Joe Kovach on the use of bees as microdelivery mechanisms for a biological fungal control agent. Thanks again to @ajtarnas for the Kovach clip.

Should You Quit Your Job and Become a Farmer? (via Marketwatch)

Don’t Let Your Children Grow Up to Be Farmers (via NY Times)

How To Help Small Farmers: A Farmer’s Words