Small-scale farmers are experiencing growing pains as they adapt to the country’s expanding diet for locally grown foods and the exacting demands of high-volume distributors of their produce.

Companies such as Sysco, Whole Foods, and Wal-Mart want things like guaranteed volumes, set prices for an entire season and the ability to trace produce back to its source in the event of a food-related health scare.

Such standards, and other formal trappings of the business world like contracts, attorneys, technology, often conflict with the ethics, and practical considerations, of small-scale farmers, especially those who are deeply religious.

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