When Google+ came out, I figured oh cool, now I can drop twitter, facebook, and the blog and just use Google+ for everything. But if Google+ is being used by more than a handful of people around where I live then its news to me. It just isn't taking over the other services as I'd hoped, even though it would be much better for all of us if the other less functional sites would just go away. (facebook and twitter, how about just throwing it in?) They seem to have reached critical mass, where like Ebay, the other sites are just never gonna get there because the biggest one is the only place most people care to be. Crappy or no, they seem to have traction and critical mass and I am stuck dealing with the mishmash SM stuff to spend my dark-outside time on.
I return to the blog for a simple reason: I have something on my mind. Its food of course: is the food we sustainably produce too expensive? Is it worth the blood, sweat, and tears to create this food if my friends can't afford to feed it to their kids? Isn't that why I started farming, to make better tasting, more nutritious, better for the planet and our community food for my friends to feed to their kids?
But what is "can't afford?" I know people who drive Lexus' and BMW's who don't buy local food because they think it is over priced. People who have read Omnivore's Dilemma, and have plenty of money, just can't see spending twice the price of Rosie when she's organic fed after all. I also have among my customers people who are clearly making every penny count but wouldn't buy a Rosie if their dinner depended upon it. Yet for everyone, food IS a large part of the monthly budget (even if its a smaller part in the USA than it is in every other developed country) and is everyone ready to double that? Then do it again? What if they are already having a hard time saving up a nest egg and nourishing the 401-K? Dont those 2 need to be prioritized over eggs with less cholesterol and more vitamin D? I mean, you don't DIE from eating a $1.50 dozen of eggs, but you could easily croak if you dont have health insurance and you get sick, at least if the tea-party gets to take over you are dead.
How can we prioritize something as indirect as our topsoil and our ocean and our atmosphere when these things are so vast that any major damage we do to them will only really manifest itself in our children or grandchildren's lifetimes? Paying for college and gas for the commute and the rent is so RIGHT NOW. Plus, these are the commons, and without everyone having a crystal ball isn't it a little silly to make financial sacrifices yourself when everyone else is just gonna go for what's cheapest? And as for the welfare of animals, well, what's more important, animals or people? Vegans you are not spared, your vegetable mono-crops come at the expense of wildlife from huge to microscopic, both on the farm and very very far away. It is shipping our topsoil off to the ocean. It is messing up the climate, terrestrial hydrology, and polluting non-stop.
A Kurt Vonnegut quote comes to mind. I can't remember what it was exactly but it was something along the lines of "I smoke because I'm too cowardly to commit suicide all at once." We can't see the future, these changes are happening slowly and the effects are absorbed by the vastness of the systems involved (the solution to pollution is dilution). A few people have put some money into getting some data that shows us that sustainably produced food is actually better for our bodies. Focus groups have shown that people won't really pay more for the environment but they will pay more if they think its better for their health. But there isn't much out there proving that conventionally farmed food is actually bad for our bodies. There is a lot of unexplained illness and disease we didn't used to have (heart failure, cancer) but this could be environmental too, or social issues like more stressful lives. So we are back to why pay $8 for something you can get for $1.50?
Why can you get it for $1.50 anyway? How did that happen? Developing systems that reduced risk, minimized labor, and maximized efficiency. What are the costs and who pays? Animal suffering=not me, environmental degradation=not me, human exploitation(cheap labor)=not me. Also governmental corruption subsidizing any farming that is cheaper than the others makes this uber-cheap food possible. Modern marketing further allows for pushing food that isn't really food at all and for changing traditional nourishment strategies into modern ones. How in the hell have we convinced people of the complete oxymoron that food should be cheap and illegal immigration is just a bunch of criminals ruining our country? Media/marketing of course.
People will say that markets determine all of this. Cheap food exists because there is a market for it, and sustainable will take over only if and when the market demands it. Alas markets are not truly free of outside forces and thus dont work in reality as well as they should in theory. We behave irrationally for a variety of reasons. But most importantly I think that the corrupting power of money has so much control over policy that we have the markets we do in a large part because super wealthy people think its better for them this way. I disagree, I think the current economic system as deployed since Reagan of dismantling the New Deal is weakening the middle class, the true big spenders of our economy, which actually hurts the wealthy, who's wealth is invested in markets which crash when the middle class has no more money to spend. Robert Reich just nails this one: first we sent women to work, then we worked longer hours, then we borrowed like no tomorrow, and now there's just nothing left for the middle class to do for themselves to increase their spending power. Their bosses just have to increase their pay at this point for their wealth to grow. And that ain't happening you communist america hater. As long as we can be convinced that the reason our local governments are so broke is because of teacher, police, and fire-fighter pensions then we aren't going to make any progress strengthening the middle class. And of course, its gotta go way beyond the public sector, the middle class needs more wealth across the board. The wealth is right there in Warren Buffet's bank account. He's one of the good guys, but the point is, the super rich are richer and more numerous and powerful because the middle class is dwindling, and educational quality has been dropping for a while now, and we are all plugged into a media that can convince anyone that which is bad for them is actually good and vice-versa. I'm not convinced there is really such a thing as wealth creation. I think its a vast closed system, like the atmosphere, and it all sorta sloshes around. You add to this pile by removing some from that one.
So maybe the question isn't why should we pay more for food when we have so little money to go around and should instead be why is there so little money to go around? Its basically the force behind the Occupy protests, why do I have enough free time to Occupy this place instead of working? Because I have no job. Because the old contract with our society, that if I'm willing to work hard for a lifetime I get to have kids and a place to live and a good education for them and a comfortable old age has been chucked out the window.
We live in THIS place, at THIS time, with THIS system. A local farmer once admonished a bunch of us: "we farm in the economy we have, not the one we want" and surely the same is true for the consumer. So what can we do?
-pray, work, and advocate for change towards a more just society
-vote
-buy direct from a local farm so they can farm sustainably and you can afford it since there isn't a middle man with his margin
-plant a garden
-get skilled in your kitchen
-heck if I know
I wish I really knew the answer and could figure out how to produce wholesome food for less right here in Sonoma county, without cheating the land, our employees, or our livestock. They after all give their last measure of devotion to become immortalized as part of our children.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
lets try this again
OK, its been a few months again. the longer it gets the more daunting the post ultimately becomes, thus forming a vicious cycle. To break this, I'm going to resort to posting pics of the various farm babies and other iphone pictures of interest since February. It seems as soon as the goat kids and piglets popped out I knew I had to post their pics but just haven't found the time. Well, here goes.
Jeremy with a new barbados lamb back in December.
me scratching monster's belly. he's a bottle baby, his mom had too small a pelvic bone for birth and he had to be pulled with an obstetrical snare. we lost the rest of his litter and his mom had to take up residence in our freezer. but out of the bottle feeding we got the nicest baby pig you could wish for. He has been a cute little honker to have around.
Our egg operation in full glory just after moving down from the spot behind the photographer. It was in the middle of the pasture 2 weeks before that, where you can see the bare spot near where one of the coops were. That's what chickens do to the grass around their coop where they hang out all day and why you have to move the coop if you want to have superior eggs. you either have to move the coops or pray that the "local" movement will help sell your eggs since they aren't much better than a CAFO.
Eggmobile2 after its retrofit. Chicken farmers have to replace their flocks at 2 years when their laying tapers off and they eat more money in feed than they make in eggs. That gives me a perfect opportunity to fix the things I didn't like about my 2nd coop. It got new water tanks, and nipples inside and out, which are much more sanitary and less failure prone than the gravity based waterers.
Tamworth litter. Only one gilt though, the rest were barrows. We learned how to fix them, not nearly as bad as I'd thought. I sold the gilt for a weaner price to a nice lady who wanted to breed her. Next litter I will have the confidence to sell the best ones for a higher price as breeding stock.
Cinnamon's twins: sugar and nutmeg, still wet from being born. We had 9 kids out of 4 does and it never got boring. I guess we are doing something right.
Meat chickens on pasture. More water nipples. These things are a labor saver and the consistent water that never fails is a plus for consistent bird size and good growth throughout.
Between brooder room and eggmobile we grow out pullets in these things I call "hoop tractors" of my own design. I have to move them with a tractor. This eggmobile2 replacement flock had some nice birds in it, this RI Red climbed me while I was moving their shelter.
She knows the best place to ride. Thank God for coffee btw. Just noticed it and thought I'd mention how much I love it.
OK blog. Sorry about the neglect. I think your problem is that you aren't a living thing, those have to take priority over you, simply a bunch of typed words and linked images.
Jeremy with a new barbados lamb back in December.
me scratching monster's belly. he's a bottle baby, his mom had too small a pelvic bone for birth and he had to be pulled with an obstetrical snare. we lost the rest of his litter and his mom had to take up residence in our freezer. but out of the bottle feeding we got the nicest baby pig you could wish for. He has been a cute little honker to have around.
Our egg operation in full glory just after moving down from the spot behind the photographer. It was in the middle of the pasture 2 weeks before that, where you can see the bare spot near where one of the coops were. That's what chickens do to the grass around their coop where they hang out all day and why you have to move the coop if you want to have superior eggs. you either have to move the coops or pray that the "local" movement will help sell your eggs since they aren't much better than a CAFO.
Eggmobile2 after its retrofit. Chicken farmers have to replace their flocks at 2 years when their laying tapers off and they eat more money in feed than they make in eggs. That gives me a perfect opportunity to fix the things I didn't like about my 2nd coop. It got new water tanks, and nipples inside and out, which are much more sanitary and less failure prone than the gravity based waterers.
Tamworth litter. Only one gilt though, the rest were barrows. We learned how to fix them, not nearly as bad as I'd thought. I sold the gilt for a weaner price to a nice lady who wanted to breed her. Next litter I will have the confidence to sell the best ones for a higher price as breeding stock.
Cinnamon's twins: sugar and nutmeg, still wet from being born. We had 9 kids out of 4 does and it never got boring. I guess we are doing something right.
Meat chickens on pasture. More water nipples. These things are a labor saver and the consistent water that never fails is a plus for consistent bird size and good growth throughout.
Between brooder room and eggmobile we grow out pullets in these things I call "hoop tractors" of my own design. I have to move them with a tractor. This eggmobile2 replacement flock had some nice birds in it, this RI Red climbed me while I was moving their shelter.
She knows the best place to ride. Thank God for coffee btw. Just noticed it and thought I'd mention how much I love it.
OK blog. Sorry about the neglect. I think your problem is that you aren't a living thing, those have to take priority over you, simply a bunch of typed words and linked images.
Monday, February 28, 2011
2011 chicken season email
Dear Customers and Friends,
I am pleased to announce the schedule for my pasture fed chicken
program this year. I know many of you are hooked on our high standards
and I apologize for making you wait so long for this announcement.
We've been busy! We now have a new farm in Sebastopol with excellent
soil (but no driveway, water, or power yet :) and we'll be farming our
chickens on that good grass starting in just a few weeks. Now our
investments in topsoil through careful ecosystem management will
permanently benefit our own programs.
Because we supplement the natural forage diet with the highest quality
USA grown organic grains from Modesto Milling, we need to raise our
price slightly to $5.50/lb this year to ensure the viability of this
program.
Chickens will be available on the following dates:
4/10 & 4/17
5/8 & 5/15
6/5 & 6/12
7/3 & 7/10
8/7 & 8/14
9/4 & 9/11
10/2 & 10/9
11/6 & 11/13
12/4 & 12/11
Those are all Sundays, but customers will also be able to pick their
chicken from that harvest up on Monday for convenience. After that
self-pickup out of the walk-in is arrangeable for emergencies but is
discouraged.
If you like a smaller chicken 3.5 - 4 lbs then try to order from the
first week. The second week birds tend to be a little bit larger,
4-4.5. But there are always larger ones in the first harvest and
smaller ones in the second so don't worry too much about this
guideline.
In other news, I have a few lambs available that will be harvested
next month. My sheep are hair sheep, they shed out their wool when the
weather warms up, so they do not have the strong lamb/lanolin flavor
that some people when they've tried lamb have decided they do not
like. Give mine a try in that case, the flavor is out of this world
and you will broaden your cooking horizons as you seek recipes for the
various cuts you will receive. I only sell whole live lambs so they
can be harvested onsite for minimum stress. The price is still $3/lb
on the live weight so its around $7-8/lb once all the butchering is
done and paid for. I ask for a $40 deposit to reserve your lamb.
It is with great pleasure and excitement that I make this announcement
to open the 2011 chicken. Now, let the hard (but rewarding) work
commence!
sincerely,
-marc
p.s. if you want to be removed from my mailing list please reply to this
email with some words to that effect and I will make it happen. alternately,
if you know people who like local high quality food, I have expanded my efforts
this year and would welcome new customers. thanks!
I am pleased to announce the schedule for my pasture fed chicken
program this year. I know many of you are hooked on our high standards
and I apologize for making you wait so long for this announcement.
We've been busy! We now have a new farm in Sebastopol with excellent
soil (but no driveway, water, or power yet :) and we'll be farming our
chickens on that good grass starting in just a few weeks. Now our
investments in topsoil through careful ecosystem management will
permanently benefit our own programs.
Because we supplement the natural forage diet with the highest quality
USA grown organic grains from Modesto Milling, we need to raise our
price slightly to $5.50/lb this year to ensure the viability of this
program.
Chickens will be available on the following dates:
4/10 & 4/17
5/8 & 5/15
6/5 & 6/12
7/3 & 7/10
8/7 & 8/14
9/4 & 9/11
10/2 & 10/9
11/6 & 11/13
12/4 & 12/11
Those are all Sundays, but customers will also be able to pick their
chicken from that harvest up on Monday for convenience. After that
self-pickup out of the walk-in is arrangeable for emergencies but is
discouraged.
If you like a smaller chicken 3.5 - 4 lbs then try to order from the
first week. The second week birds tend to be a little bit larger,
4-4.5. But there are always larger ones in the first harvest and
smaller ones in the second so don't worry too much about this
guideline.
In other news, I have a few lambs available that will be harvested
next month. My sheep are hair sheep, they shed out their wool when the
weather warms up, so they do not have the strong lamb/lanolin flavor
that some people when they've tried lamb have decided they do not
like. Give mine a try in that case, the flavor is out of this world
and you will broaden your cooking horizons as you seek recipes for the
various cuts you will receive. I only sell whole live lambs so they
can be harvested onsite for minimum stress. The price is still $3/lb
on the live weight so its around $7-8/lb once all the butchering is
done and paid for. I ask for a $40 deposit to reserve your lamb.
It is with great pleasure and excitement that I make this announcement
to open the 2011 chicken. Now, let the hard (but rewarding) work
commence!
sincerely,
-marc
p.s. if you want to be removed from my mailing list please reply to this
email with some words to that effect and I will make it happen. alternately,
if you know people who like local high quality food, I have expanded my efforts
this year and would welcome new customers. thanks!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
harvested today
We had a goat and lamb harvest today. I was quite pleased with the sizes, most lambs broke the 60 lb barrier which is what I'm shooting for in the hair sheep. You might wonder why I farm such small lambs, when wool breeds easily get 80 lbs or more? Well, some people really dont like that strong lamb/lanolin flavor, and my hair sheep don't have it. So most of my lamb customers can't believe the mild and delicious flavor and they come back for more.
Sorry for the squeamish about this pic, but this is how a stress-free lamb graduation ceremony looks when its done on farm. They get to meet their maker with a minimum of fear.
Here's a pic of Nate the other day doing one of his favorite things. I'm looking forward to the help of this farm hand:
for now though, this is pretty good Nate and Daddy time:
Sorry for the squeamish about this pic, but this is how a stress-free lamb graduation ceremony looks when its done on farm. They get to meet their maker with a minimum of fear.
Here's a pic of Nate the other day doing one of his favorite things. I'm looking forward to the help of this farm hand:
for now though, this is pretty good Nate and Daddy time:
Saturday, February 5, 2011
its been a while
Here's us in the middle of moving the eggmobiles on the new farm. All but eggmobile2 are moved to their new location. Eggmopbile4 is red (youngest birds) Em1 is yellow (second youngest) Em3 is blue (second oldest), Em 2 is green (oldest), with the tractor connected in foreground. Em2's replacement birds are on pasture in the hoop tractors in the deep background which have been depicted in previous blog posts.
Carrie is grabbing a feeder in the old pasture. We have adjusted the space we give each flock, the old birds need less pasture and the young birds more, you can see the pasture degrading as it fades into the background.
Jeremy turned 7. We had his birthday in conjunction with another kid in his class so as to help minimize the amount of birdthay parties for the class this year...
And finally, they got hold of the entire bottle of bubble bath. Yup, daddy checks his email for one second and this is what happens:
Carrie is grabbing a feeder in the old pasture. We have adjusted the space we give each flock, the old birds need less pasture and the young birds more, you can see the pasture degrading as it fades into the background.
Jeremy turned 7. We had his birthday in conjunction with another kid in his class so as to help minimize the amount of birdthay parties for the class this year...
And finally, they got hold of the entire bottle of bubble bath. Yup, daddy checks his email for one second and this is what happens:
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