Winding Up

The wind is winding up. Say that however you would like.

During most of the rest of the year, T & I blissfully forget exactly how windy it gets on the farm in the Spring. The weather may be getting nicer in terms of temperature, length of day and amount of sunshine - but the wind can turn what looks like a beautiful day into a bit of a struggle for us.

I was just reminded this AM that my eyes will be taking a bit of a beating through the first part of the growing season. Just enough so that I might reconsider finding some biking glasses to wear during the windiest of days.

I do get extra exercise chasing my hat around after it blows off my head. Or chasing plastic trays (used for starting plants). Or chasing row covers. Or chasing anything else that isn't anchored to the ground and relatively heavy for that matter.

It is a bit humorous watching the cats try to walk in this wind. If they try to walk perpendicular to the wind direction, they tend to walk just a bit 'crooked' with the back end being a bit off-center. A few weeks ago, I actually saw DB slide across an ice patch because the wind pushed him sideways on it. While he didn't think it was funny, I did - until my hat blew off.

Brown Bagging It

Here at the farm, we encourage self-sufficiency. Cubbie, one of our outdoor cats, understands this quite well.

Yes, we do feed the outdoor cats every day - but just once in the morning, and not too much. We need them to help with rodent control.

If she catches a rodent and we're around, she tends to meow to get our attention and our praise. Normally, she will wait until we skritch her and tell her how wonderful she is. Then we tell her we do not want to eat her prize - at which point, she will typically begin to eat it in our presence. Nice.

Today was a bit different. She'd just had her breakfast. She managed to catch a mouse. She yodeled for attention. She got it. I went to do something somewhere else. Some time later, she appeared there - with the mouse - and asked for more praise. She got it.

I went somewhere else and the same thing happened. I left for town to run an errand or three. I came back. She was in a new location, with the same mouse nearby.

She's been carrying this mouse around like a brown bag lunch all morning now. Never know when she might be hungry.

If she offers to share again, I think I'll still decline.

Irony

We have only seen two Spring training baseball games in person. One in Florida some years ago and now one in Arizona.

The first game was really a scrimmage between the Cincinnati Reds and... well.. the Cincinnati Reds. Since this is R's favorite team, it was a very good thing. His team was guaranteed to win.

It was a windy day and it tended to knock the ball down if it was hit to left field - so there were some well-hit balls that might have gone out on another day. Got to see a guy named Hector Carrasco throw the ball at around 99 mph in the bullpen and figured out why Barry Larkin was an All-Star. Good stuff.

But, here's the most memorable part. Roberto Kelly was the Reds starting center fielder at the time. midway through the game - he smacked a ball into left-field and he took his sweet time heading to first. Obviously, he thought it was a home run. Well, the ball died in left at the wall. He realized this as he got to first and sped up in an effort to at least get to second base. He was thrown out easily.

As he came back towards the Reds dugout, the first base coach, Joel Youngblood gave him a continuous stream of, um, criticism. If you can picture a coach jawing with an umpire - you might get some idea. There was, as you might guess, a fair amount of 'colorful' language. And, we were only a couple rows in back of first base - so we got to see, and hear, the whole thing.

This time, we had a chance to see the Milwaukee Brewers host the San Francisco Giants. The game didn't have much pitching, but it was fun to see nonetheless. We sat four rows back - not far from first base.

The irony?

The first base coach for the Giants was Roberto Kelly.

Chuckwallas and more....

T and I are getting our traveling done for the year in a period of one month, it seems. A conference here, a conference there. The latest of which was in Phoenix.

I'm not always at my ease in a big city - but given everything downtown Phoenix wasn't so bad. It never really felt crowded. There was alot of sunshine (well, ya, it's Arizona). There were some pretty good places to eat, a history museum, science center, etc. So, that was fine. But, the highlights of the trip for me had nothing to do with the urban center (surprised? no?).

We saw a Chuckwalla Lizard.



cool.

On the last day, we asked for suggestions of a park or some such thing we could get to within a reasonable drive of Phoenix. And, after a short drive, arrived at White Tank Mountain Regional Park. Chalk one up for the people who suggested it and for us taking the time to go there.

The weather was cooler than it had been (around 55 degrees) when we got there - which made for better hiking weather. It also encouraged the wildlife to be out. Cacti were just beginning to bloom and several other plants were in full bloom. We figure the place looks quite different after a few months baking in 100 degree heat (ya think?). There were several birds, some butterflies, ground squirrels (we'd call them chipmunks), chameleons, vultures (ok, ya, they're birds too) and a variety of insects to observe. In short, it's a vastly different environment than the one we're used to. Which, of course, made it fascinating.

We watched a chipmunk eat a cactus flower until more hikers scared it away. Viewed a Gila Woodpecker as it hopped around a saguaro cactus and found a Chuckwalla Lizard that we thought was a Gila Monster sunning itself on a piece of granite. And, I had said I wanted to see a Gila Monster as soon as we saw it on a list of wildlife that could be found in the park. We decided that we didn't want to hope to see a mountain lion (probably a good choice).

The park was wonderful - made us regret not bringing a camera. But, maybe we'll remember it better since we concentrated on just observing and enjoying the place.

What's up at the farm - late March edition

One of the things we're hoping this blog will do is help our CSA members and other interested parties get a quick picture of what's going on as we progress through the growing season.

So - here's a very early garden/farm report:

We have over 1000 tomatoes planted in trays at this time. They are popping up as I type. The peppers will go in early this week. The onions and leeks are already up and are anywhere from 1 to 3 inches tall. There are some spices already in trays and we'll be starting many more very soon (this week).

The laying flock is running around outside and enjoying the weather much more than they have for some time. Egg production has slowed somewhat, but we still get about a dozen a day.

The frost is going out of the ground and the rains should help it leave the rest of the way (until/unless) we get a little more cooler weather in the next week or so.

We've got robins, killdeer and red winged blackbirds making their presence known. They've been telling us for nearly 2 weeks that Spring is beginning to win the battle with Winter.

The newsletter is nearly done and will be posted later today (Tuesday).

The Big Push

It may sound a bit odd - but we're entering a point in our year where a lot of things have to get done in a compressed period of time. And, it's not likely what everyone is thinking.

Once we get into April and May, activities for nursing green and growing things, chicks and other living things on the farm really get going. In fact, they take enough time and energy that many other things just are not likely to get done. Therein lies the problem.

There are home and farm repairs to do now that the weather is making some of them more possible. There are taxes to complete. There are various bookkeeping and household things. There is a roof to complete, windows to put in, cabinets and shelves to build, a building door to put up and maybe even a walk in cooler to put together. And, yes, if we want to get a grant completed for alternative energy, that had better happen soon as well. There is no end of things to do.

It's a good thing to have so much to do and so much ambition to accomplish all of this. The problem is always the time pressures to get it all done.

We still have a building to clean up the rest of the way....



And a barn that may or may not get attention...



But, you have to do what you can.

Thanks to Sally Worley for the wonderful pictures from our PFI field day last year.

No Right Answers?

The hardest part about running your own business (in this case - our CSA/veg farm) is the simple fact that there is no guarantee that your choices are going to be the best choices. And, with a young(ish) business, there is no history to fall back on in order to inform those choices. Of course, you can do alot of reading, look at various models and crunch a bunch of numbers. But, when it comes down to the final decisions you make, there is still a good deal of trepidation as to whether or not the course of action that was chosen will work.

For example, we made a choice last spring to planfully grow up more than twice as many tomato and pepper seedlings as we would need for our own production. In the past, we would grow extra plants as a buffer in case something failed. As a result, we would sell extra plants at farmers' market. But, this was more a case of trying to make something out of an asset we had in hand and weren't going to use.

Last year's choice was to actually grow extra plants with the expressed purpose of selling them. Our niche is in the heirloom/open pollinated plants - so we weren't trying to nose into a filled market for our area. People who had used our plants in the past seemed to like them. So... We gave it a try - and found that we did well enough. In fact, plant sales were part of the reason last year wasn't a big bust for farmers' markets in general (that's another story - see last year's weather pattern to learn more).

So, of course, we are going to continue with the plant sales. Here's the problem. Do we stay the course with the same (or similar) number of plants? Do we try to expand the numbers of plants we did? Or do we expand into other types of plants (broccoli, for example?). Do we take pre-orders in an effort to find out what the demand is so we can respond to it while there is still time to start them? Do the prices stay the same as last year? Will these questions ever cease?

The answers, in order, appear to be: probably, probably not, we'll try a sampling, we'll dabble in this idea, probably and no.

How's that for definitive? Ok, I'm working on it.

Ahhhh Tomatoes

What does one do after setting up trays and planting over 1100 tomatoes in a few hours?

One enters that fact on their blog. That's probably about it.

New tomato varieties for 2009 - for those who care:
Aunt Ruby's German Green
Black Sea Man
Druzba
Japanese Black Trifele
Jaune Flamme
John Baer
Powers Heirloom

Looks like we'll have 36 varieties this year. Ah...fun.

I'm game, are you?

I mentioned in the previous post that T and I have been playing more board and card games given the reduction in tele time. That got me to thinking (dangerous pastime!).

We've always enjoyed playing card games with the occasional board game thrown into the mix. But, lately we (well, mostly I) have been less motivated to crack out the cards and play. This may be, in part, because many of the games I enjoy most are three or four player games. Last count, there were two of us. That makes those games a bit of a challenge.

But, thanks to a number of good friends (EW, the Banality's and Ben to sort of name a few) we have been exposed to some new games - at least new to us. We now find ourselves regularly playing Ticket to Ride (Scandinavia) and Lost Cities. And, as a result, I find myself feeling more interested in other games we have played in the past (cribbage, chicken feet, etc).

Having periodic games nights were always a big deal in my family. Everyone was focused on enjoying each others company and the day's residue was typically wiped away as we played the game. It was a great way for the kids to learn how to succeed and fail gracefully in a situation that didn't really have any greater consequence other than your piece didn't get to Candyland first.

For the two of us, the real benefit is that we can spend some time doing something together that isn't farm or school related. Even better, we usually don' t care so much who wins. In fact, our approach to Ticket is often based on acquiring more destination cards because we can't contain our curiosity as to a) which one is next in the pile and b) can I find a way to complete that one in addition to the others? We realize we could play harder to win - but why? We're enjoying ourselves. In some ways, the game has become a mutual puzzle - how can I protect where I need to go and still give T a chance to go where she needs to go? And, if I force her to go that way - will she get in my way later?

As the growing season gets going I am hopeful we can continue to find a way to use these games to give our days balance.

Don't really miss it

We have recently taken a couple of trips that required time in a hotel. One of the things that we have access to in hotels that we do not have at home is satellite or cable tv. Yes, it's true, we do not have any TV reception of any kind at the farm. Last summer, our satellite stopped working and we just decided to have it taken down. We don't pick anything up with the antenna -so there you go.

At this point, we can tell you that we do not regret this decision.

Of course, we turned the tv on while in the hotel room. And what did we see? Nothing that looked horribly different from when we saw it last. Lots of channels with nothing truly interesting to see. The news was still being reported with urgency (and repetition) by multiple channels - always with the assumption that yesterday's news is old news (even if you hadn't already heard). In sports, the news was all about T.O. (if you don't know who that is - good for you!). Lots of commercials that were either irritating, misleading, annoying or all three. And, the stupid thing was still as mesmerizing as ever. I think it has something to do with the belief that surely something was coming up that would make the moments spent watching it worthwhile. The good news - we found it much easier to turn off.

Don't get me wrong - we do like some shows and movies. But, since we dropped satellite we have:

• spent more time playing board and card games together
• watched more movies we really wanted to see in the theater or at home (with no commercial interruptions)
• turned over the 'to do' list more rapidly (yes R is a list maker - first on list - make list)
• read more books

Perhaps the biggest thing is that we found ourselves going to bed sooner in the summer. Ok, that sounds odd. But, hear me out.

We do work long days during the growing and harvesting season. By the time we hit the end of the day, we're really tired. With a working dish for tv, we found ourselves just flipping the thing on and letting the brain go on autopilot. The problem is - when you get that tired, it is hard to get the motivation to get up and turn the machine off and go to bed. Everyone who has had a long day and has plopped in front of the tele knows exactly what I mean.

Besides, I'd like to avoid the situation of being asked about what I've done in my life and have to answer - "Well, I didn't do much, but I DID see this cool thing on tv....."

Farm errata

It may be a while before our next newsletter for the farm comes out. So, here's a farm newsy type of post.

CSA

• We are currently at 96 shares for the season. Our goal? 100.
• We still have openings in Waverly and on farm pickup slots
• We have no more single shares left, only standard and large.
• You can be put on a wait list in case something changes - and there's lots of time for that to happen.
• If the season shows strength we may open some 2nd half season shares.

Growing Things

• Seed orders have been placed and we have received 2 of the 4 orders
• New equipment for the farm has arrived - we are adding a 2nd wheel hoe and soil block makers.
• There are onion seedings on our starting shelves that have sprouted. It has begun.

Running Around Like A...

• The hens continue to do reasonably well and are happily getting more time out in the field
• It looks like we will be involved in a PFI cooperator's trial for checking out some poultry breeds for free range birds
• Our first flock of meat chickens may be 200 strong. We anticipate only 2 batches this year.
• We will be trying some Bourbon Red turkeys with our Broad Breasted Bronzes this year.
• There will be ducks.

Other farm stuff

• We're getting sick of the raccoons - they are very active at this time.
• We enjoyed the Organic Farming Conference in LaCrosse
• R is NOT enjoying finally succumbing to the head cold that is going around.
• T will vouch for the fact that R is not worth much when he's sick
• The pork buy is moving forward - with piggies going to processor Mar 10
• The book buys look like a go. The A to Z cookbooks were purchased at the conference. We had a favorable response from the publisher of the storing book.
• The snow drifts were deep enough around some of our lettuce covers that they were crushed....oops.
• Our organic certification materials have been mailed to IDALS - well in advance of the deadline! Hey, that's a big deal - so don't laugh (too hard)
  

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

Now that was a lot of B's.

Speaking of bees. (yes, that was a lame transition - deal with it)

T and I just returned from the Organic Farming Conference in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. I'm sure we'll post much more on it as the week goes on, but for now - I will talk about bees.

Why? Well, I attended an all-day session on bees and pollinators. The presenters (Eric Mader and Ross Conrad) did a nice job and I found the experience to be a positive one. I entered the day thinking I might leave with some working knowledge as to how we might actually maintain a hive or two of European honeybees. Per the norm, expectations and reality didn't quite match up. But, that's largely a reflection of what I learned as opposed to disappointment in topic coverage.

The short of it (for now) is that maintaining honey bee hives won't necessarily be easy. But, I believe we have many options with respect to our goals. I think it most likely that we will not attempt to get into honey production. But, we may keep hives for the pollination of our crops.

Things I learned (or in some cases maybe relearned) that may be of interest to others:

1. 70% of 'wild' bees are ground nesting bees
2. All of our pollinators have been declining in recent decades
3. Most colony collapse cases are found in commercial bee pollination businesses (who ship their bees to various farms to pollinate crops)
4. A mix of wild bee populations and honey bee populations provide the best pollination results

This one didn't go to 11. Four is enough (for now).

Looks like you're stuck with us

I don't know if T wants me to put this out here - but I'm going to any way because I am extremely proud of her.

We just received a letter in the mail from the college she works at - and it is a good letter. Says something about being pleased and granted tenure and stuff like that.

As a simple (minded) farmer, I am mildly perplexed by all of this. Don't really know what it means. But, since the letter seemed to be saying nice things about T, that must mean it is good.

Well done and congratulations!

We're nuts...

But, of course - you already knew that.

We realize we aren't really all that big in terms of farms - or even CSA's. We have only five acres of vegetable plots and our entire farm is 14 or 15 acres (depending on the day and which number pops into our heads when asked). We have 93 CSA members signed up for this year.

Conventional farmers look at 14 acres and call it a 'hobby farm' and we are also aware of numerous CSA's that have hundreds of members. So, in the grand scheme of things - we're small.

But, in comparison to how we USED to think of things - this is big.

For example, we used to go looking for a new tree or a couple of bushes. Or, for that matter, we might consider a group of 25 bare root shrubs to give us a hedge line. That WAS considered a huge move.

So, what do we do now as a small project? We order a couple hundred bareroot trees/shrubs from the DNR. One hundred Nanking Cherries, 50 Hazelnut and 50 Norway Spruce. That's all. Thing is - this isn't the first time we've ordered from the DNR. Below you can see a two year old(!?) pic from one of our plots. In the foreground - you can see zucchini and summer squash. In the background, you can see our highbush cranberries and wild plums. they are twice that size now (the cranberries & plums - it's a wee bit too much to expect of summer squash and zucchini). I think we had 500 plants in that order.

Can't do anything small anymore.

...and then a biting wind

Ah...I told you all the hard part was coming.

Little teases of warmer weather. Hints of the possibility of Spring. Promise for some weather to grow things.

Take that! Forty mile per hour gusts hitting us from the north-northwest and cooler temperatures have a way of quickly reminding you that you can't put the winter coat away just yet. And, it always surprises me how quickly I get UNUSED to the cooler stuff. And, this isn't nearly as bad as what we had earlier in the winter. In fact, I would have said this was pretty nice just a few weeks ago.

Guess I'll have to get over this and buck up.

But, it was nice to hear a robin singing in downtown Des Moines yesterday.

The Smell of Rain

For the first time in a what seems a long time, we had that lovely smell that only comes when the weather is warm enough to waft the combined smell of earth, plant matter and rain. Temps were only in the upper 30's F, but it was evidently enough to give a spring like feel to the day.

Ok, granted - there is still snow, the ground is still frozen and all of this will likely turn to snow as the system works its way through. But, you have to give me that moment where I almost felt like I was playing hooky from weeding the gardens....

The Supply vs Demand Bowl

Nearly everyone is aware of the basic concepts of supply and demand.

But, the question here is - which one drives the other? Of course, I'm looking at it from the perspective of a vegetable farmer - so that can give us some context. And, it is ONLY a blog post - so don't expect to read this and pass your econ test tomorrow.

Demand takes an early lead.

I've had many growers indicate that they simply respond to what the market tells them to grow. If the newest thing showing up in food shows, etc is kohlrabi, they will increase production of that crop. Others are a bit more pragmatic and simply grow based on direct requests for new items and/or prior sales of things they already grow. But, in these cases, the producer will tell you that their crop decisions are largely based on an interpretation of demand.

What does this mean?

Positive take:
It means that every person who consumes food has a say in what gets grown, how it gets grown and where it is grown. If the producer base consists of a broad base that is waiting for market pressure - then the market pressure needs to be increased with demand for a quality product grown in a sustainable fashion.

Negative take:
Producers often are not willing to spend the time to promote things that are new and different - even if they could potentially do well with them. In fact, both producer becomes complacent and simply works to maintain or increase demand while they try to increase the supply of a less diverse set of crops. The consumer becomes complacent as they spend less time considering their options.

But, Supply makes a come back!

On the other hand, suppliers/producers have a responsibility that includes the education of those who make up potential demand for a product. Who else is more aware of the nuances of the product than the producer? We have to walk the fine line between education and propaganda to do this. But, a better informed consumer should be able to alter the demand to include a more diverse set of crops grown in more sustainable fashions.

In short - we all need to care enough to consider our options.

As a supplier of food - we need to take the time to continue to learn our job of growing food and educate the consumer as to their food choices. We need to be willing to innovate and take risks even if it means that we will not see immediate success in our first growing season with that new trial.

As a consumer of food - we need to take the time to learn how food is grown and who grows it - then make it clear that we want GOOD food. We need to be willing to take the time to put a little effort into getting our food and perhaps.....stop considering convenience to be the number 1 requirement?!

Friday Moment (or... good or bad teacher)

I had a Friday moment today. This is ok - because it IS Friday. A good teacher can be flexible and go with the flow. A good teacher can adjust to the needs of their students. (side note - this is the end of week 7 out of 14 weeks in the semester at my college - at a normal school, this would be a good time for a break. Our school is NOT normal, however. We take our break after NINE weeks.) A bad teacher gives in to student wishes too often. A bad teacher does not follow through and is inconsistent with assignments.

So, you be the judge. For today's class we were going to have a discussion on 5 different theorists using the jigsaw method. Students were assigned their theorist to research and were to bring that information to class today. Jigsaws really only work well if there are an approximately even number of students in each group. So, we start the class today with over 20% of the class missing, with two of the groups being especially hit hard by absences and only having 2 vs 6 group members. The activity won't work. So, what's a prof to do? I could lecture instead of discuss. Or, I could throw the plan out the window and let them out a half hour early.

Heck with good or bad, I opted for good common sense, and, of course, being a hero. Test next week. TF

Why is Eating Local Good?

I was just asked how eating locally positively impacts the environment. In answering such questions, I often find myself thinking....

All together now....

A dangerous pastime. I know.

As a result, I'm dumping a bunch of thoughts as to why eating locally produced food can be a good thing:

1. If you buy from a farmer you know, you can express how you want that farmer to do their business. You have MORE influence over how local producers go about their job than you do if you have no idea who is growing the food.
2. Eating in-season and local shows a tremendous reduction in fossil fuel use. Food typically travels an average of 1300-1500 miles to get to our grocery stores.
3. People who have a more direct connection to their food, food producers and the land tend to be more aware of the environment.
   
4. Promoting local food sources encourages diversified crops. Diversity is more environmentally friendly than monocropping (single crops in large fields). Diversity is a more stable agricultural system that requires less in the form of governmental supports.
5. Food that is picked ripe - or at least closer to ripe. Which means better taste and better nutrition.
6. Varieties that were developed for taste and nutrition, rather than for shipping and shelf-life characteristics.
7. Local growers have a tendency to buy more product for their businesses from other local businesses.
8. More outdoor summer jobs for people who would like them.
9. A world wide system of strong local food networks is safer than a world wide system of shipping from concentrated centers. As a computer scientist, I know that a redundant system is one that can keep going with less apparent distress than a centralized one.
10. More local foods means more local foods producers - which means another alternative for local business development that promotes healthy communities, environment and economy.
    
11. And...because this list MUST go to 11.... A stronger local food system can actually mean greater diversity in the selection of foods that we all have. That doesn't mean you will be getting bananas from us any time soon - but there is more diversity in food product than most of us know about. We simply allow ourselves to have tunnel vision within the limited set provided in our grocery stores.
    

Tomato Trellis Trials

Last year, we participated in a study sponsored by PFI and the Ceres Foundation to look at three different trellising techniques: cages, stake and weave and cattle panels. Unfortunately, the year was atypical for tomato production - so it is difficult to draw any real conclusions from the study. However, my curiosity is sufficient that I believe we will run our own trial again this season (without PFI and the other two farms).

The question is - what heirloom variety do we use this year for the trials. Last year it was Cherokee Purple. The variety tastes excellent, but is one we don't have the best success with on the farm. We'd rather spend the 60 plants it will take to do the trial on a different variety that we know tends to do consistently well for us. (never fear, we'll still grow Cherokee Purple - they are great tasting - just not 60 plants worth).

Candidates for the trial include:
Italian Heirloom
Trophy
German Pink
Wisconsin 55

Our tomato variety page is here.

Requirements for choice as the variety to test are:
- a variety that we want the kind of production 60 plants can give us. In other words, we need the demand for that sort of tomato!
- indeterminate cultivar
- larger plants (indeterminate tends to handle that)
- sufficient production levels to perhaps show some differences by trellising method

German Pink may eliminate itself because it produces very large (wonderful) fruit - but not a huge number of them (about 13-15 per plant). Trophy and Wisconsin 55 are our workhorse red, intermediate sized tomatoes. There is always demand for moderate sized slicers. Trophy tends to hold on to its fruit better than the 55's. But, could the 55's be easier to keep up with using a method other than cages? Hm.

Our initial thought is to go with the Italian Heirlooms. Larger, 1 pound fruits start earlier than even the Trophy's and 55's. They are meaty, tasty and one of our favorites. But, would it be better to go with one of the other varieties?

We'll keep you informed. Any votes out there?

Now for the Hard Part

The last couple days have been wonderful -with temperatures well above normal for early February. There is a LOT less snow at the farm than there was just a little while ago. It's a good indicator of how long we've had snow cover when your brain keeps sending little alarm bells that things look very different when you walk outside.

Perhaps the nicest thing was all of the natural light we had yesterday (Tuesday). Even when I was working in the office, I felt everything was bright and cheerful. Not bad for someone who is as even tempered as I am (always mad).

Average high temps at this time are around 30 degrees Fahrenheit and lows are around 12. I suspect we're all going to have a difficult time accepting that after a few days of relative warmth. There's nothing quite like a couple of warm days, lots of snow melt and a good bit of sunshine to start making all of us expect (unreasonably) that we'll be running around in short sleeves and putting on sunblock in a matter of a few days.

Sorry everyone, I think we have a bit more winter to get through yet. In fact, it is not at all unreasonable to expect another two or three day long cold snap that puts us down below zero again. As a veg farmer, I might like to see another snow fall or two. Nothing horrible, just a little cover for the ground.

Regardless, it's time to start keeping your eyes out for your first robin. Many of them do not go as far south as you think and will show up on a sunny day as early as January if there's a nice microclimate by a building or some such thing.

Excuse me sir, but may I have more gruel?

If you aren't involved in agriculture, you probably missed this news story in November - despite its appearance on the front page in Iowa. And, I'm writing about it because I suspect many intelligent folk (read in - you!) are generally unaware of how these things work.

The November GAO report identified $49 million dollars that were given out between 2003 and 2006 for farm program payments to ineligible or inappropriate recipients.

• eligible recipients must earn less than $2.5 million annually.
• eligible recipients must be actively engaged in farming.
• farm programs focus on commodity crops (corn, cotton, rice, soybeans and wheat)

Some of the identified recipients clearly have other primary occupations ( basketball franchise owner, insurance and financial service executives) and others reside outside of the United States - which makes it difficult for me to believe that they are terribly active in day to day management of a US agricultural operation. Yes, there are some problems with implementation for the FSA offices. BUT, I ask you how these people can justify taking this money in the first place?

I'll admit, this is a small percentage of the nearly $15 billion paid out annually for farm commodity crop support programs. However, take the information above AND the fact that 10% of the recipients receive 67% of the total payout. This makes it clear to me how this program impacts our nation's agricultural system. Small, non-commodity crop producers need not apply.

And, before you tell me that $49 million is a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of things - let me remind you that just $10,000 to small farms such as ours would serve nearly 5000 of us. That much money is enough to put a roof on a barn such as ours. Or put up high tunnels for extended local food production. Or put in reasonable cooling facilities for produce storage. Or help us to put up a wind turbine - or solar panels.

If we're going to put money into agriculture, why do we insist on putting it into a structure that encourages reliance on a price structure support? It doesn't increase the desire to innovate or pursue sustainable alternatives. All it does is encourage us to work harder to milk the highest yields of a limited number of crops for the highest monetary return. Then, we have to come up with programs (such as CRP - which I am not entirely against for other reasons) to encourage farmers to reduce production of those commodity crops.

Meanwhile, the bottom line (highest yield per acre) is bought at a cost that is yet to be fully realized. Why do you think so few of our farmers are willing to try to reduce tillage or spray levels? One factor is the simple fact that price supports like these can make innovation risks seem more costly than they are. All it takes is a little bit of misperception and alot of institutional bias and you leave our farmers with a very limited set of choices.

And... if there is one thing I am learning, it's to understand why people do things the way they do. That 10% that receives 67% of the payments are likely driving policy. That leaves 90% of the commodity crop farmers playing the game - in part - because they believe they have to if they want to make a decent profit.

Uninvited vandal

I saw a picture from someone who has a worse raccoon problem than we do! This was apparently taken in her KITCHEN! And we thought WE had a raccoon problem! The buggers tore up the barn last night - ripped a sack of lime pellets to shreds, scattered the lime (which is certainly NOT edible, so they were just being destructive), tossed around empty trash cans and dumped the cat's water dish. Luckily, we HAVE learned to keep chicken and cat food in WELL secured containers.

The photo comes from http://www.rhymeswithorange.com/

What do you miss?

Ok,

We had a wonderful meal of baked whole chicken with barbeque sauce, broccoli, corn and milk.

The cool part. The chicken and broccoli were from our farm. The sweet corn from a local farmer. The milk and butter from a local farm. Only the barbeque sauce doesn't qualify for a locavore - guess we're going to have to start making our own.

The broccoli and corn were two things we froze last summer for use this winter. They tasted very good - but frozen or canned NEVER matches up with fresh from the garden.

So - what fresh garden produce are you missing right now?

R's Vote: Green Beans - so fresh that they SQUEAK when you chew them.

Birds of a Feather

Both of us were able to attend the Cooperator's Meeting for Practical Farmers of Iowa on Thursday of this week (R went last year). It is, in reality, a two-day event. But, something about T having a real job precluded our being there for day two. Well, that, and the fact that there is much to do and less time to do it in.

Last year, GFF was involved in a tomato trellising trial project funded by the Ceres Foundation and coordinated by PFI. One result of this was the field day we hosted last fall. It is likely that we will be involved in some different research projects this year. One (or so) horticultural and one with respect to poultry. We'll keep you posted as we learn more.

However, the biggest benefit to us comes from the opportunity to see and converse with others who do things similar to what we do. It is a splendid opportunity to commisserate, share ideas and explore resources. Everyone in the horticulture group is just as interested in learning more as we are, which means we can discuss topics in some depth.

Perhaps the strangest things about being involved in groups like this is how your perceptions of the group, individuals in the group and your place in the group change. For example, there are members of the group that we identified early as those with experience and knowledge in the areas we aspired to enter. They are no less admirable now than they were then - but we find ourselves speaking to them as peers and are no longer shocked when they divulge problems in production that we once irrationally believed couldn't cause them grief. Instead, we have learned that many problems and issues will persist regardless of experience and prior successes. We are working as a group to continue to fill our tool boxes with strategies and processes that we can use. Each time I attend a PFI event, I come away with hope that we can...eventually...make a difference in how we grow things in this state.

Here's hoping.