More free pig food!

Here is another load from our friends over at Easy Valley Farm.  It's a lot of work stripping such a big garden add they have,  but look at the spoils!  This trailer is super heavy with hundreds of overripe melons in the center. 

Party time in the pig pen!

To GMO or not to GMO ? that is the question...

 As the battle around GMO based foods heats up here in Jackson county, now is a good time to summarize and reiterate our stance on the subject.  So here are my own top thoughts on the matter of GMO based foods.

Lets lay down some known facts to frame the discussion:

1. The unintentional spread of pollen from GMO crops can not be prevented. 

2. GMO crops have not, to date, produced higher yields than non-gmo crops

3. The safety of GMO foods has not been proven, and has not even been thoroughly studied. 

4. The primary purpose for genetic modification is to allow the use of higher, or built in, pesticides and herbicides, leaving higher traces of poison in the foods that reach the supermarket and tables. 

5. the primary supporters of GMO agriculture is the companies that produce them, and the government officials they bribe and support. 

6. GMO crops are more susceptible to failure from unexpected weather patterns, putting our food supply at risk. (which partially explains #2)

7.  GMO varieties eventually cause permanent extinction of non-gmo varieties (because of #1)

the bottom line here is that the only entities that benefit from GMO crops is, in fact, the producer of the GMO crop itself and the producers of the chemical poisons used on the GMO crop as herbicides and Pesticides. Well, i suppose there is one other benefactor... the politicians that get paid to promote and support GMO crops.  Everyone else looses. 

One of the little known facts about GMO that I'd like to point to is this...  The foundational system of these crops is flawed, in a bad way.  All throughout history, farmers have kept their own seed from crop to crop, generation to generation. With each successive planting and harvest, the genetics of the plants slowly improve because of the "survival of the fittest".  The plants are adapting to the particular ground, the weather patterns, the farming style,  the environment, etc of that particular farm. The plant improves every year even without the farmer doing anything except keeping a percentage of seed each year to plant the next years crop. that is how nature works. 

until... gmos enter. With gmo's it is a requirements that the seeds come from a central producer each year... the company that produces the genetic trait.  It is the same seeds, planted all across the country, every year. that means that each year the crops are starting from scratch again. There is no chance for improvement, no adaptation to local weather, ground, or farming styles. The genetics are tightly controlled by a single entity, the corporation producing the gmo seeds. Regardless of the benefit of hte genetic trait itself... the seeds loose all of the other advantages of local adaptation, so to gain one positive trait, it loosed a dozen others.  It is a net loss. 

This is why genetically modified crops have not, to date, produced higher nor cheaper yields. What they gain in a particular trait they loose in many others and from year to year, the lack of other positive traits reduces yield more than the single beneficial trait increases it. 

As if that wasn't enough, there is yet another insidious but hidden fault in the foundation. Since the genetic trait is owned by a single entity, and all the seeds are identical.. all across the nation...  anything unexpected that happens in the weather or growing conditions will and has doomed crops all across the nation to fail. They are all susceptible to the same problems! Again, in times past, every farmer , every area, has a slightly different seed, adapted to its local environment. So if an unexpected weather patter arises, only a portion of the nations crops are susceptible, the rest are immune. that is insurance.. the bulk of the food supply is safe. With GMO's, the food supply is at great risk to seemingly minor weather patterns. 

So there you have two important foundational reasons that the use of GMO crops is bad for our nation... and puts our food supply at risk. Even when you set aide the safety argument, and the political argument, and the uncontrollable contamination argument... even if the genetic trait IS beneficial, even if you disregard the resulting production of super weeds and super bugs... with all that put aside, genetic modification in and of itself is flawed foundationally for the above two reason and should be stopped. 

In my humble opinion, this is not just a question for Jackson county, it is a matter of national security.  IF the worst happened, and our crops were all switched to GMO either intentionally or unintentionally,  we are at risk for national food shortages due to simple weather pattern changes Or bio terror attacks from our enemies. 

To GMO or NOT ?  its simple... NOT. not here, not anywhere.. because the loss is greater than the gain. 

The Power of You.. an Individual

This is a subject that came up during a recent radio interview I was honored to give.  It is the notion of "voting with our food dollars".  Perhaps you have heard that expression or one like it in the past... but during this interview the idea took on a new meaning for me. 

You, as a food consumer, have three choices:

1. grow your own food

2. buy factory produced "food" from the grocery store

3. find a local farm to buy from

While ultimately the best, #1 is simply nor practical for many people for a variety of reasons.  For those that can, I commend you highly! For those that cant.. read on....

You are standing in front of the egg case at the grocery store, presented with a myriad of options for eggs, some cheap, some not, some with pretty labels and bold claims, some not.  Which to choose?  simple.. NONE!  Any choice you make (with the possible but rare exception  of a local farm offering eggs through the local store) will support a food system of centralized production for profit, extensive shipping, and distributed consumption.  But how you might ask.. how does your $3.50 make any difference  in supporting that system? Your just one person, one purchase, one vote.. it doesn't really count.... 

Here is why you matter. As a small local farmer I can assure you that while the $3.50 sent off to a remote producer or not doesn't affect that corporation's bottom line noticeably... that single purchase DOES directly affect the bottom line of the small local farmer offering eggs in your community.  At the scale of the small farm, every single customer, and EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE either helps or hurts  the farm's bottom line.  YOU and each purchase you make are a significant impact on his business and his future.  I strongly doubt any small farmer would disagree with me.  It's not so much that you bought from a remote corporation.. but rather the significance of doing that is that you DIDN'T buy from your local farmer. He feels that lack of sale significantly. 

Sure I agree that there is power in numbers, in groups, getting a whole segment of people to change purchasing decisions.. But what i realized is that  EVERY SINGLE INDIVIDUAL like yourself, and EVERY SINGLE PURCHASE is significant in and of itself as a positive or negative impact to your local farm.  It doesn't take a group, it doesn't take a "movement"... YOU have the power to grow or shrink a local farm, just in your own wallet. YOU as an individual, hold their fate in your hands. 

So I ask you, what will you do with this revelation that you DO have power, not just the power of a vote, but the power of action with direct and significant impact? Will you buy that dozen eggs with the pretty label from the egg case, or will you take a stand, find a local farm, and purchase that dozen eggs from them instead? 

Your choice DOES matter :) YOU have tremendous power.  Use it wisely!

What is a farmer?

What is a farmer?

The sun awakens to find the farmer already busy.  Never a shortage of things to do, his day starts early.  Awakened not by the sun's rays but by the mere promise of them, and a chance to spend another day laboring under the baking warmth of that sun or the blistering cold of of the clouds.  Weather is everything, and nothing.  Every day starts and ends the same, whether it is a beautiful fall day, a blistering summer day, or a white wintery day. Weather .... to be respected, used, watched, enjoyed, and endured, but whatever the case, the farm's day is the same. 

There are no vacations for the farmer... no days off, no weekends, no appointed breaks, not even sick days. The plants and animals under the farmer's charge are just as demanding  each day as the one before.  It matters not what else is happening in the farmer's life, the farm demands its routine day in and day out. Life continues in a never ceasing rhythm, oblivious to everything else in the world. 

Yet the farmer sings, or at least his heart does, as he trudges through the mud, snow, or dry heat.  His heart is full of appreciation and despair, celebration and concern. Studying each tiny insignificant spark of life on his land, the farmer is aware of all, and appreciative of everything. The fluttering of a leave across the pasture, the dance of a bug on the ground, the deafening silence of the sprouts emerging from dead ground... It is a symphony that the farmer enjoys every day as he manages and serves.  Life is everywhere, brilliant and demanding. Giving and needing.  Yes, the farmer sings... but not his own song, he sings along with the tune of nature, of life, of everything. 

The farmer stops to be veterinarian to a wounded animal in his care... patching, treating, loving.  Then off to be botanist, zookeeper, chemist, biologist, physicist, geneticist and lets not forget general laborer shoveling manure.  What does he do ?  He does everything... and yet nothing.  Nature is the author, the lowly farmer is just the manager. It continues with him or without him.  He does not create... but only molds, influences, serves. The breath of his responsibilities are both wide and deep. There are no colleagues to ask opinions of, no supervisor to seek direction from, no team to seek council from.  He is alone...  and yet he is not. For inside the farmer lies the spark of the Creator Himself, the wisdom of the ages, hidden beneath layers of knowledge and guessing but it is there... driving his decisions in the general direction of success amidsts all the mistakes and failures. 

Before the day ends, the farmer plays the roles of businessman, setting prices, evaluating competition, managing a list of government regulation longer than the day,   customer service, retail management, advertising, marketing, packaging... the hat he wears keeps spinning to a new title. There is no specialty, no major, no  specific talent.. the farmer must be proficient in life itself, in  all aspects of it, to succeed. He is a marvel of knowing everything while knowing nothing.  Gut instincts drive everything forward, the thing no school can produce,  silent inspiration so deep it is within his soul. 

He contemplates those that live off his efforts. Those children, elderly, the familes that rely on his expertise to bring life to their table.  He scratches at the dirt he owns, no ... that he works, for no one owns the earth but the creator,  he scratches at the dirt to inspect the life that lies within. Worms, bugs, bacteria, fungus, things too small to see, to numerous to count, and too varied to be known.  The elements of life may not have names yet, or he may not know them, but he knows they are there. He manges the balance of the life forms , he plays the role of god in providing a world for this microscopic land of things we know so little about, yet depend on for health. 

As the sun sets, he stops for a moment to watch and respect the passing of another day. His eyes gaze over his land under the inexplicable beauty of the setting sun. His animals, his crops, his world... breathing in the peace of a job well done and the anxiety of a job left undone.  His eyes close and he tests the aroma of the wind as it passed judgment on his efforts of the day.  Has nature approved of his work? Has the world improved today because of his contribution? It is all in the wind... as the day ends. He listens to the sounds of quiet... of peace... of completion. The continual circle of life.. days, nights, births, deaths,  rain, dry, cold, hot... He listens... to find his place in the world. 

What is a farmer?  He is everything, and yet nothing.  He is invisible but yet he is on every table he serves. His labors go unnoticed but also they thrive within the bodies of the next generation raised on his food.  He is the glue that binds each generation to the next.. enabling the circle of life to be complete.   

He is a farmer.... a tired, energetic, joyful, worried, anxious, content, farmer.  As his head hits the pillow, he is at peace with the world, with nature and with his creator. One more day is done. 

Yes indeed... What is a farmer?

Feed time... Check the menu

Here's a quick look at the average menu around here.  Every day we feed some combination of the following:

Sprouted  organic oats and sunflower seeds
Oyster shell
Meal worms
Rare earth minerals
Scratch and peck feeds
Our own Garden produce
Organic Fermented fruit
Organic Alfalfa leaves

Getting hungry yet?