farming
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No food is more local than a kitchen garden. I’ve got to get moving on mine after a late spring. Everyone was in a good mood at the farms when I soil blocked Friday and Sunday. My farmer friends caught up last week by finishing onion and potato planting. Trays of seedlings are moving to… Read more
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Things are bad when the coop sends the suicide hotline number with the milk payment. Milk prices are currently about $15 per hundred weight while cost of production at family farms is more than $22 per hundred weight. Like so many segments of agriculture, consolidation is driving down costs and small farmers are going out… Read more
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This is me soil blocking at Sundog Farm last Sunday. Working at farms has been a spring ritual which helps me feel like part of a larger organization. The older I get, the more important that seems. Farmers may seem isolated, but the farms where I work engage dozens of people in many roles. I… Read more
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Most of Armistice Day was at home. The forecast had been rain, however, a clear fall day unfolded and I planted garlic. Pushing cloves into the ground with my thumb and index finger, I made two rows and covered them with mulch retrieved from the desiccated tomato patch. It doesn’t seem like much, it’s my… Read more
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The sun set as I pulled into Sundog Farm, home of Local Harvest CSA. Eileen from Turkey Creek Orchard had just dropped off fresh aronia berries and jars of fruit jam to fill orders placed over the weekend. Farmers Carmen and Maja were there but didn’t have time to talk as they had deliveries in… Read more
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On Friday I clocked out of work at the home, farm and auto supply store for four days off in a row! I drove straight home, dumped the coleslaw I made in the morning into a bowl and mixed it up one last time before the potluck. I grabbed a pair of tongs for serving… Read more
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The marketplace of home vegetable gardens, community supported agriculture, farmers markets, road side vegetable stands, restaurants, retail interests and direct farm sales hasn’t coalesced into a sustainable local food system, and may not. One should never doubt the resilience of farmers. At the same time, due to unwelcome changes in society, our local food system… Read more
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Midst falling leaves, grasses turned brown, and apples dropping to the ground, I mowed for the first time in over a month. It may be the last cut before winter. Monday I visited the vegetable farms where I work each spring and caught up with the farmers. Both farms want me to soil block next… Read more
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Our local food system is at risk before it has even become established. The mix of retail interests, community supported agriculture, farmers markets, road side vegetable stands, restaurants and direct farm sales hasn’t coalesced into a sustainable local food system and it doesn’t appear it will any time soon. One should never doubt the resilience… Read more
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The Johnson County Board of Supervisors disagrees on how to use the property known as the “Poor Farm” and that’s okay. There’s no surprise something will be done with the property, especially to those paying attention. Supervisors recently decided what that may be. In June, “The Johnson County Board of Supervisors on Friday voted (3-2)… Read more
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