MW Organic Fest

Todd and I just returned from the Upper Midwest Organic Conference.  I can’t write too lengthy of a report here, because my head is swimming with so many other things.  All of the workshops I went to were highly charged and emotional.  The most heart-palpitating session had to do with the state of organic seed and the slippery slope of allowing genetically modified alfalfa and sugar beets into our food system.  These seeds are already out there, but efforts by organizations such as The Center for Food Safety and others are trying to spread awareness to the public and to our government.  A lawyer spoke at the convention about his involvement with a current battle to reverse the “okay” already given to GM alfalfa.  Please read more about this by the group that seems to know most:  www.centerforfoodsafety.org and stay tuned.  The result of GM alfalfa could lead to the disappearance of this crop as organic, because it is hard to control the spread of pollen.  If an organic alfalfa field is next to a GM alfalfa field, one would contaminate the other.   Since alfalfa is used as pasture for cows, milk that is now certified organic may ultimately lose their label.  This is how I understand it.
We use alfalfa as a perennial green manure crop.
Since GM sugar beets are currently allowed, organic table beets and organic chard are endangered.
If you want to know even more about this topic, you can do what our friends do:  1) rent one of two films:  Food, Inc and/or The Future of Food, 2) inadvertently consume an entire bottle of wine (per person), and then 3) make a hysterical call to us asking us what to do next.  What to do next?  Keep informed by visiting www.centerforfoodsafety.org from time to time and tell your friends about what you learn.  Support organic products whenever you can.

Paraphrased

Lately, there’s been a lot of great press surrounding the small organic farm scene.  In this month’s Mindful Metropolis, there are two stories about two different farms, both started around the time we started.
Anyway, these newspaper articles have us thinking about how our own story might translate to this format.  We have had some time in the media spotlight, since our first year’s NPR story, but we feel that the best story about us hasn’t happened quite yet and that the NPR story may have missed something.
The story that seems almost expected is this, paraphrased:
Just a few years ago, a young urban couple felt disgruntled by the corporate work-a-day grind [The Man], so they shed their city shoes for farm boots and moved to the country to live off the land.  Their new lifestyle involves waking with the crow of a rooster and the physical rhythm and serenity of farm work.
Our story might be more like this:  
Many years ago, when they were young adults, two people separately decided they wanted to commit their lives to something basic and pure.  They met each other and became a young urban couple.  One of them inherited some land and thought the best use of this land was a little thing called food. The couple shed their city shoes, went into sizable debt, kept their other jobs, and stressed about the weather.  Their new lifestyle involves waking with heart palpitations and the physical discomfort and drama of farm work.
Todd and Julia have the same human tendency as everyone to stress about their jobs, off-farm and on-farm.  They sometimes don’t have time to cook.  They sometimes order pizza made with highly-processed ingredients for delivery. Like many new farmers now, they didn’t grow up farming and they don’t have degrees in vegetable growing or business management.  They don’t have a savings account.  The real story is that they jumped right into this world of organic farming with nothing but the conviction that they were headed towards the place they were always meant to be.
We were meant to be here.  And we’re not leaving.
When Todd and I hung out for the first time at a party together, he asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I said that I didn’t have any great ambition. He said the same.  In fact, this is exactly what he said: 
“I don’t have any great ambition either.  I just want to be an organic farmer.”
What could be easier?
(sigh),
Julia

High Tunnel

The National Resources Conservation Services just approved our application for another high tunnel!  It is a cost-share program, but we will be mostly reimbursed.  Our third high tunnel!  Look out!
Todd is having dreams of melon….