Who Grows Food Around Here?

Illinois is a state of dark, rich, loamy soil. Drive across it in any direction and see farms sprawl for acres.  In fact about 80% of Illinois is farmland.  Illinois has so many farms you would think local fruit and vegetables would be on everyone's plate in abundance.  You would think, but you'd be wrong. Here are some things to consider:

• Almost all of the food consumed in Illinois travels an average of 1500 miles to get here. 
• There is a special task force in Illinois, created in 2007 (I think) and still in existence (I know), working on the goal of increasing local food procurement from a mere 10% to a lofty 20%.  In other words, 80% of food would still come to us as imports.  That is the goal for 2020. 
• The corn and soybeans you DO see growing in Illinois are not even for eating.  They are for cereals, corn syrups, feed for livestock, ethanol and other by-products.
• Our 6 acres of vegetables feed 230 people each week for 5 months.  The farms surrounding us feed cows and automobiles.
• While the corn and soy farmers get subsidized by the government (thanks to corporate influence and "Feed the World" propaganda), farms like ours* do not.  
• Aside from the built-in support of a CSA group, farms like ours don't have a reasonable source for crop insurance.  
• Vegetables, a staple dietary requirement, are considered a "Specialty Crop" by the USDA.  

*When I say "farms like ours" I mean small acreage, vegetable farms.  All of the CSA farms in Illinois are in this category.

Our neighboring farmer will be harvesting soon.
If you were at the Low Down for the Midnight Corn Run,
then this will look disturbingly familiar.

Corn and soy and corn and soy.  Soy and corn and soy and corn.  Our farmer friend Harry Carr from Mint Creek Farm even wrote a poem about it that you can read at the bottom of this page.

Will it ever be possible/viable for big corn-and-soy farmers to switch and start growing organic vegetables or raising animals on grass? I don't know about the future but I know that right now this doesn't happen very often (one shining exception is vegetable ally Deer Creek Organics). One reason why the switch is rare is the generational investment in equipment (big bucks), land and know-how. It would take a totally new infrastructure and new set of skills to switch to organic vegetable farming. A daunting proposition.

While the working lives of the big commodity crop farmers are intense for a few weeks in the spring and a few weeks in the fall, they can be absent from their land in the summer months. On The Plot, for example, we rarely see either of the farmers that share our property line. By contrast, organic farming requires you are in the field almost every day for months. It requires new knowledge, more time, more physical labor, different equipment and someone willing to do the marketing.

SO. We are the new generation of farmers in Illinois. We are like you. Imagine yourself with several years of acquired plant knowledge and a grotesquely optimistic business plan. Add to that a hundred thousand dollars in loans, a tolerance for living on the edge, and an above-average passion for changing the food system and restoring the environment. Now you have Peasants' Plot in its most honest form. Not necessarily pleasant, not necessarily peasants.

We have great plans for sustaining our business and proving the CSA model is a workable alternative to large-scale faraway industrial agriculture.  Stay tuned.


Farm Tour

Corn
Corn on corn
Corn on corn on corn on corn
Corn

Beans
Beans with nitrogen fixing means
Beans for bean counter's dreams
Beans

Wheat, neat
Fine-grained rows
Planted in fall
Next summer ready to eat

Grass, Waves of Grass
Assorted perennial plants
When allowed to thrive
Holds the soil fast

Sheep on grass
A combo made to last
Lambs hip hopping around
Nursing Mama their main task

Goats
Goats love oats
Keep the billie goats from the sheep
Or you might have shoats

Cows
Cattle cows
Mama cows and daddy bulls
Cattle calves

Pigs
Big pigs, little pigs
Pigs with tails, pigs with squeals
Pigs

Chicken with beaks
Ducks with bills
Turkey without gobbles
Corn

-Harry Carr

Kale chips.  My revelation this year is the slower the better.
250 degrees for  15-20 minutes.  Well salted.

Mixed greens a plenty.

Under the row cover is arugula for next week!

Q:  What's the difference between butternuts and deernuts?
A:  Organic butternuts are about a dollar a pound, deernuts are under a buck.

Spaghetti squash!  Some CSA groups have already seen these;
others will see these in shares to come!

Baby kale and baby beet greens take just seconds in the pan.

Ripening tomatoes...

Super Shepherd peppers!  In shares to come!

Our neighbor's corn.
Believe me when I say you do NOT want to eat this. 

I hate when my eye does that.

GMO 101

This is Pierre.

In my last post here, I brought up the fact that genetically-modified zucchini and yellow squash exist.  Most of the GMO concern revolves around a list of commodity crops like corn, soy and canola (see the list of "high risk" crops in my previous post), BUT biotechnology companies do have their eyes on other vegetables, too. Tomatoes. Beets. Potatoes. Alfalfa. The sky is the limit.

How does GMO contamination work?
The worry is that once a crop is approved for genetic modification aka bioengineering, those foreign genes will eventually pervade the seed supply.  For example, in 2004 foreign DNA was detected in 100% of canola seed tested.  In other words,  the canola seed supply has been completely contaminated by foreign genes.
Seed can become contaminated at several places along the production chain: planting, harvesting, processing, storing, transporting, packaging.   A lot of the court cases and documentaries cover contamination out in the field.  This means pollen from GM plants accidentally pollinate non-GM crops and create hybrids that contain the foreign DNA.

Why are GMO's so scary?
In most other developed nations, including the entire European Union, GM crops are banned.  That's right: banned. Illegal.  They don't want them.
The US government, on the other hand, has approved certain GM crops.  This approval is based on studies by the few corporations who create, patent and profit from GM seed.  These same companies also sell the chemical herbicides that accompany most GM crops.
Not only are GMOs a dangerous health experiment, they also set up yet another dependent relationship with chemical companies.

No one knows the effect of GMOs on our bodies, but studies are showing potential for health problems and environmental upset.  Many Americans are petitioning for GMO labeling so that they can make the choice to consume them or not.  Groups like The Non GMO Project are working to lobby to this end.  Activists are advocating for more studies before any other crop is approved for genetic modification.

That's the quick story!  Not really a nice one.  Hopefully you are not reading this right before bed.  I feel like people are really confused about this topic, so I wanted to attempt some clarification.
Todd and I have sorted out this issue because it effects our future as organic farmers.  We want purity in our seed supply and support companies like High Mowing Organic who pledge to oppose GMOs.  We pay quite a bit more for seed than farmers who are not organic, but we feel it is worth it.