There was a great interview on NHPR this morning of Gary Hirshberg, who is stepping down today as CEO of Stonyfield Farm. Hirshberg is going to focus more on his campaign to convince the government to require food producers to identify genetically engineered ingredients in food. The interview is definitely worth a listen. But if you don’t have time for that, his most convincing argument is about how GE crops are used in conjunction with huge amounts of chemical herbicides (for surpressing weeds). I was shocked to learn that Dow Chemical has even applied for permission to sell a new GE corn to be planted in conjunction with 2,4-D, a major component of Agent Orange. You can find more information (including a petition to the FDA) at http://justlabelit.org/.
Posted in Food Policy | Tagged Gary Hirshberg, genetically engineered food, justlabelit.org | 3 Comments »
Last month, we got a visit from Tara Turcogeorge and Alicia Maclean, who work as veterinary technicians for the State of New Hampshire. They really gave our Temple Grandin corral a workout, testing our cattle for brucellosis and tuberculosis. (They test all cattle in the state on a regular basis.) While they were at it, they threw in rabies shots for free. Ouch! Thanks!
Posted in Farming | Tagged brucellosis, corral, rabies shot, tuberculosis, veterinarian | 2 Comments »
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Last week, Steve and I took a trip with Marty Michener to visit Dorn Cox at his farm in Lee, NH. Dorn has developed his own mobile biodiesel refinery, and he is planning to publish his design so anyone can build one. By Dorn’s calculations, farmers in New England could produce all the fuel for their operations by setting aside about 10% of their land for growing vegetable oil crops such as sunflowers.The mobile refinery is pretty cool, but we were even more impressed with Dorn’s radishes. He plants daikon radishes in the fall as part of his cover crop. The radishes grow a deep tap-root and then die over the winter. The root decomposes in the spring, leaving behind a deep vertical tube of compost. This breaks up compaction of the soil, allowing crops to grow better and improving water drainage. The radishes also capture nitrogen in the fall and release it in the spring when needed, reducing the need for added fertilizer. PLUS—if you harvest a few radishes in the fall, you can make a killer kimchi.
Posted in Farming | Tagged daikon radishes, Dorn Cox, mobile biodiesel refinery, tillage radishes | 1 Comment »
Since we have to brood a batch of chicks to replace our own laying hens, we decided to double our order and open a new line of business: certified Organic, ready-to-lay pullets for sale. These Rhode Island Reds will start laying eggs in April, and we are now taking reservations for April delivery at $16 apiece. If you are interested in reserving some, please shoot me an email.
Posted in Farming | 1 Comment »
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If you have stopped by the farm recently, you may have been disappointed to find the egg supply very low. And, if you know the farm well, you may have noticed that our laying hens are looking very spiffy. These two things have the same cause: our chickens are going through their annual molt. When chickens molt, they drop their old feathers and grow a new set. The pretty much stop laying eggs for the duration, focusing their body’s energy on making feathers. The new outfits look very nice, but we would frankly rather have the eggs.
Posted in Farming | Tagged Pasture-raised eggs | 5 Comments »
Last year we rented a Red Devon bull with hopes that his offspring would improve our herd. Unfortunately, he had some difficulty with his job. We expected our cows to be pregnant within a month. But ultimately, it took five months. What’s more, some of this year’s babies look like Daddy, but some of them—not so much. It appears that the big guy was unable to dominate the young bull calves and keep them in their place. We chalk that up to survival of the fittest. We just wish we hadn’t rented the second-fittest.
Posted in Farming | Tagged grass-fed beef | Leave a Comment »
Stew season is upon us again! Yesterday, I had some chicken and half a cabbage I wanted to put in a stew, so I called up Chef Craig Fournier for advice. I gave him a list of what I had in the cupboard and he came up with this recipe. It was delicious!
Chef Craig Chicken Stew
1 whole chicken, cut up
3 lg potatoes, peeled and cut in eighths
3 parsnips, peeled and cut in 2 inch long sections
1 lg onion, chopped
½ cup flour
salt & pepper
2 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp butter
½ cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock
½ cabbage, chopped in 1 inch pieces
Preheat the oven to 350°. Put ½ cup flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp pepper in a large Ziploc bag. Put half the chicken pieces in the bag at a time and shake the bag to coat. Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large skillet until it just starts to smoke. Brown the chicken on all sides over medium high heat. Transfer the chicken to a Dutch oven. Sauté the onions, parsnips, and potatoes in the skillet until the onions turn clear (5-8 min). Transfer the vegetables to the Dutch oven. Add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 Tbsp flour to the skillet and cook 3-5 minutes over medium heat. Add ½ cup white wine to the skillet and deglaze. Add 2 cups of chicken stock to the skillet and bring it to a boil. Transfer the liquid to the Dutch oven. Pour in more chicken stock if necessary to just cover all the meat and vegetables. Throw in the cabbage on top. Cover and bake @ 350° 30-40 minutes. Take it out, stir it, taste it, salt & pepper to taste. If the sauce is too thin, strain out the meat & vegetables and reduce the sauce. Optional: remove the chicken meat from the bones and skin before mixing the meat & vegetables back into the sauce.
Serve with fresh bread.
Posted in recipes | Tagged Craig Fournier, Pastured chickens, recipes | 1 Comment »
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We got hit pretty hard by the snowstorm that knocked out power and cancelled Halloween up and down the northeast last weekend. Our generator was running throughout the storm, but falling trees crushed our fences all over the farm. A fox (we think) helped himself to a few of our laying hens when the snow knocked down the electrified poultry net.With the help of chainsaw madman Frank DeGennaro and his son, Frank Jr., we are cleaning up the mess. Progress was stalled today because, of all things, chain oil is sold out throughout our region. Hopefully, by this time next week the snow will have melted, and we will have another month of grazing before winter arrives for real.
Posted in Farming | Tagged Frank DeGennaro, October Snowstorm | 1 Comment »
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This weekend we had a visit from the sixth grade Environmental Science class of the Roxbury Latin School in Boston. For weeks, the boys have been studying different ways in which humans have interacted with nature, now focusing on the production of food. They have studied and debated source materials from 19th century native American literature to the documentary Food Inc. The trip to our farm was the culminating experience for the boys, and after touring the farm and helping with some chores, they ended with a cook off between supermarket hamburger and our grass-fed hamburger.Needless to say, our hamburger won hands down!
Posted in Friends | Tagged Food Inc., grass-fed beef, Roxbury Latin School | Leave a Comment »
October is a very busy month for farmers. This year, it is also very busy for the lawmakers and lobbyists who are working out how much the federal government will spend on agricultural programs. We understand and support the idea that the government must not spend beyond its means, and that agricultural spending must be cut in line with everything else to balance the budget. But we would like to defend a small part (3%) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) budget that many people don’t understand: the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).
Most people know that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is supposed to prevent people from harming the environment. But while the EPA is telling everybody what they are doing wrong, the NRCS is actively helping farmers do things right. The NRCS provides expert consulting and funding for farm projects that benefit the environment. This may sound self-serving coming from a farmer who has directly benefited from NRCS funding, but the carrot-and-stick system really works.
Last week, a group of conservation organizations sent a letter to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction that says it all.
Posted in Opinion | Tagged Federal Budget, NRCS | Leave a Comment »
