The Monadnock Community Land Trust (our landlord) held its annual meeting here at the farm on Sunday. After the procedural details were taken care of, we took a walking tour to inspect our operation.
It may seem hard to believe, given how important food is to our lives, but farming does not pay well enough to compete with residential and other commercial uses for land these days. The cost of land has become disconnected from its ability to produce food–even though farm land is subsidized by relatively low taxes. Without conservation land trusts and other landlords willing to forgo a “market” rate in favor of farming, it would be nearly impossible to find affordable land to farm.
Another way to look at this is that food today is incredibly cheap. It is subsidized both by the government and by landowners like MCLT. We should all thank MCLT for the dinner they help put on the table tonight!
Chef John has posted yet another great video recipe in his “Cooking with Grass-Fed Beef” series. We sent him some of our sirloin tip to work with, but he says this works with almost any cut as long as it is sliced thin.
Interesting article in the New York Times last week about how widespread use of the weedkiller Roundup has led to the rapid growth of herbicide-resistant superweeds. This is just one more strike against a system that sounded good on paper, but turns out to have major negative unintended consequences.
The big idea is that tilling the soil is bad because it causes erosion. This is undoubtedly correct. Roundup is part of an alternative system that does not require tilling. But the other part of the system is genetically modified, Roundup-tolerant versions of corn, soybeans, and other crops. Patented genes from these GMO crops make their way via natural pollination into non-GMO crops, and pretty soon it is a crime for a farmer to save his own seeds, as farmers have been doing for the last 13,000 years.
It’s also an open question whether soil is healthier being poisoned every year or being tilled. In any case, it’s time to find a different solution to the erosion problem.
Our first batch of chicks arrived this morning. They are New Hampshire Reds—a “dual purpose” breed. We will keep some to start our laying flock. The rest will be processed as meat birds in late July.
Before the 1960′s, most broilers were breeds like the New Hampshire Red. Nowadays, the only breed you will find in the supermarket is that freakish franken-bird known as the “Cornish Cross.” The Cornish cross is bred to grow as much breast meat as fast as possible. They grow so fast that their legs don’t work properly, so they can barely stand up.
Although New Hampshire Reds grow slower, they are far more suited to our holistic approach to farming. What remains to be seen is whether the market here will forgo the “breast meat” bird for the more sustainable, smaller, 1950′s-style broiler chicken.
The National Organic Standards Board is reviewing requirements for livestock living conditions. They are thinking about requiring organic livestock (including beef cattle, dairy cattle and poultry) to be given access to pasture during the growing season.
Many consumers are not even aware that “organic” livestock are not already required to live outside on pasture in the summertime.
Many organic producers (especially poultry producers) are concerned that such a radical change in the standard will destroy the businesses they have struggled so many years to build.
The problem is that our labeling system is outdated. We have one catch-all standard, “organic,” that is pulled in different directions by different interest groups. The French are thirty years ahead of us in standards. They now have four major labeling programs that complement each other, reducing consumer confusion and allowing each producer to find its place on a spectrum of philosophies.
I think we should follow the French example. It is time we added a second label with teeth like the French “Label Rouge.” I’d love to hear what you think.
This is a great time of year to be planting new grass. To give our livestock the best forage possible, we contacted Cliff Taylor, of Taylor Made Seeds and he suggested a great organic mix that will green up quickly and will be ready for grazing within six weeks. He was also kind enough to loan us his “no-till” seed drill. This enables us to plant the seed with minimum impact to the soil and the living organisms in the soil, which are responsible for breaking down old plant material and manure into soil organic matter and humus.
Our friend and grass-fed beef fan, Chef John Mitzewich just posted a great recipe for homemade beef stock. For those of you who buy beef in bulk and wonder what to do with those bones, here is your answer! Don’t give them to the dog. Make stock first, then give them to the dog!
By the way, Chef John is on his way to fame and fortune. First, there was the cookbook publishing deal from Parragon Publishing. Now, he just got a Saveur Magazine’s 1st Annual Best Food Blog Award for Most Innovative Video Content.
The weather has been incredible the past few days, and we have been making hay while the sun shines, so to speak. Actually, we can’t make hay yet, but we have been building the corral, cleaning the well, and getting ready to plant pastures, bury a new water line, and build new fences that will improve our multi species rotation. It seems there are a million jobs to do at this time of year. Our first chicks will be arriving in a month, and we have yet to figure out the feed, the bedding, the poultry fence, the waterers. On top of all this, Steve told me today that he has ordered six piglets to start our pastured pork operation.
With the amount of rain we are receiving, it is not hard to see why in New England we call it mud season. The ground is no longer frozen, but the grass is not yet growing. It is very easy for cattle to make a muddy mess. It is especially bad for us, because we get flooding from the Merrimack River and because our soil was heavily tilled during its years as a vegetable farm.
In past mud seasons, I have used the common strategy of “sacrificing” one pasture. That is, I fed the animals hay in a single pasture for a month or two—allowing it to become a muddy mess and allowing the rest of the fields to grow back. This year, I am trying something different. I have scattered bales of hay over a large area, and I am moving the animals quickly to keep the soil from getting too damaged. This year we will reseed behind the cattle. In the future, we hope to build up a strong enough base of sod that will hold up under heavy hooves.
Jamie Oliver is the British chef who overhauled his own country’s school lunch program. His latest project—reforming the American diet—is the subject of a new documentary series that premiers Friday on ABC. If you are looking at our web site, thinking of buying some grass-fed beef, you are probably not among those who really need to see Jamie’s show. But it makes for riveting television. In the pilot (which will be repeated on Friday), Jamie swaggers into Huntington, West Virginia expecting to be embraced as a savior. Instead, the lunch ladies at the local elementary school knock him back on his heels.
The Monadnock Community Land Trust (our landlord) held its annual meeting here at the farm on Sunday. After the procedural details were taken care of, we took a walking tour to inspect our operation.
