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Snow at Langwater. Snapped both of these pictures and more one snowy afternoon at Langwater Farm. The first I edited to black and white and the second increased saturation. Then I printed a bunch of each, glued to construction paper, and gave them as cards to fellow-employees.
My Biggest Farming Regret and Market News
Sheesh, I am just the most inconsistent blogger there ever was...
I was thinking about it and I'm not usually one for regrets but I certainly do have a regret about my farming career: I regret that I failed to begin farming (in a paid manner) until I graduated college. All of those years spent at a movie theatre seem almost wasted when I could have been on a farm. Alas, making up for that now anyways.
Also, proud to announce I'll be continuing to sell Langwater produce at markets in the winter at a winter farmer's market in Easton at Oaks Ames Hall from 10 to 2 every Saturday.
A Tale of Two Markets Part II
As promised, here is a post about my experiences at the SoWA Open Market. SoWA is nothing short of an amazing market. The key is that it is not merely a farmers market but instead there are food trucks two blocks down, a vintage store next door, arts and crafts vendors next to them, and lastly all sorts of fresh food from bakers, meat producers, and vegetable farms. It opens at 10 am and goes until 4 am, our longest hours of operation for a market.
This set-up attracts so many customers that we are able to send two employees (me and a co-worker, Rachel). This allows for a dramatically faster unpacking, setting up, selling of produce (shorter wait time for customers), and packing up. I also find it enjoyable to work off each other’s strengths. She is much more familiar with what to do with our produce and how to do it.
For reference my last post discussed the amount of government programs utilized at the market from SNAP to WIC. In contrast, I have only received one WIC check in my several weeks of vending. This points to a remarkably different customer base.
Again I have very little data for you (which I know that upsets the social scientist in all of us) but it is clear that these customers, as a whole, are significantly better off than those in Dorchester. Few people complain or do a double take at the sight of our prices and many, many more are excited that we are an organic farm. Apparently, Langwater is the only organic farm at SoWA, which is rather surprising given the customer base.
In fact, one of my favorite customer is at the SoWA market. He hurriedly looks and grabs at seemingly everything he can carry, exclaiming “Are you sure you guys organic?” and before I can answer “I can’t believe this is organic!” Not in an accusatory manner but in just sheer disbelief and joy. Such appreciation instantly brings a smile to my face.
I really enjoy SoWA to the point where I look forward to it and will be disappointed when it ends in ~ 2 weeks. Further, it is an absolute honor to sell these goods to people who really appreciate the hardwork that I put in five or six days a week. Another one of the farmers at the market repeatedly makes the joke that working a market isn't really 'work' (compared to working in the fields), instead its just talking to people. And its a beautiful idea that our job is really just to communicate with customers about our awesome, organic produce.
Still working on the What Organic Really Means series. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!
A Tale of Two Markets Part I
I have recently begun working a couple of farmers markets - Dorchester Ashmont/Peabody Square Farmers Market and the SoWA Open Market. I'm not sure that I could be assigned two markets that are more dissimilar in the market experience but I am very glad to be able to work both. I began with the idea I would compare and contrast the two in a single post but after having just written about the first market I have decided to save SoWA for a later post. Enjoy!
Dorchester/Ashmont/Peabody Square
This market happens every Friday from 3 pm to 7 pm and is a very small market in terms of vendors and customers. There is another farm (though not organic), a bakery from down the street, a fresh fish stand, and an assorted crafts and flowers stand. Business is usually slow though constant for much of the day. It is placed immediately outside a T (subway) station. The real defining feature of this market is the demographics of its customers.
I tried to get some census or other data to give you a picture of Dorchester but it is actually a neighborhood of Boston and therefore not broken down statistically, at least income wise. According to wikipedia,
As of 2010 the population of Dorchester was 92,115 and the ethnic makeup was 37% African American or Black, 28%White non-Hispanic, 14% Hispanic or Latino, 12% Asian or Pacific Islander, 0% Native American, 5% some other race, 4% two or more races.[43]
Around here it is known as a pretty tough neighborhood with a good amount of crime and poverty. However, there are also some nice areas and it is often the center of development programs. This results in a very diverse customer base in terms of income (and race). The market accepts EBT cards as well as WIC checks and I believe those modes of payment are used more here at this small market than any other market. EBT stands for Electronic Benefit Transfer and is the way that SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits are given to users. SNAP of course is the new name for the former Food Stamps Program, which carries a negative connotation. WIC stands for Women, Infants, and Children and supports single women with children under the age of 5. Unfortunately I know more about SNAP than WIC so most of this post will refer to SNAP and not WIC.
There are some really awesome stats about SNAP/Food Stamp programs, such as Average Monthly SNAP Benefit Per Person (broken up by state), Number of People Participating in SNAP (broken up by state), and Total Benefits (broken up by state). SNAP has also been in the news a lot recently as the Congressional House Republicans have attempted cutting benefits. Hopefully you aren't SNAP fatigued yet because I would HIGHLY recommend two articles that really touch upon how the issue of food security touches upon people we may not realize- I'm a 35-Year-Old Veteran On Food Stamps and Shamed in Edina for Using Food Stamps
How does this issue affect me personally? Compared to those who actually live day to day using these payment methods, not at all. However, it is tough on me morally and emotionally when people complain about the higher prices of an organic farm when we are slightly more pricier than the non-organic farm across the path and definitely more expensive than a supermarket and even heartbreaking when people attempt to buy only one beet (we sell them by the bunch) or try to negotiate a price for our goods at which we would be unable to profit and indeed may even take a loss. Of course this seemingly puts profit in a negative light but without a profit incentive our farm would not be in existence. However, there is hope! Please read, another awesome and short article about using less than excellent quality food and expired foods to prepare meals.
More to come on SoWA and I'm still working on a post about the price of organic. Thanks for reading!
Also, thanks to friend and housemate Cassie for the Trader Joe's Ex-President article and thanks to cousin and fellow-Massachusetts-transplant Sarah for the article about the veteran on food stamps.
Still Alive
Just wanted to give everybody a quick catchup. Though it has been a month since my last post i have three interesting posts on the cost of organic produce, the customers of organic produce, and food waste coming up.
More personally I have moved into a wonderful apartment with two friends, both of whom are incredibly awesome. I'm also picking up more hours at Langwater Farm as most farm help has returned to school (both college and high school). Looks like I will be busy this fall but I will be making a concentrated effort on here. Promise!
Fire Hydrant. Picture taken on a street in Jamaica Plains last year. I usually don't take abstract pictures but I found the this particular fire hydrant and house numbers intriguing enough to deserve 4 seconds of my time.
At the risk of posting two country videos in a row, I share with you Running Out of Moonlight - a tale of the perfect summer night.
What Organic Really Means #1
I have decided to begin a new series, “What Organic Really Means” because I have much to write about on the topic. I’m guessing if you are reading this you are a friend or family member and that you generally have a positive connotation of ‘organic farming.’ My goal with this new series isn’t to change that but to inform you because coming into this experience I did not realize *all* of the implications of organic farming.
First, for a basic understanding, a little background on organic. Basically organic farmers are prohibited from using chemical pesticides (like herbicides, which kills weeds; chemical insecticides, which kills bugs; and fungicides, which kills fungi), and chemical fertilizers (increases yield of crops). They can use biological replacements, however, that are usually much less effective. In the United States the Department Agriculture essentially regulates organic farming, meaning farmers have to pay a fee to be inspected and be labeled certified organic. You can still farm organically but in order to be certified organic, you must pay the fee.
Organic Farming is not as “clean” as you might think. Some may have this idea that organic farming is cleaner then conventional farming because it doesn’t use chemicals. I used to think, “I don’t need to wash these products because they came straight from the dirt, no chemical preservatives or harmful pesticides that I don’t want in my body.” But I’ve come to realize this may have been naive. This isn't true of every single crop, but in general, your organic produce will most certainly have had some living organism land on it, crawl on it, eat part of it, poop on it, have sex on it, maybe even die on it. And if it hasn’t then the next one probably has. This is a direct result from the lack of pesticides used in organic farming and it isn’t necessarily unclean and it may not even be dangerous to eat the produce without washing it (who’s to say, certainly not me without a science background). But these crops are grown in a larger ecosystem that is teeming with all sorts of life. It is only natural that the ecosystem life will interact in ways that are perhaps hidden to the final consumer of organic produce.
Martina McBride's Independence Day - An inspiring story about freedom (from fear/oppression).
"Let freedom ring, let the white dove sing Let the whole world know that today is a day of reckoning Let the weak be strong, let the right be wrong Roll the stone away, let the guilty pay it's Independence Day"
As seen on facebook, this is my typical maximum sun protection gear (note the t-shirt is long sleeve and on the bottom is jeans everyday). This protects against the sun and more recently mosquitos. Fun Fact, Easton had one of the highest rates of triple E. In other news, the beard is also sun protection. Lastly, working on growing out a ponytail behind that t-shirt because, why not?
I Sit And Look Out by Walt Whitman
By far my favorite poem. Partly because I'm not familiar with many poems, partly because I think this speaks to the inaction and ignorance facing our generation, country, and world.
I SIT and look out upon all the sorrows of the world, and upon all oppression and shame; I hear secret convulsive sobs from young men, at anguish with themselves, remorseful after deeds done; I see, in low life, the mother misused by her children, dying, neglected, gaunt, desperate; I see the wife misused by her husband—I see the treacherous seducer of young women; I mark the ranklings of jealousy and unrequited love, attempted to be hid—I see these sights on the earth; I see the workings of battle, pestilence, tyranny—I see martyrs and prisoners; I observe a famine at sea—I observe the sailors casting lots who shall be kill'd, to preserve the lives of the rest; I observe the slights and degradations cast by arrogant persons upon laborers, the poor, and upon negroes, and the like; All these—All the meanness and agony without end, I sitting, look out upon, See, hear, and am silent.
So You Still Wanna Know What 'Farming' Is Like?
It recently dawned on me that in my previous post about farming I talked about my experience farming without ever actually ever going over what I do. So here's take two.
5:30 am - Wake Up
Not the biggest morning person but it hasn't been too bad when you're job depends on it.
6:00 am - Be at Farm
About a 5-10 minute commute down the road.
Morning - Harvest
We each essentially specialize in harvesting some items (so we can become really good at picking quality produce quickly and consequently lowering costs for the farm). I usually pick beets, zucchini, squash, spring onions, garlic and strawberries and have also done turnips, chard, spinach. The farm also sells lettuce and other crops that are completely slipping my mind right now. Of course the amount of time you spend on each crop/ the amount to pick changes each day depending on how the orders from restaurants, schools, and how the farmstand stock is looking as well as whether it is a CSA pick-up. Our highest number of beets I've seen was 190 (which means 190 bunches of beets, which will go from anywhere between 6 and 9 beets, depending on the size) and a lot of the time we don't need to pick a certain crop because it hasn't ripened enough since last picking or there are no orders.
Lunch
About an hour long lunch break, varies on a given day.
Afternoon - Sometimes Harvest/ Sometimes Weed/ Sometimes Special Project
The farm really prefers to finish harvest in the morning when temperatures are lower because higher temperatures will wilt al lot of the produce, making it less sell-able. Whenever we harvest we try to put it in the shade as much as possible and bring it into the farmstand, where a cooler is, and store it until it can be cleaned and restored or packed or sold. But sometimes there is so much to harvest we go into the afternoon as well.
We also hand weed or weed with a shuffle hoe because as an organic farm we cannot use herbicides (or pesticides for that matter). But weeding can really increase the size of the crop and how many successful crops you'll end up having, both greatly increasing the yield.
Lastly special projects can include anything from bleaching tomato stakes to kill any lasting diseases from the previous year to moving a bunch of items to make room for a diesel tank.
What an average day looks like is also incredibly dependent on the weather. It has been raining here pretty frequently so there has been less work to do. That means I could be done with my day right after lunch or I could work 6 to 4, which are long but rewarding days.
Here are the best observations I can give you about farming:
If you are on your death bed and could only have one more snack, forget about whatever your favorite food is and go with a strawberry that has just been picked from Langwater Farms. Seriously.
I'm kind of surprised the world's problems haven't been solved by farmers. They spend a lot of time out there and many tasks can be repetitive or even mindless.
Similarly, whenever I think whatever I am doing is hardwork or I am aching I remember that I am doing this for one growing season; many people, literally hundreds of millions people farm as a livelihood for their whole lives.
Lastly, we (or maybe its just me) always thought of postal workers as being quiet amazing for that unofficial slogan to apply - "Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds." But I can tell you farming should definitely adopt such a slogan.
Until next time and thanks once again for reading!
Simple Living Follow-Up. "Simplify" by Brendan James - Very excited to be going to his concert in Boston next Friday. I found this song to be a pretty good summation of the simple life. Another song that came to mind that I highly recommend is Eddie Vedder's Guaranteed, made famous from Into The Wild.
Hipster Jacques. This photo was taken during the winter time of my 3-4 year old Jack-Russell Terrier & Doxin mix, Jacques-Pierre. You may recognize his boyish good looks from our Moran Christmas cards. We rescued him from some southern state (I believe Tennessee or Kentucky) and he came with the name. We tried to rename him but could not agree upon a new name. Jacques has stuck since then. Fun fact: While visiting our house for the first time Jacques got so excited to join our family he peed on a couch!
Miss this lil guy.
Simple Living Adventure
For my spring semester senior year and in some sense longer than that, I lived in community with other Stonehill students and one of our many goals was to live simply. I always connected it to the idea of the popular bumper sticker, “Live simply so others may simply live” (actually a quote from Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton). For me, the idea touches upon reducing consumption and subsequently environmental degradation. Some of the community’s practices included sharing fridges among roommates, forgoing a tv in your room and using the one in the common room, and using a drying rack instead of drying one’s clothes. (If you have other examples please feel free to post em.)
Truthfully though, I’m not sure that life was really all that simple. We still lived with many luxuries that we take for granted. This weekend I will move into my studio (which really is a great way to make a one room apartment sound fancy) apartment where I will live without a tv, without a microwave, mostly without furniture aside from a futon, and above all without internet. I’m really not so certain that this simple living either; I can go to any bar to watch a sports game, a local library to access internet, I’ll still have music, a phone, electricity, a refrigerator, a stove, and my car grants me incredible freedom.
Regardless of how simple my living will be, I’m excited to see how I fare in this new lifestyle. I expect I’ll do a lot more reading than I have in recent years. Maybe some mediation? Most importantly for these purposes, I can write up these blog posts and simply post them once or twice a week by visiting a local library. Any other recommendations on how to spend my time? Or perhaps some examples of how you live simply?
Thanks again for reading!
So, You Wanna Know What 'Farming' Is Like?
Well tough, because I certainly can't give you that experience through a blog post (the Giver, anyone?). But here is my best attempt...
First off, a little background. I am working at Langwater Farms in Easton, MA for the entire growing season. I started here just over two weeks ago and will work until November (6 months). I originally wanted farm experience because in order to do a Peace Corps Agriculture program, with a bachelor's degree in something other than agriculture, you need 3 months full-time experience working on a farm. Secondly, while in DC, my program met with an international food security expert and he said one of the best career moves is gaining first-hand experience in any field you wish to pursue. As I'd like to get into food policy, here's my attempt at that!
When I first floated the idea of working at a farm after graduating people would react in mostly the same way - some iteration that farming is hard, very hard. (The second would be a combined look of surprised, confused, and disappointed.) I knew going into this experience that I would be physically and mentally tested. Back-breaking work, in the blistering sun, or maybe the pouring rain, carrying heavy loads of produce here and there, hand weeding on my knees for hours. When I packed my car in New Jersey, I double checked I had a full bottle of advil and several bottles of sunscreen. I thought I was prepared.
But that was perhaps a naive outlook. Farming is hard in all those ways. And in many other ways as well that I had simply not thought of. My previous farm experience centered around the Farm At Stonehill, which donates all its produce to local community partners in an effort to battle the effects of food deserts (urban neighborhoods and rural towns without ready access to fresh, healthy and affordable food - United States Department of Agriculture). Farming there is very community centered. The tasks get done, but not at a lightening speed pace (usually because the workers there are all volunteers!)
Langwater is different because it operates as a business. For instance, workers there have to pick produce quickly, they have to pick quality produce, they have to pick the right sized produce (yes, it can be both too big and too small) and for many crops they have to create consistent 'bunches.' And all of these things I am learning.
It's been a (very long) while since I had to learn how to do something. Going to college for 4 years we essentially learn and study the same way. As far as jobs go, I had worked in a movie theatre for about 4 years and I am sure I had to learn something in the beginning but by the end I had become quiet good at it. Before that I was a soccer referee, which came somewhat naturally after playing soccer for so many years. So the transition to actually learning a skill, on the worksite, with both external (not being fired) and internal (wanting to do the best I can) pressures has made these first copule weeks very trying yet rewarding! I'm looking forward to the point in time where I can look back and laugh at my early tribulations and hopefully that point comes and comes soon.
Thanks for reading y'all and in an effort to make this a community feel, please feel free to share with me (and other readers) the last time you had to 'learn' something and weren't very good at it at the beginning!
Taken just under 2 years ago at Smith Mountain Lake Virginia. This is one of my favorite pictures, showing a silhouette of my friend's rural house against a night sky. If you look closely you can see lights in the house as well as some of the stars streaking, a result of the ~ 3 minute exposure time. The streak immediately above the house that goes counter to the other stars I believe is ia shooting star. This place represents true beauty and peace, a place I enjoyed in the summer and winter months for about 4 years.
btw - first of a weekly installment of photofriday!