#farmlessons

[chelsea-m-jones]

How it feels getting to use the tractor to complete chores ♡ Work SMARTER and not harder! #farmlessons #farmtoketo #farm #farmmom #countryliving #country #countrygirl #farmgirl #nubiangoats #mulefootpig #horses #chickens #ducks #blackherford #anges #herford #cow #farmher (at Alabama) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx5g797HMU2/?igshid=rlev1quwtet5

[activateyourhappy]

You it's springtime when... #dahlias #affectyourday #farmlessons #vinylcafe #blueberryhillfarm

[goodnightyall]

Yep, that's Tater pinning Henry under a wheelbarrow. #farmlessons #whatdoesntkillyou (at Bastrop, Texas)

[somoran-blog]

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!

[somoran-blog]

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.

[somoran-blog]

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.

[somoran-blog]

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?

[somoran-blog]

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!