USDA Organic Production Survey Tells the Story

The USDA recently published a 160-page report on the results of their Certified Organic Production Survey (COPS).  Questionnaires were sent to 9140 certified farms with an impressive 76% response rate. The bottom line? The biggest certified farms are getting bigger.

The report placed the value of organic products at $3.53 billion with 10% of farms generating 70% of sales. A total of 8 mega-dairies in Texas produce 15% of the nation's milk supply - more than the 465 dairies in New York, Vermont and Maine combined and 50% more than the 397 dairies in Wisconsin.

143 certified organic farms produced nearly 20 million broilers in 2011. 60% of those sales come from only 9 farms in California.

In egg production, 375 certified organic layer farms had sales exceeding $275, 000,000. Missouri ranked second with only 7 layer operations while Indiana ranked fifth with only four.  [Blank spots in the numbers obscure the examples of extreme concentration in the state of Michigan].

It only takes a trip to the grocery store to see California's 60% domination of the organic vegetable and fruit market. If you add Arizona, Oregon and Washington it represents 4/5 of all the organic vegetables grown in the United States. The only state east of the Mississippi that comes close to approaching the production of these western states is Florida, with New York a distant second.  California and Washington state combined produce 90% of the national organic fruit market.

So what does this story tell? To me, it says that there is a lot of monoculture going on.  Organic "inputs" are being substituted but we're still contributing to loss of soil, water and diversity - in other words,  the natural resource base on which life on earth depends.

What's the moral of this story?  Get busy producing, preserving and purchasing local food from small, diversified farms with closed loop systems.  "Industrial organic" is there to serve in the interim and as an entry point for newbies. But it is part of the journey, not the destination. It can never measure up to the quality, flavor and connection ensouled in consciously-raised local food. I purposely avoided the o-word (organic) here because I believe that inputs purchased from conscious local vendors are preferable to outsourced organic inputs.  It's the "slow food" way of growing the infrastructure necessary for a sustainable, local food economy and an incremental move in the right direction that keeps pace with consumer education, rising fuel costs and demand.

Organic certification and outsourced food will never out-perform local food's biggest output: connection. This is where the power to restore land, health and community lives.

Acres USA & a Cup of Coffee

Acres USA and a cup of coffee always get me going. In the November 2012 issue I read that according to the 2007 census, (the 2012 census won't be out until 2014) the number of farms in the U.S. in the 1-9 acre and 1-49 acre categories grew by 53,000 and 56,000 respectively since 2002. In spite of the slow economy, America’s Farmers Markets have been growing by nearly 10% in the past year alone. With access to these markets, small farmers are opting out of relying on unpredictable commodity prices that may not offset expenses. If we’ve learned anything, it’s that sustainable and transparent pricing and practices go hand in hand.

The USDA defines a small farm as one grossing under $250,000 per year. Because farms are defined in terms of income, growing one’s own food isn’t included in these statistics. Yet increasing numbers of people are trading in the treadmill for a rural lifestyle and a chance at self-sufficiency. 

The Smart Growth movement has much to say about what urban areas will look like but is rather silent about those places in between. In Whatcom County, Washington,  the very same folks who support CSA’s are imposing assaults and limitations on rural areas. In urban-centric circles, rural life is just another word for sprawl. And large-scale farming is preferable because it doesn’t intrude on the view shed. Yet large scale farming of monoculture crops are detrimental to healthy soil life and the watershed.  

It seems as if the back-to-the-land and Smart Growth movements are in conflict with each other. One group strives for land-based economics while the other seeks to preserve ‘open space’ that can be observed and admired from afar.  This is preservation of views, not farmland. 

39% of the nation’s small farms are smaller than 49 acres. An unknown percentage of families supplement their incomes by producing and consuming several thousands of dollars worth of farm products each year. Small scale farming within a few miles of a city can perform an important task in the overall preservation of agriculture by providing a buffer between city residents and the nuisances of larger-scale farms and by providing a wide variety of specialty foods to those residents.

In Whatcom County and others like it, high land prices for smaller parcels, a stagnant economy, and lending restrictions are taking their toll. The idea that large farms have always dominated the country is a modern artifice. And if urban areas get too populated, residents will look to areas outside the city to call home. 

What might Rural Smart Growth look like? Simon Fairlie, an author and farmer paints a picture in his essay; “Can Britain feed itself?” Fairlie proposes that re-ruralization would free up space for market gardens inside or on the periphery of cities and reconnect city dwellers with their food. It would break up large mechanized farms into small farms and hamlets and result in more people working from home. Polycultural income streams from land-based enterprises would link local needs with local resources.  Landscapes would look like mosaics and provide employment.

Using a basic diet, Fairlie compared Chemical Ag with and without livestock with Organic Ag with and without livestock and Permaculture with and without livestock on 100 acres.  Chemical Ag without livestock fed the most people - 20 -  but at what cost to the environment and health? Organic Ag and Permaculture were about equal with feeding 8 because of the need for cover crops, fallow fields, fodder and pastures.  However 100 acres of Permaculture-based Ag provided food, textiles for clothing, animal feed, fuel for tractors, heating fuel and timber for the home. With all of these land-based enterprises providing for all these needs, the countryside would become more, not less populated and provide employment. This is Rural Smart Growth.

But will people even want this type of employment? There seems to be a disdain for farmers and employment that requires physical labor. This is rather odd when you consider how much money and time is spent at gyms. Think of all those calories being burned without accomplishing anything productive whatsoever! Personally, I think there are worse occupations one could choose than a land-based enterprise that works in cooperation with nature and contributes to community resilience. 

The Pig Whisperer

It’s the Friday before New Year’s Eve.  It was just another day at the salon - unless your salon happens to be part of a compound that includes your home and one other unlikely partner: a farm. I’ve  had a good day in the salon. 

I was precisely placing caramel highlights to offset the graceful graying of the corkscrewed curly-Q’s streaming down my client's back. My son was on winter break, quietly noodling on the IPhone he inherited from the fortuitous timing of Christmas and an upgrade. I’m grateful to Santa for earphones and the bi-fold doors that separate our worlds. Avery was raised on the other side of the Great Divide between my work and a home that gracious folks would call ‘lived in’.  At 14 he hasn’t outgrown interupting me for lame reasons, typically met with “The Look”. I was almost done for the day when the bi-fold doors creaked opened. As I prepared to muster said ‘look’ I was met with another that said ‘something’s wrong’. Pointing towards something just outside the picture window, I saw three not-so-little pigs. I huffed and puffed and issued stealth orders to call his Dad and track their whereabouts until I was done. 

Collecting myself, I went back to corkscrewed curly-Q’s I could deal with. My client chuckled at yet another indication that this was not your typical salon. Shortly thereafter I was back in ‘the zone’ – that happy place uninhabited by pigs, teenagers or anything else in the world but me and my creativity.  Once the caramel highlights had receded down the driveway, I scurried off to find my son, grabbing a bag of small red potatoes. I found Avery and the 3 escapees at the top of the hill on a treeless plateau formerly used for a large garden.

Surprisingly, the pigs weren’t interested in food, perfectly happy to nose-plow virgin territory. We tried to curtail their wandering into the thick surrounding woods by using long dead tree branches,  a bad imitation of what we’d seen 4H kids do.  My great idea?  To rope them. This was squelched by Avery’s lampooning of me being garden-plowed behind a 400 lb. runaway pig. 

Finally we coaxed them onto a two-track encircling the garden that led downhill towards the barn. As I got ahead of them an inspiration came. Picture the scene in “Funny Girl” where Fanny Brice lets it rip at the helm of a New York harbor ferry,  only nix Babs and insert me belting “SOOEEEYY!" at the helm of a muddy two-track. 

Miraculously, the pigs started following me. I pied-pipered them all the way down the hill, through the narrow doorway of the lower barn and into a stall, Avery bringing up the rear. Was it luck, will power or my inner Streisand? Or was it the curious fashion-pairing of muddy Sorrells and a magenta cashmere skirt?  All I know is that by the end of it, aggravation subsided into the satisfaction of manipulating three more wayward corkscrewed curly-ques back into place.

Christmas Eve Wishes

I am dog sitting for the O'Neals, loyal May Farm customers. They have a cute little dog named Murphy. I get to stay in their cozy cottage just a dog-walk away from Crystal Lake and Lake Michigan a few times during the off-season when they travel. It's like a mini-vacation. And if I'm not wrong, I probably blogged the last time I was here because I usually try to get caught up on things like that. Note: I went on an internet connection diet over the last year when my air card broke and AT&T wanted $250 to replace it. I decided to discontinue my service and spend that monthly fee on lattes at the Bayview Grille, a wireless hot spot. I like that it limited the amount of time I spent in cyberspace. But that will change in the New Year. I will have to acquire self-discipline.

I just spent the morning making swedish meatballs and artichoke dip for a Xmas Eve party tonight. I used used May Farm pastured beef and pork. I don't really measure, but here's the recipe.

Mush together 1 lb. each of May Farm ground beef and pork, bread crumbs, milk, eggs, nutmeg, allspice, cardamon, salt, pepper and onion. Bake on a broiler pan for about 10 minutes in a 350 oven. Make a simple bechamel sauce and pour over the meatballs. Voila! Serve as an appetizer or over noodles. Triple or quadruple the recipe and have a meatball-making party with a friend or two and freeze the little buggers in some ziplocks for a quick dinner.

Okay, but that's not why I was inspired to write today. I've been reading Woody Tasch's book "Slow Money" and it has me squirming with thoughts begging for somewhere to land. I think I'll start a new blog post. See ya in the next one.

Fall Harvest 2011

It's been way too long since I've visited this blog. It's almost November and we are in the middle of harvest time on the pasture. We've delivered lamb already and now we're on to pork. This year we did something different. We collaborated with Sherry Murray to rotationally graze pigs on her farm. She had the right topography and four boys, so it was a no-brainer. She was interested in learning the method and using non-GMO feed. We are just starting to figure out that the profits aren't what we would have hoped for. $3.50 per pound for non-GMO, pastured pork is just not enough! I have to laugh at how we operate at both ends of Maslow's hierarchy of needs: survival + altruism. It's whacky! Don't have a lot of time, but wanted to write something even if it's silly. I will try to be more consistent!

New Rule: No Gum Popping allowed on the pasture!

Well, I've heard it all. In a 1996 study, experts concluded that feeding cattle a 30% diet of bubblegum, including wrappers, was a net benefit. If that isn't enough, farmers actually did it. By Beechnut, and by the truckload! Read that and more at this link: http://www.eatwild.com/articles/youare.html

It's March already. Time to place pre-orders for grassfed beef, lamb, pork and chickens. I am having a hard time uploading the order form. email us for one @ themayfarm@gmail.com. We are hoping to have it on our website, too @ www.themayfarm.com.

Locavore Superbowl in NW Lower Michigan

What do locavores eat in February? A lot! 

By February we have finally caught our breath and can enjoy visitng other farms and can finally turn those frozen berries into jams and pies.

Creation Pharm is only ½ mile away but you’d think it was in another state! We’ve started a tradition of watching the Superbowl together and sharing our stored treasures over a meal. We provide the meat and let Mike do the cooking. This year we had Beef Ribs with a Honey-Habanero-Cumin glaze; Meatballs and Home-made Heirloom Tomato Sauce served over local spaghetti; a nicoise- inspired salad and Frozen Tart Cherry (North Star Organics) Margaritas. For an appetizer I made a goat cheese onion dip for potato chips. 

So what else do locavores eat in February?

Root vegetables, potatoes and squash stored from summer harvest

Greenhouse greens, kale, chard from the winter farmer’s mkt.

·         Canned, frozen veggies from last summer

·         Dried mushroom and herbs

·         A bushel of local fall apples stored in the basement

·         Frozen, canned or dehydrated berries and fruits

·         Frozen or canned juice from backyard orchard, grapevines, or farmer’s market

·         Local honey and maple syrup

·        Custom raised grassfed beef, lamb, pork or chicken from the freezer

·        Venison or other wild game

·         Fish caught from Ice fishing

·         Farm fresh eggs

·         Hazenuts, chestnuts

      Milk yogurt, ice cream, butter and cheese from your own goat, boarded at the May Farm 

·         Low pasteurized milk and cheese curds from Cream Cup Dairy, Bear Lake

      Leelanau Raclette Cheese, Leelanau County

      Light of Day Tea

      Home brewed Kombucha or Kvass

Local wine, beer, ciders, root beer

It's not as hard you think and you get better at over time. 

It's a holistic life style thing...