The Summer of Evolution

In my last post, I lamented about the unsustainable lifestyle of a small farmer. In all fairness, I do this every year at the mid-season point. This year though is the first time we have the luxury of not only being able to do something about it but actually having the opportunity to reflect, talk and plan. Almost everything we have done so far has been reactive instead of proactive so this is certainly a change for us. Ian and I just had a three day road trip (for work purposes of course, not a vacation or anything crazy like that). We were effectively shut up in a small space together with the agreement that we would not finish the journey without a plan for next year.

We began the discussion from a common ground, that we were not going to operate next year as we have been doing. However, I soon realized that didn't really mean the same thing to Ian as it did to me. Ian still had the same vision of farming but somehow being more efficient, whereas I was envisioning a smaller scale farming operation and a more streamlined business model.

Our differences were the only thing to be established on the first leg of our journey. Fortunately for us, the first leg of the journey was a mere hours drive to Kw'o:kw'e:hala Eco Retreat in Hope, a place so shrouded in tranquility, it was impossible to continue our disagreement and all thoughts of pushing Ian out of the moving truck subsided.

We left there with a desire to recreate this blissful oasis. We were certain that we could do it. We could continue to run a working farm that fed the guests of the eco-retreat that we would establish. After all, Ian is building tiny homes on site at the moment so there's the solution to guest accommodation. As the plans evolved, they got ever more elaborate & more expensive to implement. Regardless, we blindly talked about funding, building, barn conversions and outdoor showers all the way to Golden, BC.

Day three of the road trip, on our way back to the farm with the 12 piglets we had gone to collect, and focus returned. I had another "what the hell are we thinking" moment. Why are we even talking about finding funding, new building projects, etc.? That's not making things easier, it's just another way to work ourselves to death and accrue debt! The process of stripping it back had to start again, holding on to the objective that we wanted to do less...employ less people, work less hours, less input, less change, all while holding onto the things we enjoy. We loved the idea of the eco-retreat but in reality, that's not achievable for next year. It can remain the long term vision, but we need to take smaller steps to get there.

And so our plan for 2017 was finally agreed. We are going to scale back the vegetable farming - that's the thing that requires the most amount of output for the least amount of return. We will continue to grow but on a scale that we can manage for the number of people doing the work and only to supply our primary focus which will be events. We will continue with the animal agriculture as our meat sales are good. Generally our meat sales subsidize the vegetable farming and we use the animals to help us maintain well fertilized land for the veggie production. But we will decrease the CSA program and we won't go to farmers markets or run the Saturday market at the farm next year.

Long table dinner

Under the new rules from the Agricultural Land Commission, we are permitted to hold events on the farm, with certain restrictions. We intend to take full advantage of that and will schedule regular agri-tourism and learning events including long table dinners and workshops. We are set-up for events, there's not really much work to do to make them a regular feature and showcase local talent and businesses on the farm. We will organize educational programs for children and adults around food and farming. And why not, we're good at that element, we enjoy it and the farm is the perfect venue. We also have the perfect opportunity to cement this new idea when we host Feast of Fields in a couple of weeks.

School tours and kids camps

Fermented Foods Workshop and dinner

Ian and I have finally found a common ground. He certainly feels some grief for the elements we are loosing and continues to harbour unrealistic expectations of what we can do, but Ian is an over-achiever, that's his personality and the thing that pushes us to be successful. We both recognize that we are giving too much and sacrificing our personal and family time. We have a shared confidence that we can make it work with an organized plan for events. Farming here has to sustain us at the level we want to work or not at all. And I am happy with the decision. I believe we can make it work and we will enjoy it more. There are many people farming but not many people promoting agriculture and local food in the way in which we will embrace it. It will give us a platform to advocate for the things we believe in. And heck, we might have a bit of fun (and even the occasional day off) along the way!

The bar!

After dinner warmth in the gazebo

Ian the soux chef...apparently

Laura and I co-hosting a fundraiser with our neighbours

Chef Sean Bone preparing a Cinco De Mayo dinner

A Laurica farm advocacy group downtown

As night falls, the fun factor goes up

Bands in the barn

Fighting the Man

This blog is meant to follow our personal transition into farming life, but I feel a rant coming on. As usual I'm not going to apologise for venting in this forum. I feel justified because I'm sharing what I have learned about agriculture and what is happening right now is impacting me, my farm, my family and my livelihood as well as making me mad!

Yesterday was a big day for the farming industry. The effects of 'Big Ag' are a major part of the discourse between small farmers and homesteaders right now. First of all, Avian Flu was discovered at two big factory farms, a turkey barn in Abbotsford and a chicken farm in Chilliwack. On the same day, beef was recalled due to a discovery of E-coli.

I've learned a lot about food security and ethical farming since transitioning to this lifestyle. Some of it I've had to learn as part of making an informed choice about our farming practices, some of it I've discovered completely by accident, some of it I wish I didn't know. So, let me take the time to explain why these issues arising now are a big concern to me, and to you.

I'm going to start with the Avian Flu. 11,000 birds have already been culled at the two affected farms. The outbreak is the fourth in the Fraser Valley since 2005.

In 2009, an outbreak of avian flu in the same region led to the quarantine of several farms. In 2004, an H7-type flu transformed into a highly contagious strain. Farm after farm was quarantined until finally about 15 million birds — almost the entire valley poultry population — were destroyed. 

Wait, what? How come so many birds culled? Our friend Leona of My Healthy Green Family wrote this yesterday:

"Everyone with poultry, even the smallest farms like mine, had to allow for the authorities to come on their property and let them gas all the healthy birds as a precautionary measure. Pets, or not. I remember hearing of a little old lady who cried when they killed her pet peacock. Why? Because these massive egg factories where chickens live in cages and are debeaked so they don't peck each other to death, are a perfect breeding place for a flu. Now, I am totally blowing this out of proportion since it is only 2 farms at this point and no one is saying this will have to be done again. But I am worried.... and disgusted."

Not only are birds culled, but you are not allowed to keep hatching eggs, not even from healthy birds. So farmers cannot even replace lost birds. It takes an incredibly long time for the population to recover.

Let's just think about the emotional impact. Imagine you have to tell my 7 year old daughter, Jessica, that all her chickens and ducks have to be killed because someone else's birds got sick. I may be casting aspersions here but I doubt the owners of those big factory barns will be shedding tears like the children of small farmers....unless it's over their profits. And let's think about economics for a moment. It's not the big factory farms with their $2 a dozen eggs, their millions of anti-biotic fuelled birds, their GMO & soy laden feed, and their government subsidies that will be hurting. It's the people like me. The average cost of a young laying hen is $20. I have 60. Even if there were hens available after a cull, my budget would not stretch to that.

I, like many small farmers and homesteaders, treat our animals with the utmost respect. Our birds have 'luxury' homes, pasture to free range on, homemade chicken feed, warmth and protection, and here we are potentially bearing the brunt of the people whose values are at the opposite end of the spectrum to ours. Whose benefit is the factory farm for? Not yours, as consumers, not mine as an ethical farmer, not any ones as global citizens on a planet that is being drained of it's resources. Listen to this short clip of from UK Chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall touch on the issues: Objections to Factory Farming 

Moving on to the massive beef recall (yes, another one in Canada).  All meat from a plant is recalled because of practices of mass meat production and distribution. Parts of many cows, not just one cow, are in a single package of ground beef. Cows that aren't even from the same farm, they are from all over the place. The current beef recall due to e-coli is from Walmart. Not local. No one knows where the meat was even raised. This makes controlling disease that comes from factory farms almost impossible without mass culls. If our meat were traceable, disease would have minimal causalities.

I'm continuously thinking about making good food choices, but how can I make a real and tangible difference? There are groups that fight Big Ag & factory farms, and while I support them, I am of the belief that we cannot fight corporate greed and I am saddened that we have to fight our own governments to protect our health and environment. I believe the only way we can effect any positive change is to educate ourselves as consumers and vote with our money. I get that what I've just said may feel like a big challenge. Busy lifestyles often dictate the need for convenience, thus feeding the problem. So, I'm reflecting on the changes I've made as I've transitioned from Suburban Consumer to Sustainable Food Advocate. I've come up with a list of things to do and changes that can be easily made make. I don't expect everyone to live like me, but I think it's reasonable to expect everyone to get informed. Have a look through. Maybe you can just choose one thing to do to make a difference? 

• Get to know your local Farmer. Shake their hand and meet them face to face. If they're wearing any sort of breathing apparatus or HAZMAT clothing, walk away. Generally, small farmers like to be transparent. I love it when consumers take an interest in their food and come and ask me questions and hold me accountable for my claims. On the opposite end of the scale, transparency & accountability are often dirty words in Big Ag. If a farmer won't let you see their produce, you probably don't want to eat it.

"Smaller diversified farms employ more people and use less land and water and produce more foods," says Norberg-Hodge. She explains that localization also shortens the distance between consumers and producers, which helps the environment and also ensures that you do not eat produce that is pretty much dead traveling such insane distances".

• Invest in a CSA box. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It's good for local farmers, small businesses, the environment and for you. You pay in advance for a box of seasonal produce, each farm is different so look into the terms and choose whichever suits you. You will get better value & fresher produce. Not only that but you have healthy food in your fridge that you have paid for and you have to use. You will learn to cook more recipes from scratch and experience a variety of healthy food. Often, your farmer will be happy to share ideas, recipes and suggestions on using or preserving your vegetables.
• 

• Buy your meat from a local farm. Invest in quarter, half or a whole animal (chicken, beef, pork, lamb, etc). Don't want an entire side of beef to yourself? Share with a neighbour. As well as superior taste, choosing pasture raised meat is the ethical choice.  Trust me, I've seen pigs and chickens from factory farms and it's changed my perception. If I couldn't raise my own animals or buy from a local farmer, I would go vegetarian. Not only that, but many small farmers go to extreme lengths to rescue food that would otherwise be destined for landfill. We spend many hours reclaiming food and sharing it with other family farms. And before you quibble over the price, let me assure you that you will not find quality meat in the grocery store at a comparative price. But by choosing local farms, you'll be choosing:
  

• Create cooperatives. Work with your friends and neighbours to create buying clubs and cooperatives. If you have friends that bake, get together and buy organic flour from a local mill in bulk. You'll all enjoy financial savings. My friend Janessa makes her own bread from a bulk buy scheme. She calculated that a loaf of her bread costs under $5 a loaf: it's 1 1/2 times the size of a store loaf, it's totally organic and loaded with healthy extras (steelcut oats, grains, flax, etc). Or you could create a growing club with some neighbours. Choose one item to grow; Sally could grow lettuce, ask Bob to grown tomatoes, Jill to can get some herbs going and Paul can start on some edible flowers. Share your variety of produce for fresh salad all summer. As people see you doing it, they will want to be part of it. Soon you'll have beans, zucchinis, cucumbers and much more. Take back control of your food and your spending. Here's an article on creating a buying group and some more good advice here on things to start making yourself. Doing this will save you money and strengthen you're community. You'll probably be eating healthier too. If you needed any more convincing, there's strong evidence that gardening makes you happier and combats depression.
• 

• Boycott! Ok, I don't want to sound over dramatic. You don't have to stop buying everything you are used to. Choose one big company that you don't like based on any reason that aligns with your personal values. They may operate unethically, have links to Monsanto, use GMO's.... I started with Nestle many years ago because I was fed up with my hard earned cash funding unethical companies, check out this Wiki page on the original Nestle Boycott. I then moved on to stop buying anything by Kraft, which was the best thing I ever did for our diet. When you shun big companies, you often find better products. For example, no Kraft meant no Philadelphia and now we buy a local cream cheese that is organic and has probiotics. Don't worry about choosing a company, there are many to choose from in this link to get you started!

"Industrial agriculture and our globalized food system is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, up to 50 percent if proper account is taken of emissions from land use change and deforestation, most of which are due to agriculture, and for food-related transport, processing, storage and consumption," writes 

 ISIS (Institute of Science in Society).

Of course, this is only the tip of the iceberg, there are problems on a global scale. Just today I've read an article about the UN calling for an end to industrialized farming. I've attached some links at the bottom for further reading. It's time to take back control! There has to be a food revolution. So step away from your Round-Up ready corn and step onto your local farm....but not until we've got rid of Big Ag's Avian Flu!

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/dec/02/12-paths-to-strengthening-food-security-and-nutrition-in-an-unstable-world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vdp6IAedWKo

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/organicfarmingblog/the-advantages-of-polyculture-vs-monoculture

http://www.permaculture.co.uk/videos/can-permaculture-replace-industrial-agricultural-farming-methods

http://www.aabri.com/manuscripts/08086.pdf

http://www.sustainabletable.org/869/impacts-of-industrial-agriculture

Animal Antics!

One of my main motivations for writing this blog is the hope that one day our children will look back on it, remember & understand.  So for this post I want to focus on the livestock, which brings some comic moments.  It’s not that we don’t have anything else going on; we’re expanding our delivery service and opening our farm gates to the public next week.  It’s all very exciting, but it’s having the animals here, doing their thing, that makes it feel like a real farming venture. 

Let’s start with our new arrivals.  Last Friday night, Ian and I toiled in the dark to finish a homemade ‘cap’ for the truck.  We were quite pleased with our $160 lid as they cost thousands to buy new.  Of course, being homemade, it made us look like hillbillies!  Anyway, early Saturday morning we set off to go and collect the first four of our pedigree piglets.  We worked really hard to source heritage hogs rather go down the commercial route.  If you’re interested in the differences, here’s a small article that outline some of the reasons for this decision: http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/6-reasons-to-buy-heritage-pork-from-small-farms

We got them home and off the truck without incident and settled them in.  They were very nervous but appeared to like their new pasture.  They tested the electric fencing causing quite the cacophony, but no harm done, they learn fast.  We named them John, Paul, George and Ringo.

That night, Ian went out at about 10.00pm to check on them.  He came running back into the house exclaiming that the pigs had gone!  Now I tend to be far less reactive than Ian when it comes to the animals but perhaps my “gone where?” question was a little daft, even by my standards.  So off we went with flashlights to traipse around an acre of chest high grass in the dark.  Nothing.  It was starting to look like our four heritage pigs that we had paid for that day had indeed gone. 

Ian and I met back at the pig house in despair.  It was at that moment we heard a faint snuffling noise.  Relief flooded over us.  We heard them, but where were they?  Further investigation revealed that they had tunneled underneath their piggy mansion and decided to make their bedroom underneath the structure intended for them. Pests! 

Underneath the house is where they choose to stay.  I call them 'the troglodytes'.  Seriously, why rent the basement suite when the mansion above is vacant?

The baby chicks have moved into the big girls’ hen house.  They’ve settled in now but were rather upset by this move at first.  Being free-range, the chickens go where they please during the day.  The babies were adamant that they were going to move back to their cozy nursery.  As the nursery is all closed up now, they persistently got lost.  Off we would go again, trawling the field in the dark looking for the chicks.  We usually found them snuggled into the sheep, apparently not quite ready to give up the comforts of a Mothers love.  This made for some late nights and I hate walking through that snake infested field at night, but at least the animals are giving me plenty of opportunity to become adept at it!

Let’s talk about the sheep.  Sheep must be one of the easiest livestock to look after.  All I do is change their water once a week.  Other than that I barely see them in all that long grass.  However, the oldest lamb is a ram and is getting a bit above his station.  He’s been testing us recently by threatening to butt us every time we go to check on them.

Last Friday, a delivery driver left the farm gate open unbeknown to me and I hadn’t properly shut their field gate.  Chaos ensued.  I wrote a brief Facebook status about this incident but it didn’t fully capture the comedy of the situation. Let me fill in the gaps.

I had come into the house to do some baking.  As I put 9 layers of cake batter into the oven I caught a glimpse of four fluffy sheep bottoms disappearing out of the farm gate.  Off I went, panicking.  There was no real need to fly into a blind panic; our farm is at the end of a single track road so very little risk of them causing a multi-car pile-up.  As I got down to the end of the drive, they were happily munching on the roadside foliage.  But, because the road is so narrow, I couldn’t get passed them to usher them back towards the farm and they were ignoring my food offerings and bribes to follow me back to the farm.  Every time I tried to get past them, I just frightened them further away from the farm and towards 256^th Street.  256^th Street is not a major carriageway, this is rural Langley, but the cars do come along there quite fast and there are a lot of trucks delivering feed to the many farms around here, so as they trotted out onto this road, I was quite worried.  Luckily for me a kind man stopped to help me.  He introduced himself as Farmer Rob.  I’m not sure if he was Christened Farmer Rob but that’s exactly what I called him.

I feel it’s relevant to tell you what Farmer Rob looked like at this point.  Contrary to what I told Ian, Farmer Rob can only be described as a bronzed Adonis.  He was beautiful in a masculine, country kind of way.  Approximately 30 years old.  In any other circumstance, I would have found this meeting very pleasing.  While I drawled over Farmer Rob, the sheep continued to refuse to comply and it was almost 30 minutes later that we got them back into their field.

As I turned around to shut the gate, Farmer Rob bid me farewell (sigh).  I raised my hand to wave and shouted “bye Farmer Ro….”.  I didn’t get to finish the word “Rob” because the ram butted me.  Right on my bum!  He put so much effort into butting me that he sent me flying onto my face…in the mud….and the sheep poop.  I lifted my head from my disgraced position to see Beautiful Farmer Rob, still with his hand in the air, mid-wave, staring at me with his mouth open in disbelief.  For some reason, I decided to remain aloof about my predicament and uttered “Thanks again Farmer Rob, bye”.  With that, he shook his head and left.  It was all very Bridget Jones and highly embarrassing.  I shall never forgive that sheep for my humiliation and will feel avenged every time I put part of him into my oven.

During this episode, my nine cakes had burned to a crisp!

As I said earlier, it’s the animals that make this feel like a farm.  It’s also the animals that keep us humble and remind us of our naivety.  Time for us to work on our animal smarts before we can really call ourselves Farmers.

Food for thought....

I’m treating you to an extra post this week because next week there will be some actual homesteading activities to report (I know you’ve been waiting with baited breath), but in the meantime I have a few things to get off my chest.  I want to talk about food and emotions – two things that often go together, and one often triggers the other.

Let’s get emotions out of the way first.  I don’t know whether the adrenaline has ceased pumping after the busy time of moving or if my current emotional state is due to going through a major life event, but I’ve felt a bit down this week at times.

As you know, I'm a Brit abroad and it is sometimes hard to live so far away from your family and friends.  Obviously, when times are hard or challenging you yearn for family, friends and familiarity but also when things are good, I miss the opportunity to share it with them.  There’s been a few moments when I’ve been going about my daily activities and I see something beautiful, or I achieved something for the first time, that I wish I could share it with my family & friends in the UK.  Now I need you to understand that I am extremely grateful for my friends here in Canada and have been astounded by the level of support we have received, this is just about being reminded of people left behind.  The desire to hand my sister Shelley a glass of cider or tell Denise about a new granola bar recipe.  To share a laugh with Katie and Julie, or to pop in to Rowena’s for a cuppa while the kids play.  I also lost my Mother 2 years ago and I know she would have loved the idea of us embarking on this venture.

Anyway, I have to admit that a combination of all of this provoked a bout of tears yesterday in front of Ian.  I’m not normally a cryer, thankfully because when I do cry, it’s bad.  I can limit it to a few tears if no one asks me if I’m ok.  As soon as someone wants me to talk, I lose it.  My face involuntarily contorts, turns red and then the tears explode and I lose the ability to talk, breath, gain control.  The last time I had such a crying bout was approximately 4 years ago in the middle of London; a very public display!  We had just left the Canadian Embassy after a horrid experience at the visa office and I burst into tears.  Ian, bless him, tried to console me (or hide my hideous crying face from the general public) by pulling me in for a cuddle.  Unfortunately, he had a waterproof jacket on and so my tears and snot were basically rubbed back into my face and hair.  My muffled protests were mistaken for sobs which caused Ian to hold me tighter and not release me from drowning in my own bodily fluid.   This memory is a brilliant motivator to keep it together now when those moments of sadness pass over me.

Moving on to food.  I was telling a random stranger about our lifestyle transition and the motivations when the lady asked me what I meant by ‘food security’.  I started spouting some generic dribble but was struck about the lack of personal honesty of the words coming from my mouth. 

I read something in The Backyard Homestead Guide to RaisingFarm Animals recently that talked about the issue of food security.  It says:

“The term means different things to different people.  One definition involves having a reliable source of basic foods and not having to worry about going hungry.  Another requires the food to be sufficient quantity and quality to meet your dietary needs and satisfy your food preferences.  Still other definitions specify that the food be nutritious, safe, and healthful.  And some definitions incorporate the concepts of local self-sufficiency and environmental sustainability”.

The woman who questioned made me reflect on what it means to me personally.  All of the above definitions resonate with me but what does it mean on a practical level of running a homestead and providing food security to my family?  So I set about putting together some rules for a homestead that would enable my own personal definition of food security.

1. Animals raised for food production or meat will be allowed to roam free, and live in conditions as close to their natural environment as possible, whilst protecting them from the natural predators in the area.
   
2. The animals will get the best available diet, free of animal by-products.  Think grass-fed cows and flax added to the chicken’s diets, which will in turn enhance our diets.
3. Wherever possible, the animals will be slaughtered on site (not be me you understand, I’d like to think I could do it, but I can’t).  This reduces stress to the animal and reduces mercury released into the meat.
4. No unnatural fertilizers will be used for growing veg.  Last year we used mushroom compost which was very successful.  I do not want to put chemicals on the soil that grows our food, nor do I want these chemicals filtering down into the ground water…we live on a well and have to drink that water.  No matter how effective the natural filtration system, this is a something I want to avoid. 
5. We are not going to get our farm registered organic, because the buyer ends up paying, right?  However, we will set out a list of ethical growing practices, such as using natural predators and pollinators instead of insecticides, etc.
6. We will only use the water for food and animals, not for lawns.
7.  Our homestead will aim to produce minimal food waste.
8.  Finally, and most importantly to my personal values…I will never, no matter how hard things get, resort to making fruit wine, EVER!