Future Farm

Here is a rough outline of my big dream, which for now is called "Future Farm."

The group: There are roughly ten of us that share the dream. I say roughly because while I do not doubt anyone's commitment, I have to leave room for the possibility that not every one of those people's paths will lead them to Future Farm. Maybe some of us will be there to get things started, and others will join as they are ready. Maybe some of us will reside there, but have alternate careers. Perhaps some of us will only ever be visitors at Future Farm. That's okay. No matter who and no matter when, there will be an awful lot of love and fun and work involved. I also say roughly because there are other people in our lives that are becoming more and more enamored with the idea of being part of Future Farm. It is also our hope that members of our families will wish to join us at some point in time.

The place: We all want to be near our families. That is the primary determinant. Luckily, all our families are from Maryland, but some may move in the future. The current proposition is somewhere along the Blue Ridge Mountains with Washington, D.C. as the key urban market. But really, who knows. Another large factor will be where we can access affordable land.

The ideas:

• Vegetables, fruits, and herbs
• Chickens (for eggs, pest management, and nice company)
• Bees (for honey production and/or renting out hives for pollination)
• A moderate- to large-size Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)
  
• A low-income CSA
• Farmers markets
• An on-farm restaurant/bakery/ice creamery
• An on-farm bed and breakfast
• A small non-profit farm animal sanctuary for abused and abandoned livestock
• Barn dances and concerts
• Environmental education programs
• Research projects
• Having parents retire to the farm
• and more...

The beginning: I know that we cannot practically start all of these ideas at once. We have to start small and simple. At this point my sketch of the first two years involves not truly embarking on any of these ideas, but doing vital prep work. The farm managers here advise not growing crops for the first year, but rather growing weeds! We could establish our fields and beds, let the weeds go wild, and then obliterate them without having to step delicately around cash crops (Presto! Way fewer weeds to deal with when we are growing food!). We could devote our time to building massive amounts of compost (one of the most valuable and vital resources an organic farmer can have), as well as improving soil structure and fertility. We could establish an orchard, which won't bear fruit for the first few years. We could take the time to get connected in the community, construct facilities, and hold outside jobs to save money. From there it seems the most practical first step would be to start a CSA and a flock of chickens.

I have no doubt that with our dedication and diverse skill sets we could do everything on that list and more. Just slowly and steadily.

Future Farming Hopes and Fears

Last night I was one of fifteen apprentices who met for an informal discussion about our “Future Farming Hopes and Fears.” Some people in this program already have land they are working; some people have worked for other farmers and wish to strike out on their own (that’s where Guy and I come in). Some people want to work in small gardens; others want thirty acres. Some people don’t want to grow crops at all, but rather wish to work in advocacy, education, government, or research laboratories. Some people have no idea what they want to do! However, we all know that our life work will be centered around sustainable food.

Most of the apprentices at last night’s meeting do want to make livings as farmers. We each took a turn stating our big dreams, what obstacles we face, practical next steps, and finally, one thing that we need that could be helpful now – the idea being that perhaps someone else in the circle would have a resource that could address that need. Needs ranged from “an affordable piece of land with access to water” to “a hay bailer” to “a scheduled follow-up discussion.”

I really needed to be part of this conversation. I have big plans, but I have not taken the time to settle down and address them since I got to Santa Cruz. There hasn’t been a lull in the action to ponder how my plans are developing. And boy, are they developing! Every time I learn a new skill I frame it in how I will apply it to my future farming dream. But tonight was the first time in months that I sat to think about its complete picture.

I described to the group – as succinctly as possible, which I attempt again here – what I want to do. First and foremost, I will matriculate into the master’s program in 'Agriculture, Food, and Environment' at Tufts University in Fall 2011. Need: a job in Boston. Need: to finish my M.S. debt-free in 2013, so that I may jump into starting an organic farm.

I will be starting this farm with some dear friends. Some of those who have heard our idea for what I envision as a “family” farm have probably dismissed it as naïve, idealistic, and doomed to leave us in poverty. Yeah, it’s idealistic – why reach for less than optimal health and happiness? I am going to do it. I am going to. It is what I want above all else. I could not be happy doing anything else for a living. No one at the meeting last night showed a flicker of doubt. They simply asked, “so what do you need?” Needs right now: help writing a business plan; models for farming communities – particularly how to manage business money, how to make group business decisions, how to manage space and property so that we can be a close-knit community but still have our own private spaces. Need: to know that people outside of this heaven of a bubble believe, too.

I’ll write more specifically about Future Farm (which we so happen to have nick-named it) next time.

Mer

A Word About The Oil Spill

Here’s what I know: Over a month ago an apprentice friend of mine making light conversation in the garden asked me what I thought about the oil spill in the Gulf. That was the first I’d heard of the accident at all, but yet only a few days after the spill itself. Since then I have read only sparse headlines and heard only quip cable news blurbs on the television in the hotel bedroom during our trip to L.A. last weekend. The general consensus it seems is that it’s BAD and will only get worse, but the scope is yet to be realized by many. How will it have an impact on my life here in Santa Cruz? How will it affect you at home? What about the Gulf Coast? I haven’t got an answer.

My response: Some say “what’s the problem?” and some say “who’s to blame?” The issue is deeper than that. A million times—THE ISSUE IS DEEPER THAN THAT. I don’t think we have to know much information to understand the immense shock that an incident like the BP oil spill will cause to our world. You can feel it. Our planet will suffer and with it our culture will suffer too. Our values supported that accident to happen. We humans as people are the sole cause for this great act of devastation. I can hardly live for that. I am also not about to get self-righteous—my way of life has always been entirely dependent on oil for fuel. Consuming oil also isn’t the worst thing I’ve done either; I drive cars FAST.

What I felt when I heard about the oil spill and imagined the devastation felt as common as any truly disheartening news. Unfortunately I think we get that a lot these days—like the mining accident in West Virginia earlier this year. What I feel is sadness and remorse and a little bit of fear; maybe even a lot. Most of us are willing to admit that we feel the same. Others dismiss the issue as if it was not a problem, or maybe that the problem is not for us. It seems pretty heinous to think that way, if there were any thought to it at all. But I am willing to bet that any person who has thought about their values and has the courage to stand up for them would not be willing to play the devil’s advocate for the sake of argument. The truth is clear that what happened is wrong. If it doesn’t feel wrong then someone has sacrificed their values to feel right.

Here’s where it ties in to farming: Someone asked us to write this entry because they were curious how the way we engage with farming has shaped our perspective of the BP accident. Both Mer and I were equally as uninformed when the question arose and it was a while before things really fell in to place to write this out. My stance is that in any instance where a decision is made that sacrifices the core values of what feels right and wrong there are victims, and to not acknowledge those victims is also a sacrifice of value. Most of the apprentices here, and I dare say all, have at some point thought long and hard about their values and have concluded that this way of farming, or to farm at all, is consistent with their values, and we all hope that is good. Convention tries to teach us of new values and we readily fall in to them, but sometimes the convention hides the damaging effect of the action. Perhaps if we had the same knowledge about the effect oil has had on our global culture when we started drilling we would not have been so eager to build the infrastructure that now nearly controls our whole lives. Anyone who still chants “drill baby, drill!” may not relate and they continue living as the convention dictates.

Here we are constantly checking our values for consistency and nothing is set in stone. The way that we respond to the questions of life are predisposed to the values of convention, but in breaking that mold by truly thinking rather than simply listening has helped us feel good about life; and it has brought us here together. Nobody wants to cause an accident, whether you are a BP executive or a self-employed organic farmer. But nobody should sacrifice the value of life, their own or others, for the sake of a bottom line. The danger is not in how decisions will affect us directly, but in how it will affect others. And instead of ignoring or writing off the problem of values we need to promote life and happiness through the general well-being of the entire global community and not just our own communities or ourselves. If we cannot do that then we are committing evil, and boy you know it when you feel it.

Guy