Food Unincorporated

My wife and I sat down last night and watched "Food Inc." for the first time. It had been on the to do list for over two years, but we don't watch much tv. In fact we had to download it online because we don't even own a television. I highly recommend the movie. I am quite aware of the agricultural and food problems in this country, but some of the things in the movie were enlightening even for us. It made me want to go get started raising grass-fed pork and beef so I could offer that to all of you as well. I'm sure we will do this in time, but right now we lack the land. We might raise a couple of hogs in our tree row this year though as an experiment. Small-scale, organic, local, are all words that are the opposite of modern food industry. Yet, I believe these are the words of the future of agriculture and the production of food. Large scale agriculture is very highly dependent on cheap oil, and as these prices continue to increase so will the cost of food production. For a while the farm bills will continue to subsidize those crops, but that can't last forever or even for long. It is funny that to enable a farmer to make a profit through large-scale conventional farming the government has to subsidize every acre of commodity crops. Yet, it's not the farmers making money, it's the huge agricultural monsters like Monsanto and IBP that are making all the money. Well, I'm making a living through food unincorporated. I'm growing food naturally, on a small scale, and offering it locally. This isn't a pie in the sky fantasy, rather it's the way of the future and a return to our agrarian roots. I'm very excited to be a part of this monumental movement, and I'm happy so many of you are joining us and supporting us. Peace, Kevin

Help Us Get a Grant!

Hello, everyone,

We are applying for a grant with "Raising Organic Family Farms,"and part of the grant is competitive, based on votes. We would greatly appreciate it if you would visit the following link, and click on the vote icon (looks like a thumbs up at the top of our story): Raising Organic Family Farms  .  This grant would help us greatly in our farming, and your vote will help us get the grant. Thanks very much!

Sincerely,
The Ford Family

Why Small-Scale Organic Farming?

I suppose many people wonder why we are small-scale farmers. The answer is quite simple: we sought a life in which to live out our values in a real tangible way. There is great integrity in organic small scale farming. You are right there connected to a small plot of land. You know the soil intimately, how it differs from place to place, and what must be done not merely to maintain its fertility, but hopefully to increase it as well. For us as a family it was a way to live, work, and pray together on a daily basis. It took a lot of courage to quit a salaried job and jump into the unpredictable and the unknown, but it has been worth it. For us though farming is not merely about our family, but also about community. It is about offering something good to others, and about re-establishing people's connection to the soil, to farms, and to the reality that if our farming is unsustainable then our society is unsustainable.

For us we chose to sell our produce through a CSA. We do this not only for our own sake, but for that of others as well. We hope that through people's participation in a CSA they will see that buying food locally, supporting small-scale agriculture, and promoting stewardship of the land is important not only for themselves but for our communities and society. Small-scale agriculture won't fix all that's wrong with the world, but it is a step toward doing something right. I would like to share a quote from Elizabeth Smith, who, with her husband was one of the first organic farmers working on a small scale here in the US. She says:  "The idea of a new social structure - of a community built around food - was at the heart of the CSA movement. It's what we had wanted to do all along. The CSA is the reason the farm has continued to thrive. The more you can create community-based networks of support, the less likely you are to fail, because everyone sees that it's in their best interest to keep the farm going. Certainly our farm members have been converted to local food. They know the taste of it, the feel of it, the health of it." We would like to thank all of you who have joined our CSA this season. We hope that this year's CSA will be more than just a business exchange. We hope that you will see the importance of supporting small-scale farming, and enjoy the community that can be built around it.

Kevin

Planting Season

Things are really picking up here on Fiat Farm as planting season continues.  So far in the garden we have planted the following: bunching onions, sweet onions (seedlings), kale, swiss chard, spinach, leaf lettuce, snow peas, beets, turnips, carrots, brussel sprouts (seedlings), and cabbages (seedlings).  We are now to the point of having planted so many things in flats, that Kevin has been dreaming about them at night (Ha!).

The warm weather has provided ample opportunity to spend enjoyable time outside as a family. Due to this warm weather, we are planting some things extra early this year in the hopes of being able to provide them earlier than expected in the CSA.



Kevin planting the onion seedlings. We grow the sweetest varieties to offer in the CSA! This one is actually called "Candy"!

The onion patch, all in neat rows!

The onions, labeled and ready to grow.

Various seedlings growing quite well in the new seedling greenhouse.

Some of the pepper seedlings, doing beautifully.

Some of the beef steak tomato seedlings, already quite large!

Happy Springtime!!