Happy Organic Week!

It is becoming a too common trend for me to start these blogs with some elaborate excuse for my lengthy absence, but I'm giving that up in favour of actual content that you care about, or maybe you don't, but at least you don't have to put up with my guilt.
Just in case you didn't know, this past week was Organic Week in Canada!  We celebrated a few different ways:

First, we rented land RIGHT in the heart of potato country, surrounded by Cavendish Farms.  This isn't the first time we've been asked  by land owners who want their fields farmed organically, but it's the first time it's been close enough to consider and although it needs a little tender lovin' care, will be a great, reasonable expansion of what we're currently doing.  The landowner is very keen as well and was open to our ideas.  Mark has it cut down and ready for turn over very soon.

Second, we attended the PEI Certified Organic Producers CoOp annual Harvest Meal.  It was good. Well, they ran out of our chicken, and chocolate cake before we got any, and it didn't say it was our chicken anywhere, and the photo slideshow showed only non-organic livestock in a barn, but it was good.  The entertainment was Patrick Ledwell, a local comedian who was hilarious!  My face hurt, I laughed so much.  So funny.

Third, we killed the last of our chickens.  Thanks (in HUGE part) to a family of very resourceful kids up the road, we have refined our processing line to a point where we feel pretty confident that next year we won't have to take any to the abbatoir.  We also got in a shipment of the shrink wrap bags in time for the latest killing and what a difference!  They look like store-bought little treasures, only better because they're pasture-raised and organic-fed! haha!

Fourth, I made some friggin amazing pumpkin pies with pumpkin from Jen and Derek's Farm (where, conveniently I work two mornings a week).  This actually has nothing to do with organic week, but I feel the need to brag about the best pies I've ever made.  It's the first time I used a proper 'pie pumpkin', rather than an ol' jack-o-lantern and I can't believe the difference. There was no water to drain off and it roasted up like a dream!  Combined with some super fresh, rich raw whipped cream, and I'm in heaven.

Lastly, our new batch of chickens celebrated organic week by kicking it in gear and started laying, which is good, since last year's ladies seem to be taking a bit of a vacation.  So for all you egg customers who have been frustrated with our hit and miss egg availability this summer, COME BACK!  They're small right now, but in the next couple months, will be ramping up into insanity.

In other news, Mark is lined up at the start line ready to tackle our first-ever crop of buckwheat that is laid out ready for pick up, as well as the beans which apparently just need "a couple nice days".  Finally the weeds have started to die in my own garden so it's that wonderful time of year when the fruits of my (planting only) labour is revealed! haha.  I lost my tomatoes pretty early on to blight, so I am excited to see my big squash yield, as if that somehow makes up for a lack of tomatoes.  I think next year I'll stick to a couple bean plants, some corn, a row of potatoes and a lot of carrots, squash and peppers.  Working for Jen this summer caused a real downturn in my enthusiasm for my own comparatively pathetic garden compared to the organized Eden she maintains.  Thankfully, a bonus to working there is unlimited veggies as well, so I've been able to fuel my newfound love of kale all season!  That's right! Kale! Whodathunkit!?

The growing season might be winding down, but that just means that meeting season is winding up.  Mark and I are busy trying to meet the various deadlines that come with the national Outstanding Young Farmers event in November.  It's probably for the best that there are deadlines requiring us to work on it now, otherwise, we'd just keep pushing it aside in favour of other speaking engagements that will be here first.  Namely, the ACORN Conference is here on PEI in November as well, and is taking full advantage of our 'knowledge' (and time) ha!!

On top of that, our roller derby bouting season might be over, but tis the season for training Fresh Meat and planning awards galas, so there's a bit of that going on as well.

Abby, I will do my best to post some photos for you this week. (Miss you, but LOVIN' that blog!)  Maybe I'll see if Lucy wants to contribute to the blog with her own entry.  I'm sure she has some interesting perspectives for what goes on around here.  Or at least, a good ol' knock knock joke, which never grow old, if you're to believe the frequency of them around here.

Hope this finds you sleeping with the windows open and heavy quilts.

-Sally

Studying studies

It had been a while since the media folks had any reason to stir up the organic vs. conventional 'issue' so I figured it was only a matter of time and they never let me down!  Yesterday, a study out of Stanford University (which must make it super awesome right?) came out, actually in favour of organics, but the media managed to swing it quite nicely the other way with some rather exaggerated headlines that grabbed the requisite attention of both sides.  The 'meta-study' (which is just a study of other studies (I'll take chicken gutting over studying other studies anyday!)) was first picked up by the New York Times so if you want to search it, that's one of the first sources of the article.

Of course, you knew I'd have a response.  And I have a variety of responses, but my biggest beef with the whole thing is the word 'healthier', which is what is emphasized because the study looked specifically at the nutrient content and deemed it to not be superior in organic food.  So that's the headline that was grabbed. "Organics is not healthier than conventionally grown food." 

This is my response:

If there were ever terms more subjective than “healthier” and “better”, I’m yet to run into them.  I will not question the merit of the recent meta-study out of Stanford to look at the nutritional benefits of organic food.  I will question the funding for all of the studies that they studied, since they didn’t actually look at organic food themselves and more accurately compiled the results of over 200 other studies.  How many of those studies were funded by multi-national chemical companies and how many fairly evaluated ones supporting organics could not receive funding to publish due to the content?   

But let’s assume for a minute that the world is a naive and beautiful utopia where money doesn’t influence any of our information or how we receive it.  Let’s assume that all of the studies that the researchers studied, were fair, objective and correct.

As a consumer of (nearly exclusively) organic foods, health is the only reason I buy it.  My physical health is better because my food choices are reflected in how I treat myself and my family and given that I have prioritized my spending on organics, I am more likely to be active and encourage activity with my partner and children.  My mental health is better when I know the steak I’m eating has lived on pasture, rather than a feedlot, or that my chicken has actually seen the light of day.  My emotional health is better when I don’t have to wonder how the pesticides in my celery will affect my children.  My reproductive health is better when I don’t have to wonder if the GMO’s in my breakfast cereal will affect me, like they are affecting herds of dairy cattle fed high-GMO diets.  The health of my environment is better when I know my organic farmer is using a longer and more varied crop rotation, letting the soil organisms do their work and building a soil that is better able to withstand drought or flood.   The health of my rivers is better when the fish aren’t washing up on shore as a result of a rainfall, full of freshly sprayed chemicals or fertilizer.   The health of my economy is better when I am buying meat from my local organic farmer who grows their own (non-GMO) grain and spends my money in our community, not exporting it to monopolies who could care less about our region. 

So, is organic healthier? You decide.

Re-Run

I was recently reminded of a post I wrote around this time last year about agricultural fairs (those endangered but important events!) and when I re-read it, decided I'd post it again. Quite a cheater move really, but it's still relevant and it made me quite excited to go home this week to 'my fair'. 
Enjoy, second-time 'round.

 http://barnyardorganics.blogspot.ca/2011/08/why-you-should-go-to-county.html

What I Did On my Summer Vacation

ha!  Vacation is a funny funny word.
I've got a mouth full of canker sores which I haven't had since highschool and Dr. Google tells me the cause is stress and exhaustion.  The weather this summer has been perfect for a vacation but I can't say I'm  going to be sad to see the trees turn colour and a chilly wind roll in.  That's one of the things I love about living in the Maritimes and a temperate climate- the seasons are just the right length.

Anyway, overall it HAS been a fantastic summer thus far and it's not over.  I just finally made a spare minute to throw some pictures on here for one of my very favorite nieces who happens to be on a bit of an adventure in Korea and sent specific instructions to update this.

I've been busy with a pile of things, but I will admit that my blog time has probably been eaten up by my rekindled love of fiction. I've always loved reading and I've always had a book on the go, but I decided this summer to catch up on many of the page-turning bestsellers I had skipped over the past few years.  It has been to the detriment of my 'spare time' and has caused me to spend many an evening neglecting more important duties (like chatting with my husband, catching up on farm bookkeeping, etc. to his great annoyance on both accounts), with my face in a book.  It has been rather fun to get lost in a great book again.  It's made me consider the purchase of a Kobo as well so I am looking for feedback from anyone who owns one.

I have been also preparing for a few speaking engagements this summer which are always fun.  My next one is at ACORN's Beginning Farmer Symposium at Mount Allison, August 20th.  I am looking forward to that one more than most.  I actually have a topic and it should be interesting-I'm speaking on organic livestock.  (I will leave out the part where I am considering getting out of sheep due to my hate of marketing/selling.)
Finally, my brain at the moment is totally preoccupied with preparing our church's Vacation Bible School. I feel like it is that thing that looms over a summer and life can only begin after it is over and 'out of the way'.  I am actually looking forward to it and have a GREAT bunch of kid registered, so I know it'll be a ball, but I will be glad when I can empty out that drawer in my brain.

So here's a few pictures from the last few weeks.

 It's possible I posted this one before, since it was so long ago (and I'm too lazy right now to check), but it's from the Sheep Classic in Truro and it's of my Dad showing one of thier entries (a handsome North Country Cheviot).  The kids thoroughly enjoyed their first (and surely not last!!) livestock auction.

 Dug up an old SlipNSlide from the 80s.  Super fun!

 This is a great shot of me and my siblings and parents.  Not a bad looking bunch I'd say!

This one cracks me up because I think she looks like one of those french canadian characters that used to be on 22 Minutes.  That toque is hilarious to me.

Anyway, in farm related news-it's been a pretty good season, if not too dry.  The hay crop was dissapointing and we're prayin on a good second cut, although it's pretty well stopped growing at this point.  Not sure what the plan is there.  Sell sheep quick?  The straw, on the other hand is great!  Mark (along with the other Mark) got the winter wheat cut last weekend and finished it up yesterday, with the straw all baled up today.  It was a great crop and one of the cleanest fields we've had in years.  Fall-seeded crops are an organic farmers dream (at least relatively speaking-although our spring wheat looks good too).

The soybeans are looking the healthiest they've ever done (dark dark green and lush), but are a bit weedier than we'd hoped.  We finally got the new cultivator (if not too late for this year), so next year we've got HIGH hopes for weed control.

I'm increasingly stunned at GMO's and am at a bit of a loss to explain why the dairy industry isn't more concerned about GMO alfalfa.  Given the evidence showing increased problems in reproduction of dairy herds fed high-GMO diets and the fact that alfalfa makes up a pretty hefty part of many dairy cows diets...it seems a no-brainer to me for someone to be setting off alarm bells.  Why do we want a GMO alfalfa anyway?!  Are people spraying alfalfa for something I'm not aware of?  The last I heard, diversity in forage-based diets is actually a good thing, but let's just keep pouring Round Up into our soil and see how long we can survive.  I want to come back as an earwig because I think those damn things will survive any apocolypse.  yuck.

It almost rained here tonight and I felt like a plant standing in the yard, guiding Mark in the tractor with the wagon full of straw into the barn.  The few drops were a teaser and I could almost feel my skin and the earth opening up, waiting, hoping, panting for more. 

Hope this finds you eating tomatoes from the garden that are so good they make you vow to never bother buying tomatoes in the winter again.

-Sally

 



A Red Rockin' Good Time!

photo: Kevin Molyneaux  RRnRD's blockers-Mosie O'Pummel and Magic Pony keeping the Riptide jammer at bay.

Sometimes I say that this entry has little to do with farming and then it ends up coming back to the farm in the end, but this time, I really mean it.  This entry has NOTHING to do with farming, family or even politics.  This is still a farm blog and I promise not to veer often, but I feel so strongly about this that I can't just leave it all in my head. That said, much of it will likely not make sense to many outside of the league.

I have never been a team player.  I always hated 'group projects' and I don't share well.  I like being in control of things and I fancy myself more of a leader than a follower.  The only team sport I ever played was rugby, and my teammates could attest that I was really in it for the social aspect, rather than the teamwork and sport of it. 
I am a changed woman.

This past weekend I left Freetown with a van load of ladies headed to Moncton for a two day roller derby training camp and tournament called the Muddy River Jamboree, organized by Moncton's league, the Muddy River Rollers.  Admittedly I was pretty anxious going in.  I was firstly feeling a lot of self-induced guilt about being away for two nights, from the farm and from the fam. and I was worried that I would be derbied-out before it was over. 
While I WAS glad to see that big bridge on Sunday night, I had such an amazing experience that I am still overwhelmed with how much more I love this sport.

One of my favorite moments of the whole weekend was actually completely unexpected, when I was putting in my time as an NSO (non-skating official) (players were required to be NSO's for other teams' games, since many are needed to run a bout).  I was standing there, clipboard in hand in the centre of the track, keeping a record of penalties (who got 'em, minor/major, what for, which jam, etc.) and it was the first time that I got to appreciate the game from an 'observer-only' perspective. I didn't have time to watch the game and evaluate the play/players and consider strategy, etc. and my focus was on the referees and other NSO's.  It occured to me just how collaborative a sport this truly is.  The refs were skating around, doing their absolute best to keep the game fair and safe and communicated so effectively and respectively to everyone involved.  The NSO's were focused and serious, doing their very best to do their task as well as they possibly could.  There were moments of confusion and questions, but in the end, everyone worked it out together and a resolution was reached through communication and thoughtful sharing of information. 

I am not a touchy feel person and I often get frustrated when time is eaten up discussing HOW we're going to discuss something.  I often roll my eyes at how serious a group of adults can get when it comes down to the details of something.  But it seems the word 'collaborative' is often applied to roller derby and I have to say that this weekend, that word really rang true for me.
It is a group of women who put aside all of their alpha-tendancies and embrace their own abilities to be a rough and tumble female as part of a larger group of the same.  Whether it is within sight of your everyday self, or whether your alter ego is truly very alter to who you usually are, roller derby is a venue of creative, active collaboration and positive-energy-for-a-single-purpose personified.  It is a labour of love for everyone involved.  Truly.  I am so influenced by things that were said and done this weekend that there is a chunk of my heart, wrapped up in sparkly tights, smelling to high heaven, sitting in my derby bag, revelling in the high of being a part of it all and it will be there LONG after the helmet stickers wear off and the skates are hung up.

On a more personal note, I re-injured my shoulder in our first game, but our team won the other three games and I have some serious notes of admiration for my teammates.  I honestly feel strongly that every single one of them brought their VERY top game to the track and played their absolute best. I feel especially strongly about Annie Biotix, who I think finally has the confidence that she deserved to have all along.  It was as if she burst out of a firework and saw herself for just how awesome she truly is and met that potential head-on.  DiSciple always brings her A-game and is one of the strongest (yes, I'm using that language) players we have, but needs to start feeding her puppy better so that she can see herself as amazing as the rest of us see her.  It was especially pleasing to me to have Elle Liberator running lines on the bench, being that calming, levelled energy in the frenzied moments of a game.  An eye for keeping it fair and balanced, but also effective is a talent not many are blessed with. Viv the Shiv knows her stuff and it is no surprise to me that she saw that in TARDIS Queen as well.  I could watch Bonnie N' Collide block jammers forever.  She's a killer jammer, but there is something about the focus and determination of her blocking that really catches my admiration.  The Most Unexpected Effer Award goes to Hell'N' Hurtley who is the most consistent tiny tank on the track.   CommandOH earned the respect of the top coaches in North America and every bit of that is hard-earned and well deserved.   My personal MVP award went to Mosie O'Pummel who completely blew my mind EVERY game with her unfailing ability to hold a jammer back, lead a strong-willed line and keep an eye on the entire track and penalty box.  She is my aspiration and a true derby mentor. (It didn't hurt that she scored her sister wives the executive suite to boot....:) I had a brief, tearful moment of self-pity in the middle of the last game, when I realized that I had only played the one game and desperately wanted on the track to play, so my last acknowledgement goes to Foxxy Velocity who is one of the most competitive people I know and who, despite having injured herself in training and was forced to sit out of the games, remained that unwavering pillar of support and positive energy in every game.  She had a hug and well-wish for every single player, every game, and never once brought her dissapointment or frustration to the team.  Here's to healing vibes and amazing physio skills.

The love-in is nearly over, but I had to share my appreciation for a sport that incorporates every body shape, athletic ability, attitude and brings together women from EVERY background, who would never have otherwise met, let alone, shared food, or a bed or deodorant or tears or laughter.  Here's to a sport of social, emotional and physical collaboration.

Thanks to my family for being so encouraging of my derby obsession and for being so willing to let Vandana Shove'her spirit Sally away to the magic world of oval tracks and booty shorts.  And thanks to Red Rock N Roller Derby for making this lowly farm girl feel welcome enough to lace up to start with.

-Sally 

Wet Hen!

Since moving to PEI, from the backwoods of NB, I have developed a theory about lawn care.  It seems to me that there is some genetic, historical tie to the land and when men (yes, I'm being gender-specific with this one) have moved generations away from agriculture, their silent DNA still tells them to take care of land and produce something.  So they throw themselves wholeheartedly into the only land they have; their massive lawn.  Now that I've come up with this theory I have noticed little things that confirm it for me; like how 97% of the time, PEI men mow their lawns with their shirts off, no matter what the weather-it's like they're channelling their inner caveman, strutting their (out of shape) manly-ness through their perfect lawns.  Barf.
Family who come to PEI always comment on how tidy everyone's property is. The roads are tidy, the ditches are mowed (by the people who live near them!), lawns are immaculate and many people have a critical eye for those infrequent unkempt properties.  It's true. Compared to the 'wildwood' of West Branch, and most parts of NB, this province is a bit obsessive compulsive when it comes to lawn care. 
So back to my theory- the desire to cultivate something from the soil and end up devoting too much time and money to a frigging lawn.  I am going to get some backs up with this one, but I'm officially cranky after this morning when, on my way to town with the kids, I drove by a farm house and got a big cloud of very very smelly pesticide in my window since the owner was out front with what seemed like a malfunctioning lawn sprayer, spraying what looked to me like an already over-manicured lawn. 
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SPRAYING!? 
Seriously, most agricultural chemicals are a mystery to me that I am too ignorant to comment on, but cosmetic pesticides are just STUPID.  Plain and simple.  Stupid.
Did I mention it was raining while he was spraying, and they're calling for a thunder shower later today?  Did I mention that there was a massive fish kill in a PEI river this week?  Did I mention that COSMETIC PESTICIDES ARE STUPID!!

I married into a family who cares very much for their property and takes great strides to keep it looking its best at all times and I've really developed a sincere admiration for that.  That is not to say that where I grew up was all wild and crazy, but those who have been to both places might note some general differences.  My admiration doesn't mean that it's been contagious.  I much prefer the more unkept look of what nature would do if left to her own devices.  I actually got annoyed at Mark last night who cut all that tall sweet clover that grows on the side of the roads time of year with his bush cutter on his way home from the field, because I love the smell of it when I go for a run and I like how it closes in the back roads.  He just shakes his head at me.

So the point of this rant is that I'm annoyed at the stupidity of people who put themselves, their neighbours and the ecosystem at risk by spraying poisons, and unnecessary fertilizers (which contribute to the nitrates in my water!) for a %$^&***#$&^% LAWN!  Get over yourself and if you're just bored, I'm sure they could use your help picking up dead fish from the banks of the Trout River.

arrrgh.

-Sally

Teeter Totter Day

I first called this entry RollerCoaster Day, but that's far too dramatic for the kind of day it was.  It was actually more up than down, but to make it fun, I am going to write this entry in the form of a game I learned a couple years ago called "Fortunately/Unfortunately".  Usually played by a group of people taking turns creating a fictional and ridiculous storyline, this version is less dramatic and more truthful.
Fortunately our summer student, Dylan, started work today.  He is a good kid with just the right balance of cautious and curious.  He and Wendell will be a great duo.
Unfortunately Mark's Mom is still not feeling her best after a small health scare with her heart that does not seem to be improving with time and rest.
Fortunately, the hay we cut yesterday is drying wonderfully and we didn't get the thunderstorms called for last night/this morning.
Unfortunately, it is very very dry again and we need some rain.
Fortunately it is calling for rain this week and hopefully we will have the hay up tomorrow so 'let 'er come!' as they say.
Unfortunately the hay crop is very thin and we will have to make second cut at some point, or source it elsewhere.  We will know better after tomorrow.
Fortunately, our chickens are doing well and the first batch is ready for market.  The fox lights that we invested in seem to doing the trick.  Knock on wood as you read that. 
Unfortunately we do not have a secure time/date booked with the abbattoir for the next week or so.
Fortunately we won't need to worry about booking times and dates much longer as we are planning an on-farm chicken processing line very soon!!!
Unfortunately the health dept. keeps trying to send the provincial 'guidelines' to our house phone rather than the fax line, so we have yet to read those.
Fortunately they're only 'guidelines'! hahahah!  just joking. (kind of). :)
Unfortunately, Mark is still waiting on his new cultivator.  It is coming from Holland and was apparently in Montreal last Monday, but is yet to arrive. It is already about three months late and Mark has had to cultivate (and is currently, as I write this cultivating) the beans with the old one, in which he must go 2 mph in a tractor whose air conditioning went last week. 
Fortunately, the beans are looking great and we're already one cultivation ahead of where we were last year!
Unfortunately, our barley crop is a sad story.  One of Mark's tasks this morning was to call the Crop Insurance agent and have a look at our barley fields which are a very pretty, but nauseating shade of yellow, from a sea of mustard plants. 
Fortunately, we've never had a mustard problem before.
Unfortunately, the manure that we were so excited to be sourcing from the hog farmer was FULL of mustard.  Apparently, our dream of coming full circle and getting the manure from the animals who ate our feed and bedded on our straw was about a year out of balance and we received bed pack from a mustard-heavy crop of straw. 
Fortunately, the crop insurance guy was accommodating and was able to figure out some compensation if we destroy it now.
Unfortunately, it was certified seed and not just common stuff, so is a bit of a hit to the books, but
fortunately we will be taking care of the mustard now and not fighting it for years to come.
Unfortunately, it means losing the barley and more importantly, the field peas.
Fortunately, it means planting buckwheat and having buckwheat seed for future green manure crops since our fertility sources are a bit in flux at this point.
Unfortunately, the wonderful organic manure was not exactly the dream we thought it was.
Fortunately, the crop insurance guy was very complimentary about our other fields and commended Mark on his management skills.
Unfortunately I am daily bothered by our federal government and the absolutely insane things they do, including but not limited to always putting supply management on the negotiating table and slowly killing the environment in favour of dirty oil.
Fortunately, silly Bev Oda stepped down today which is just one less Harper minion in the House.  yay!

So it was a bit of an up and downer, but overall, not terrible.  Could have been worse for sure.  Duncan seems to be recovered and will be hitting the pasture this week.  That means I have to separate the lambs left and two old ladies I do not want to get bred as we will be shipping/killing them soon.  I have worked out the details of that yet, but hopefully Duncan will get busy right away and it won't have to be for long.  After his scare last week, I'm sure he's eager to put some mileage under his belt before something else happens. 

The kids have been exhausted since last week and only today did we manage to get a nap in.  By the sounds of it though, the nap may have ruined bedtime, so I'd best to wrangle 'em.

Hope this finds you enjoying summer however you like best.

-Sally