Winter Season Wrap-Up and New Introductions

Last year at this time we hosted a “winter CSA day” at Featherstone Farm.  We cleaned up the greenhouses, rolled in the ping pong and picnic tables, set up the lawn chairs and awaited the sun.  We must have had 20 or more of you out for a noon time picnic, a medley of winter stews and roasted roots.  I recall it was too windy to ski, unfortunately (no doubt there was plenty of snow!), but it was sunny enough that the mercury rose to a pleasant 70+ degrees, and some folks were in shirt sleeves in the greenhouse.

This year I’m sorry to say there will be no greenhouse day.  In large part, this is due to the fact that we are in the midst of a significant shift in CSA leadership and staffing.  Last week I introduced you to Dana Jokela, who will be managing all CSA plantings in the field in 2012, ably filling Dan’s (size 12.5!!) boots.  (See other side for an introduction from Dana.)

Today I have the pleasure of introducing Katie Sherman, who will be filling a new position in our CSA program called the Community Outreach, Recruitment and Events (CORE) Leader.  Katie has been a Featherstone CSA member herself (both summer and winter shares) for 5 seasons, and has a real passion for local, organic food.  She and her husband, John, have significant small farm experience as well; they apprenticed at Round River Farm in Finland, MN last summer, and they are 2010 graduates of LSP’s Farm Beginnings program.  Katie and John and their two young sons live one block from the Seward Co-op in south Minneapolis.

All of us at Featherstone Farm are delighted to welcome Katie and Dana “to the table” as we brainstorm plans for the coming season.  February is a remarkably vital time on the farm, believe it or not.  For one thing, the increased light levels are really starting to make an impact.  We’re starting to order all the seed and potting soil for the greenhouse now, and that certainly gets the blood flowing.  And now we can count the days to first plantings (onions and leaf lettuce are planted roughly March 1) on a single set of fingers and toes.   My perception of time really speeds up as well this time of year; it will seem like a blink of the eye before we’ll be checking for asparagus tips!

In the meanwhile, enjoy the last of your 2011 winter share crops.  I know we will around our house… the carrots in particular will be sorely missed.  But that vacuum can and will be filled with joyful late winter thoughts of spring, just around the corner.

As always, it’s been a great season of community supported agriculture at Featherstone Farm, and your participation has been a big part of it.  We continue to get very positive e-mails of thanks and encouragement, and they mean a lot to us.  Thank you.  I can’t tell you how lucky all of us are at Featherstone Farm, to have such great, committed shareholders as yourselves!

With sunny thoughts of spring (but with both legs still firmly planted in the long johns, for the time being!)

- Jack

CSA Transitions

This is a winter of transitions in the Featherstone Farm CSA crew.  Two individuals who have helped guide our program for the better part of three seasons -  Program Manager Margaret Marshall and Field Production Manager Dan Sproule - have chosen to move on to new pursuits.  They have both contributed so much to the farm and to the CSA program over the years; they will both be sorely missed.  We wish them both fond farewell and good luck in all they do in the future!

As it happens, Dan’s position was filled within hours of his departure by - as the fates saw fit - another aspiring young farmer from Washington State, with nearly the same name!   Dana Jokela rolled in literally the day after Dan departed. We joke that their two (over)loaded vehicles may well have passed each other on the interstate somewhere in the Dakotas last October.  Dana and his partner Karin have been living at the Peterson farm ever since.

I imagine that Dana will be writing to introduce himself to you at some point, to explain his background in agriculture, and his future at Featherstone Farm.  In the meantime suffice it to say that he has blended in wonderfully with the farm crew this winter, and that he is looking forward to spring like the rest of us.  Welcome Dana!

In a couple of weeks (i.e. the LAST week of our winter share), I hope to be writing to introduce you to our new CSA recruiter and communications person… the hiring search goes on!

I’ve been enjoying the lengthening days, recently, and I hope you have too!

The (Regional) Future of Farming

What happens when you bring a group of farmers and food advocates in their 20s and 30s under the same roof? Last Saturday, Dana (our CSA Production Manager), his girlfriend, Karin, Evan, and I found out. We all made a trip to Plainview for a meeting for young farmers hosted by Land Stewardship Project. The goal of the 4+ hour meeting and potluck was to help LSP get input from the younger generation on where they would likeWatercolor by Rene Moncada, Sr. to see our rural communities in the future, what sorts of issues are most important to them, and how they would like to see LSP involved.

Whether it was small group brainstorming sessions or full group discussions, we were at no shortage for ideas. We talked about everything from the need for more local processors and distributors to land access issues to the problems with corporate control of the food system. This get-together  was also an opportunity for us to get to know each other better, exchange practical ideas, and get advice from our peers, whether it be how best to finance a new cooler or options for powering the farm with solar energy.

I was excited to meet so many people around my age, living in my region, who are passionate about farming and food. They came from as far as the Twin Cities area and Decorah; they entered farming from an urban life and by growing up on the family farm; they grew fruits, vegetables, herbs, mushrooms; they farmed cattle, hogs, chickens, and dairy. Everyone had a story to tell and a unique point of view to offer.

I walked away from that meeting encouraged about the future of farming in our region. This is an emerging young community of farmers and food advocates for whom I have the utmost respect. They were simultaneously enthusiastic, smart, idealistic, and practical. I feel confident that they can create a better regional food system and rural community, and I am excited to be a (very small) part of that group.

FW: 5 Food Labels That Mean Nothing

In the quest to eat healthily and responsibly, there are many pitfalls. And I’m not talking about the occasional temptation to wolf down an entire Quadruple Bypass Burger when you know you should be eating steamed veggies and rice.

 People really eat this. They do. I saw it on Youtube.

I’m talking about labeling. The food industry has discovered that marketing to the health-conscious sells. So, many companies have - instead of actually creating a healthier or more responsibly-produced product - exploited some regulatory loopholes to dupe the consumer into believing that they’re buying something they’re not. Surprising? Not really.

Luckily, the best way to avoid being misled is relatively simple: be informed. The empty meanings of many labels has been pretty well documented, but it never hurts to keep it in the public discussion. OrganicAuthority.Com published an article called “5 Food Labels That Mean Nothing,” and I was surprised at the extent to which a couple of these literally mean nothing. So, what are they? As quoted from the article:

“Natural” – A “natural” or “all-natural” product seems to imply that all the ingredients were plucked straight from nature with no interference from human beings, but in reality there isn’t much on this earth that ISN’T natural. The FDA only regulates the word “natural” in meat and poultry products to include those that contain no artificial substances - although confusingly, genetically modified organisms are allowed. One could convincingly argue that even petroleum by-products, high fructose corn syrup and rat excrement are natural – after all, they all came from the natural world. Perhaps the biggest offender on this list, the tag “natural” on any item is basically meaningless and has been usurped by grocery manufacturers trying to compete with the certified organic food label.

“Local” – There are no legal standards for the word “local,” so your grocer could put up oranges from Chile and call them “local” with no repercussions. How to avoid this conundrum? Shop for produce at farmers markets, visit local farms and get to know the people who grow your food.

“Free Range” – As far as the USDA is concerned, the only certifiable “free range” food items are poultry and eggs. The law states that chickens must be “allowed access to the outside,” yet there are zero specifications as to how big this outdoor area must be. There might be one door that goes to a 4’x4’ yard for 100 chickens or more that are all eating hormone-fueled, pesticide-drenched food. Your best bet is to purchase USDA Certified Organic eggs. Other “free range” meats such as beef or pork are not regulated at all, and you will just have to trust the manufacturer (or do your research).

“Made with Whole Grains” – This product might include 99.99% refined grains and .01% whole grains, but there’s no way to know because the term is not regulated. The manufacturer could throw two grains of oatmeal into five tons of their product and assert that it is “Made with Whole Grains.” Don’t fool yourself into thinking you are eating healthier than you are!

“Lightly-sweetened” – Surely a food product that is “lightly-sweetened” contains less sugar than the norm, right? Not necessarily. Another unregulated term, “lightly-sweetened” is used to describe plenty of products that are loaded with sugar, corn syrup or other sweeteners. This food label means nothing!

Perhaps staying informed and getting to know your producers takes a little extra effort, but it’s worth it when you can buy your fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat, honey, etc. from producers you know and trust to act with integrity towards their customers, their animals, and their environment. You can then brush away the cobwebs of confusion and act with confidence, knowing that you’re making good decisions for your body, your community, and your environment.

Oh, and one more piece of advice: stick to the veggies and rice. Or at least a regular hamburger. You're arteries will, well, not end up killing you for it.

Delicious AND less than 8000 calories!

A Winter's Work

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been in Minneapolis and Chicago visiting with our commercial customers: stores, restaurants, and wholesalers.  The feedback has been almost universally positive… very positive… much like the surveys we received from you, our CSA shareholders.   As much as I feel we succeeded in providing a wide diversity of quality crops for your boxes in 2011, it seems that we managed to satisfy demand from our commercial customers as well.  It’s most gratifying to get such accolades.  Certainly we have much to be happy about this winter.

As always, I feel a need to give credit where credit is due, however, because it is certainly our wonderful farm crew that makes this all possible, and that makes my job around here such a joy day-to-day.  From the Gasca family right up through Greta and Evan in the farm’s leadership, the Featherstone crew is the farm’s greatest asset (even better than our topsoil, which is saying a lot!!).

I would be dishonest, however, if I said that we were coasting through a restful winter here on the farm, soaking in the glories of 2011.  Far from it.  It’s true that we have no carrots and cabbage to sell to the co-ops this winter (a bitter pill for them to swallow, no doubt, though you will continue to have plenty for your last winter share boxes).  But not having those crops in storage to wash, pack and ship all winter as normal, has made our lives more difficult, not easier.

The bottom line is that we overextended ourselves in several areas this summer, and let too many things slide in the field.  Add to this a huge new project- the expansion of the machine shop, and addition of a new cooler and solar panels- and the result is an acute cash flow crunch.  Greta and I have been working on a solution to this all winter.  A light is now appearing at the end of the tunnel, but there’s still more work (and pressure) than we’d ever hope for in the off-season.The very good news here is that, like the flood, this financial pinch is providing a powerful kick in the pants for all of us at Featherstone Farm, to look at changing the way we do things.  It’s not too late to make significant changes in our budgeting and budget administration systems this winter, and these changes will make the farm stronger than ever.  I’m truly excited about getting our financial house in order, as a contribution to the real, long term sustainability of the farm.

Our 2012 “early renewal” CSA sales are way ahead of projection right now, which makes things easier no doubt.  Being able to count on the vigorous support from so many of you, is one of the foundations that makes what we do sustainable, even possible (in the absence of crop insurance options!).  If you have not yet renewed your share for the coming summer (and you intend to do so), please consider doing so now.  Every little bit helps toward that light at the end of the tunnel.

I hope you’re enjoying your winter produce as I am.  As always, THANKS for your support!