On Saturday, Brian attended the No More Empty Pots Food Summit.  It was a locally organized event to discuss several issues dealing with local food, such as a need for a commercial kitchen space and  setting up local food distribution.  It was very informative and exciting, and we hope to stay involved as these projects develop further. 

I was not able to attend the Food Summit on Saturday because I was on the farm teaching a class on how to build a worm bin.  I've been a "worm farmer"  for a few years now, and I love it!  It's so exciting to watch these amazing creatures, and it's a great opportunity to teach my kids about food cycles.  Since this was my first time teaching the class, I wasn't exactly sure what the most important points to teach were.  Luckily, several families in our local homeschool group were eager to be my guinea pigs.  We all had a great time, and the kids had a ball climbing all the snow mountains outside. 

Now I'm looking forward to a quiet, relaxing week because next week, planting begins!!!!!

~Kelly

I've also read Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal by Joel Salatin. Same story. Small farms who find themselves on the wrong side of the law without provocation.

As a farmer and a supporter of farmers, I understand what it takes to produce healthy food. I buy raw milk directly from my neighbors because I trust them. They care about the quality of their milk, the health of their animals and the well-being of their customers. They are my friends, and they have my support. As a matter of fact, I'd like to see the big producers keep their standards as high as our neighbors instead of relying on pasteurization to keep their products "clean."

Your food choices should not be dictated by the government. If you consider all the chemicals they allow Americans to eat, their track record doesn't look all that good.

-Brian

Which leads us to this morning.  Every morning, the boys go out and feed and walk the dogs.  This morning when they went to the pen, they saw that the dogs were gone and the tom turkey was in front of the pen clinging to life.  Sadly, I had no choice but to end his life.  This became quite a problem, though because this bird is huge and as beat up as he was, I knew he would still put up a fight when I tried to cull him.  I called Brian, sobbing, as I told him about our one and only male turkey.  I felt angry with the dogs, anger with myself for failing to train them and fear and uncertainty about how I was actually going to kill this bird.  But most of all, I felt overwhelming sadness for this bird.  I wanted to start raising animals because I was disgusted by how animals are raised in industrial processing facilities.  And now my animal had suffered tremendously and was going to die for no reason.  And I've lost count of how many of our chickens have died this way.  It is my job to see to it that these animals are raised with dignity and honor, and I felt like I had failed. 

Brian, who is always there to talk me down when I get this way, calmed me and talked me through what I had to do.   And then I went and killed the bird because that is all that I could do. 

Brian and I jokingly refer to ourselves as rockstar farmers, but I couldn't feel further away from that title today.   This is definitely one of those days where I long for an office job in the city, away from a life that is hard, complicated and often times so foreign to me.  In the end, I just do the best that I can do for myself, my family and my farm and I hope to one day look back and see more successes than failures.

~Kelly

The event is free and open to the public. Full details are available on the Sierra Club Nebraska blog.

- Brian

Our Sumatra chickens are a good example.  Sumatras are beautiful birds, but that seems to be about all they have going for them.  I'll admit, I purchased them because I saw them and thought they were pretty; that's about all the thought I put into it at the time.  Now, having had them for nearly a year, I am wishing I'd thought about my purchase a bit more.  To begin with, they are small.  Not a great bird for butchering since there is little meat on them and because they have black feathers, they don't look all that pretty once they are plucked.  Also, they are stupid, or stubborn, I'm not sure which fits the bill.  I am constantly having to herd them into the coop in the evening while the rest of the birds just know it's time to go in.  They lay very small eggs and they are quite mean to the other birds.  However, I have discovered that they are listed as a critical breed with the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.  Well, that's just great!  Now I feel like I HAVE to keep them around! 

So, I wonder....Which is the right path?  Work towards creating the best breed even if that means some will become extinct or keep the flawed, regardless of their weaknesses?  Is there a middle ground?  With a name like Black Sheep Farms, you can guess that we will always stand up for the little guy, but what will that cost us?

~Kelly

I admit that I'm afraid. I think it started when I read Joel Salatin's book Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front. At least, that's when I realized the full scope of what I was getting myself into.

We became interested in farming as a result of our disgust with the American food system. We attribute our people's decline in health to be directly correlated with the decline in food quality. The pursuit of money through shortcuts is killing us and our environment. Never-ending chemical sprays. High density animal feedlots. Genetic engineering. It all goes against the nature of Nature to wring more dollars out of the public.

As a response, we decided to start farming in the opposite direction and support what we valued in food. Care. Flavor. Respect.

But, as I learned from Salatin, my actions are a threat to the singular vision of Corporate America and their allies in government. Time after time, small farmers who produce healthy foods are being harassed by government officials who do not share their vision. Another book, The Raw Milk Revolution: Behind America's Emerging Battle Over Food Rights, is showing me just how far the government will go to protect their corporate friends/donors.

You might be familiar with the case of Percy Schmeiser. If not, run a quick search on him. It will strike fear into your heart and shake your sense of justice.

While I am afraid of the threats facing people who value their food freedoms, I am glad to have friends who support us and our farm. They remind me why we need to continue our pursuit of pure, real food. I am proud to work for their trust, health and freedom.

-Brian

Our chickens are getting frostbite on their combs, but there's really nothing we can do about that. A couple of days ago, Kelly watered the birds. After she fed them and gathered eggs, she noticed that the water surface had already formed some ice. It's cold, cold, cold.

In December, I also learned an important lesson in resource management: use a tarp. A couple of months ago, I picked up some used roofing tin in Iowa and built a simple woodshed. Maybe I had last year's mild winter on my mind, but I didn't enclose the north side of the shed, which faces the house. Each snowstorm we had has had strong winds, so our wood pile has a layer of snow on it. Not smart, but I have learned my lesson. Even though we have a propane furnace, I miss using the wood furnace. Wood heat is something special.

I've also been torturing myself with seed catalogs. Everything looks beautiful, but I know I won't get to eat most of it for months. We've got a good idea of what we're planting for 2010, but we need to get the orders made before our preferred seed companies sell out. With an increasing number of people gardening, the good stuff is difficult to procure.

We ordered seed potatoes from Wood Prairie Farm. They're a certified organic family farm in Maine. We've researched them, had an email conversation with Megan and determined that they're a safe source. We make efforts to double-insulate from Monsanto/Seminis since we do not support genetic engineering or chemical-based farming. If you had the pleasure of eating our Yukon Golds or French Fingerlings in 2009, you had Wood Prairie Farm potatoes. (This year, we selected Yukon Gold and Cranberry Red.)

-Brian

~Kelly

Moxie yesterday, LOVING the snow

We've been keeping the puppies in the barn but no matter how fancy my dog pen gets, the dogs always manage to find a way out.  When they get out, they are gone, long gone and no amount of calling will bring them back until THEY decide to come back.  Today, the dogs escaped and I was determined that I was not going out to bring them back.  Hours later, Molly came home, by herself.  That worried me since those two never go anywhere without each other.  But, Moxie is the stubborn one so I figured he would come back later.  Well, it got dark and I grew more and more worried about him.  Brian, sensing my fear and knowing that I would not let it go until I found him, agreed to go look for him.  He came back 25 minutes later to get a knife.  Moxie had ventured all the way across our 76 acres and gotten himself stuck in a wood pallet at the neighbor's house.  So, I bundled up and trekked across the farm in knee-high snow drifts so we could bring the dog home.  Half way there, I could hear Moxie yelping in agony.  The neighbors said they didn't even hear him, but I don't know how that is possible.  We managed to saw through the pallet and get him out, but the poor guy could not stand on his leg.  So, we got to carry him back, through the snow, in the howling wind! 
Now, our terrified, but alive, puppy is resting comfortably.  It doesn't appear that he damaged his leg and I think once he is warm and has filled his belly, he'll be fine. 

We'll discuss his punishment in the morning...

~ Kelly