After a rainy, wet, wet March and April, May is the dry month.  We are tilling a lot now.  The fields of cover-crop are transforming into fields of nicely-shaped beds and freshly planted vegetables.  All is well, and all is busy.

Effectively, we are two months behind on our spring planting.  Unfortunately, we won't have much of a broccoli crop this spring, nor many other things.  But we are excited about all that we do have and will have.  Our garlic looks great, as do the onions.  Strawberry plants are newly planted and will be producing full-tilt by early July.  None of us can wait for those luscious fruits.

Our chickens grow noticeably every day.  They are no longer little fluff-balls.  They look more like fully-mature hens.  The husbandry is going very well and we are excited to expand the flock to around 250 or so this fall.  The slow spring planting due to the wet weather has inspired us to start thinking about animal production, especially for milk and eggs.

Now, milk is tricky, because you have to set up an building that follows the code for a standard dairy operation, and it can be expensive.  We are willing to do this.  Currently, we have no dairies in the county, and we would like to become the first in a long time.  Both cow and goat milk are high in demand, and the only access that we have to high quality dairy is limited and very expensive. 

Eggs aren't tricky - thankfully, and logically, the regulations aren't severe for egg operations.  We look forward to several hundred laying-hens fertilizing our fallow fields and producing high-quality eggs. 

By this time next year, we hope to have 250 or so laying hens, goats for milk, and cows for milk - several of each, at least.  We would then like to build-up from there. 

With all this talk of animals, we're going to need an expert around here...don't worry, because we have an ace up our sleeve.  We have an expert poised to take over this facet of Four Frog Farm.

We hope the weather holds out for a while longer.  We need this dry period to keep planting.  Although, that is the beauty about farming - our operation is contingent upon the weather.  It's nice to be reminded that we can't control everything.

Chickens are now at Four Frog Farm!

We purchased 24 on March 30th.  They are of several different breeds, including Black Australorp, Brown Sex Link, White Rock and several others that I don't know of offhand.  They are growing so fast!

Here, Stephanie and Matt share some thoughts about the new chicks.

Matt and Leda Explain Chickens from Four Frog Farm on Vimeo.

Neither Logan nor I anticipated the fun and delight we'd have caring for these birds.  They are awkward, full of personality and so cute.  I am glad we finally made the step to incoporate birds into the farmscape.  It is a big step in our mission of providing all of the fertility from right here on the farm. 

This is the trial period for chickens.  We are getting to know them, learning to care for them and also learning just how much work it might be.  After nearly four weeks caring for them, it has actually been less work than we aniticipated.  The biggest workload was preparing the coop and living habitat for them.  Other than that, the regular feeding and watering schedule is fairly low-key.  The thing is, you have to do it every day - no vacations.  Even in the heat of summer, with proper planning, the plants can take care of themselves for a day (2 if it's mild).  However, the chickens need food and water everyday. 

If all goes well this spring and summer witht the chickens we have here, then we are planning on getting between 200 and 300 chicks in the fall, for egg production.  This will go a long way.  That will be enough to provide our 100 CSA members with enough eggs every week, and more.  Also, it will be a huge boon for our fertility in the fields (fallow fields, of course).  Again, the biggest push will likely be to prepare a proper coop and living space.  For now, I'm looking forward to and enjoying this expanded role on Four Frog Farm.

Yesterday was the 2nd annual Nevada Country Grown Marketing/Membership Meeting.  Amongst other news, I was one of the speakers on a panel of producers.  Additionally, Paul Muller and Dru Rivers of Full Belly Farm were the keynote speakers.  Their talk especially stimulated my own ideas and gave me inspiration for what Four Frog Farm can become.

The following are my own thoughts - ideas that became apparent in my mind as the meeting went on:

1.  How do ag producers collaborate in an area with a limited market. 

What I mean by this is simply that there are a growing number of farmers producing the same products (tomatoes, squash, peppers, etc) and selling them in the same venue (farmers' markets, CSA, the local food Co-op) where there is a limited number of shoppers.  So, we cannot realistically continue to produce more and more vegetables and fruits without certain growth in our clientele.  If production continues to grow while the clientele population remains static, we are asking for increased competition, lower prices for us (more on this below), and hard feelings for all.

2.  Why farmers should ask for and receive the very best prices they can. 

Economics 101 tells us that, the higher prices go, the less we will sell of something.  Of course, this is almost always the case in agriculture, and has contributed to the downfall and anihilation of the family/small farm. 

According to Paul Muller (Full Belly), the trend in ag production is to farm as much of something, on as much land as you can possibly afford, and sell it for the lowest price possible.  If you can sell more than your neighbor, then you can put him/her out of business, buy his/her land, farm more, sell more and, hopefully, become top dog in the world.

Unfortunately, as Paul continued to point out, when you try to produce more than anyone and sell for the lowest price, inevitably you cut as many corners as you can - environmental, social welfare, general health and safety, soil health, community health, diversity and vibrance (the list goes on).  While that may work in the short run (a hunded years or less), it has yet to stand the test of time.  Good examples are the Roman Empire, and middle eastern empires, where farmers, trying to keep up with production, eventually irrigated their fields to death, leading to an intense build-up of salts. 

What we need, I argue, is an agriculture that will stand the test of time.  That means that it will be inevitably small in nature (instead of 10,000 + acre in nature, 500 or less acres total), where the farmers feel a personal responsibility for the land.  It also means that it will be financially viable.  If it doesn't make money, it won't surivive.  Therefore, the farmer must charge and receive a price that will sustain his/her life and business.  We cannot settle for anything less - for the good of the land.  Exorbitant pricing is not acceptable - it must be in the ballpark - but neither is low-balling other farmers and neighbors.  This not only puts other farms out of business in the short run, but puts you out of business in the longer term.  Only the very largest farms survive by trying to sell at the lowest price.

As a consumer, we can ensure that small scale family farms survive, thrive and proliferate by paying a decent price for your goods.  If we believe that family farms add to the landscape, contribute overall to better environmental and personal health, and contribute greatly to the local economy, we have a duty to pay a fair price for our food.  It is in our best interest, our family's best interests.

3.  Our county is not particularly suited to growing fruits and vegetables on anything but the smallest scale, and this limits our opportunities as farm businesses. 

We simply do not have an abundance of flat land in this county.  We have a lot of hilly, steep terrain with lots of rocks, shallow soil, and heavy clay.  If we want to compete with California Valley farms, we need to go down there and play the "farm as much as you can and sell your soul along with your product" game.  We're not going to do that.  Collectively, we rely on stronger community relationships - CSA programs, farmers' markets, close relations with our local store produce managers. 

This is my third year as the head farmer/owner, and I'm going into my fifth overall being involved in this life and business.  I don't claim to know what the "perfect" acreage is.  I want to make a certain amount ($75,000/year) so I can afford land of my own, take care of my family, and be generally comfortable.  At 10 acres, I doubt I can do that unless we either increase our yields by a factor of 3, or we charge a considerably higher price.  Now, I doubt that the former will happen, and don't want to encourage a major price hike (I want a FAIR price - fair for everyone, including myself and the consumer).   That leads to the inevitable assumption that I must farm more land.  I don't want another job off the farm (I don't have time anyway). 

That leads back to the original problem - we don't have much good land in this county.  Oh, I'll find it, but it may take a while, or it may not be ideal.  That's ok.  However, all the farmers are up against this problem.  Most own their land, and don't want to lease land far away from home to increase production.  That's understandable, but it also presents the "I don't make enough money" scenario.

For myself and Logan at Four Frog, we expect to double our production and income this upcoming year, simply by planning, planting, harvesting and selling smarter.  So, that will take us closer to our goal.  However, we won't be where we want to be, income-wise.  I think we'll end up farming more land.  But, I look forward to that because it will be land that we buy.  That's a step I'm looking forward to.

Like always, it was a pleasure and delight to see all of my fellow farmers, and a particular treat to listen to and speak with Paul and Dru from Full Belly.  I am not of the same age demographic as everyone else (I'm 25, most everyone else at these meetings is 50+), so it's about my only opportunity to meet, mingle and socialize with these farmers. 

Although our farms are not large, they are rich with abundance, diversity and good management.  I have a lot to learn from our farmers here.  And much to admire.

Let's continue to support our local farmers, more than ever,

Thanks,

Andrew

The Greenhouse is Up.   We are ready to move our seedlings from our Old Greenhouse.  It's a big step up from our collapsed pile of plastic (aka our previous Greenhouse).  Nothing can stop us now!!!

We confirmed two apprentices this week for our apprentice program - Matthew Aldous and Leda McDaniel.  We are really excited about these two young people.

Monty Cultivating the Garlic Patch - Notice the Geese Behind Him

This week Logan and I harvested veggies for the local co-op and the Saturday Farmers' Market in Auburn; we helped put up a new greenhouse; we contacted interns and looked into hiring employees.  It was a typical week for us, on and off the farm. 

Immersed in what we do, more often than not, we forget we are a part of a "movement" of people and thinking, gearing towards a slow, steady change in our food system.  When I read about Michael Pollan having spawned the "locavore" movement, I often wonder what that means and if I'm even a part of it - I know Four Frog Farm must be, right?

Sometime, many years ago, I learned about the merits of eating food produced locally, and on a small scale.  They are numerous, each a reason in itself to commit myself to local food buying and eating habits: fresher produce (and thus, tastier and healthier); it benefits our local economies and small businesses; it helps preserve open space and keep strip malls/housing tracts at bay - to name a few.  Probably by age 19 I was convinced, and since then, nothing has led me to believe my original proclivities were wrong.  I believe that buying locally-grown food from relatively small-scale family farms is important and a powerful act.

However, no matter how deeply my convictions run,  expousing them is certainly not a quotidian act.  I have based my current life course upon a decision I made years ago - hence, I farm now because 7 years ago or so I decided upon the value of local food.  In a sense, now, after 4 years as my job, farming is merely what I do.  I don't regularly reflect upon my place in the "eat-local" movement because, I suppose, I am too deeply immersed in it to discern my position.

Nevertheless, yesterday, while driving home from the market I felt a firm sense of my place in this movement.  Four Frog Farm is one piece in thousands, millions, that we need to propell this movement.  However you argue it, this movement is relatively young, and this is the strongest it has ever been.  Despite slow national economic progress, our farmers' markets, CSA programs and grocery store direct sales continue to increase as more "average" consumers gain awareness about their alternative food system. 

Importantly, we have a long way to go to acheive our aims, which should be no less than having every consumer purchase all of his/her food from local farms.  Right now, even diehard locavores reach out for food grown overseas.  I realize that as a movement, and as an individual, right now is so important - the movement has gained a foothold, but it is tenuous.  We cannot look back and we cannot become complacent.  For me, that means showing up and continuing to do what I love.  I can do that.