Sorry

I am passionate about helping people learn more about their food, but I'm also passionate about caring for my farm and family. I find that right now, I can't do both justice, as far as this blog is concerned. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have stop posting here, though I wish I didn't have to.

Between farmers markets, goat health, and the demands of family, I'm just having to focus more on those issues. I'm sorry. Please, if you read this regularly, seek out other information, such as lavidalocavore or other Foodie blogs, and keep on learning. Sorry.

Stopping NAIS in its Tracks

Well, the USDA is getting its "ear full," of we object to NAIS. The listening sessions have been very clear in their objections to the program. USDA set out to try and find a "consensus" where "we could all agree" to implement the program. They are finding consensus within their audience, but not in the direction they wanted. Farmers, ranchers and consumers have come out of their fields in the planting/harvesting season, driven to remote areas during work days, and sat in stuffy rooms to say "No, This program is not in my best interest because....."

Recently the USDA's budget for NAIS was cut in the HOuse Appropriations committee. A move that could mean the end of the program, except the explanation given is basically until the USDA can fully implement a successful mandatory NAIS we will not fund it.(That's my paraphrase,not a quote.) How do we make legislators understand the real world of small farms? These are living creatures, not boxes on a warehouse shelf. They have free will, open mouths, and they do not reproduce by mass assembly line. NAIS is completely counter-intuitive to the growing "buy local" movement, sustainable community, "green economy," and "support small business," business ethics. It is in no one's best interest except industrial ag, who at this point is looking for any edge it can get against the growing consumer awakening that safe food is not anonymous. The safest food is that purchased from the farmer, on a small to medium scale, being raised with humane treatment and sustainable methods.

One thing we need to do is to stop speaking to the choir and find a way to reach out to the "congregation." Suggestions?

Pheww!

It's been a busy few weeks since I last posted. Mostly personal stuff, but I attended the NAIS listening Session in CT, got some testimony mailed off to the State for SB376, the MA Anti-NAIS legislation. I couldn't attend because of one of my dog's getting injured, but hopefully we can get more people to send in their opinions. (HINT!)

I've also asked Senator Stephen Brewer, author of SB376 to help develop "farmstead levels" of production for dairy products. He forwarded me the letter he wrote to the Sec. of Ag, Scott Soares, but the more comments to legislators, and MDAR, the better.

The fight against NAIS is building. With the new movie, Food, Inc. coming out, perhaps even more people will take notice. The listening sessions have been very vocal in their opposition, and the new Food Safety Act that is traveling through D.C. has an exemption for direct from farm sales. Maybe that means they're hearing us. Only one way to know for sure - keep saying it!

I'll try to get back more often. Between kiddings, dog problems, family issues, goat shows and farmers markets, it's going to be a crazy summer. If you want me to write more, let me know. I didn't intend this to be a one way conversation. Thanks,

Pat

Consumers Speak Too, Please!

Do You Care About Serving and Eating the Freshest, Safest Food Possible?

If you do, then please show your support for local farmers by attending the upcoming USDA NAIS Listening Session, to be held on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at One Bishop Circle, U-Conn, Storr, CT.

What is NAIS and why is of concern?
NAIS stands for National Animal Identification System, and it has three aspects to it:

Premises: Register every location where animals are housed or visit, ie. farms, stables,
Tagging: Identify every individual farm animal, including horses, with a permanent
id marker, preferably an RFID chip eartag.
Tracking: Notify the government or database every time a tag is replaced, an animal leaves its home farm,
meets an animal from a different farm, visits a different location.

Why does the USDA want to do this? – Answers have ranged from “agro-terrorism,” to food safety, Mad Cow to animal disease. The program was created by corporate entities who represent industrial agriculture and electronic identification businesses.

How does it endanger small farms? - The cost of the program is unknown, both financially and constitutionally. There are privacy concerns and individual freedom concerns, but there are also real costs associated with numerous tags, applicators, readers, and costs of report. Failure to report is punishable by fine or incarceration. Some species which are included cannot be identified in the ways that the USDA is instructing. Babies outgrow tags. Eartags get ripped out. Injuries associated with tag removal endangers milk and causes medical expenses that cannot be foreseen. Most small farms will not be able to survive the expenses associated with NAIS. The reports for this program require high speed internet hookups, which many farms do not enjoy. Other farmers do not even have electricity, by choice, or by availability, yet they will be required to comply as well.

What food is involved? – Anyone who consumes meat, dairy, or eggs will see immediate loss of local supply. Those using “Ark of Taste” meats will see their supplies dwindle, as those species do not do well under industrial conditions. For those who do not consume animal protein, there will be a loss of organic and natural fertilizers, as the source farms will disappear as well. There are non-food species involved as well such as llamas and alpacas. How are they a threat to our food?

I do want safe food, isn’t this a good thing? – Everyone wants safe food, but the only farms exempt from the full reach of NAIS are the industrial farms that raise poultry and pork products. They are allowed to “tag and track” by “lot number,” rather than individual animal, though the small farmer raising the same species, must comply with all aspects of the NAIS.

NAIS will not keep food any safer, not animals. Encouraging people to raise animals humanely, on small sustainable farms, produces the best outcome – high quality, safe food raised by conscientious, sustainable farmers. The best “traceback” that the USDA can do is 48 hours, yet growing the food locally, and buying directly from the farmer gives you instantaneous “traceback.” Avoiding disease is far more preferable that chasing it, yet the USDA and other governments do little to educate and support small farmers to keep up on threats and procedures that might benefit them.

For more information about the Listening Session at Storrs, or to comment by Internet to the USDA and the Federal Registry, please visit www.smallholdersalliance.com or www.farmandranchfreedom.org. Or you can call me, Pat Stewart, at 978-827-1305. Thank you, and I hope you can attend.

Pat Stewart
SmallHolders Alliance
Hames & Axle Farm
Ashburnham, MA

Giving Up and Fighting Back

I Give Up:

Life is conspiring against me. I really want to do this educational piece, but it's not going to happen right now. We're coming into show season, market season, and the fight against NAIS is heating up. So, maybe by Christmas I can put something together. I'm sorry. There just aren' t enough hours in the day right now.

Fighting Back:

Speaking of Fighting NAIS, there are some really important dates coming up. The USDA has said that it intends to host listening sessions from those who are against NAIS. That's great, in that we've been heard through the agri-giants "din," but not clearly enough that Sec. Vilsack fully understands our concerns. So, now's our chance to reach out. Here are the dates:

May 14 - Harrisburg, PA

May 18 - Pasco, WA

May 20 - Austin, TX

May 21- Birmingham, AL

May 22 - Louisville, KY

May 27 - Storrs, CT

June 1 - Greeley, CO

If you want to speak, or attend inside the building you need to pre-register for your best chance of getting in. There will be onsite registration, but I expect the docket will be filling up fast.

From the Liberty Ark Action Alert :

"Although preregistration is not required, participants are asked to preregister by sending APHIS an e-mail at NAISSessions@aphis.usda.gov or calling 301-734-0799.

In the subject line of the e-mail, indicate your name (or organization name) and the location of the meeting you plan to attend. If you wish to present public comments during one of the meetings, please include your name (or organization name) and address in the body of the message. Members of the public who are not able to attend may also submit and view comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. "

If you can't attend, please contact your elected officials, local newspapers, add it to your blog, spread the word. We need people to come and show their feelings about NAIS and local agriculture. You can send comments through the Federal Portal, at the link above.

Don't Hang the Pigs

When I first heard Sec. Vilsack ask us to use "H1N1" as the name for this new flu virus I laughed. After hearing what's going on in Egypt, with the slaughter of all the nation's pigs in the name of "disease prevention," I'm not laughing anymore.

While I would love to know if there is a correlation between industrial swine operations, with their manure lagoons, and the spread of the disease to humans, I don't blame the pigs. I doubt the government or the industry is going to admit if such a relationship exists. But isolated pigs, feral ones, or ones being kept as pastured pigs, aren't going to attracting the scads of flies that would come to an industrial operation. Certainly the pigs play a vital role in the Egyptian society, whether as a food source or as a part of the "clean up crew." Government agents aren't even discussing how they will deal with the aftermath of such a slaughter, especially in Cairo, where pigs are used as a part of the solid waste disposal system in that city.

I understand how scary this outbreak is. But there are certain assumptions being spread, not promoted, by the Internet and the media, make no sense. Keeping pigs does not necessarily invite the disease. Eating pork, if properly cooked as always, does not invite the disease. And, avoiding pigs doesn't necessarily avoid the flu, as obviously most of the people in the US who have contracted it have had no contact with pigs. The cat is out of the bag. And nature was going to make this particular "cat" somewhere, some day. Now it's time we learned how to take care of ourselves again.

That doesn't mean medicate up to wazoo. It means being considerate when you're not feeling well. It means washing your hands well, and often. I still think good old soap and water is the best solution, not alcohol soaps all the time. "Anti-Bacterial soaps" may make you feel better for the short term, but if H1N1 or other "germs" mutate to be resistant to such scrubs, then what do we have? The practices we need to recall are the ones our ancestors practiced last century and for centuries before that: Eat well, Get lots of sleep, Avoid contact with others if you're sick and stay away from people who are sick. Is that paycheck more important than the lives of your co-workers? We can't medicate our way out of this mess. Nature and time will work it out, if we let them. Meanwhile, being safe and considerate is a better practice than blaming the pigs

I Blew It

Do I get any credit for planning this "educational piece" for weeks? even though I didn't get it out in time. It won't be ready for this Friday either, I'm afraid. We've had a population explosion in the barn this week, and thankfully, some sales to go with that. I haven't forgotten my pledge, I'm just having to delay it a few weeks . I'm sorry, but it's getting busy around here.

Meanwhile, Happy Earth Day to everyone. I hope that this growth in awareness of our planet and our place on it, continues beyond this event, and this year. As a long time "eco-geek," it's heartwarming to see the Earth finally getting some consideration, even if it is a little bit late.

Don't Give Up Now

The USDA announced today that it will be holding "listening sessions" throughout the nation for the next six month. What are they listening for? Ways to make NAIS more acceptable. Congress is getting frustrated with the lack of movement on this program, which many of us see as unnecessary and intrusive. Sec. Vilsack has stated that he wants to hear as many voices as possible about how to make NAIS more palatable. I think we need show him how many different ways it's unacceptable.

The USDA has also announced that it will be reopening the Federal Registry for comments in coming weeks. They will be posting the question and the "listening session" schedule pretty soon. You can read more about this announcement at

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/!ut/p/_s.7_0_A/7_0_1OB?contentidonly=true&contentid=2009/04/0108.xml

What is a Farmer?

I read a post the other day on one of my lists. The author had been shopping at an Amish market and was shocked to learn that the Amish use Round-Up. The writer' s impression was that because of the Amish work ethic, they surely have a reverence for the land too. That got me to thinking about what people actually know about farming. It's part of the reason I started this blog. Impressions vs. Reality.

There are good farmer and there are not so good farmers. I actually try to find language that explains the difference, but not with much success in our American language. The closest I've found is a "small holder," being a small scale diversified farm, managed primarily "old order organic," practices. But there are many larger operations that meet that definition, but wouldn't consider themselves "smallholders."

I had a conversation with a friend of mine the other day re: the difference between a breeder and a farmer. She breeds goats, but holds farmers in disdain. In her mind farmers think only with the bottom line, and are selfish and cruel. In other conversations I've learned that "farmers hate environmentalists," and that "all farmers are conservative." Well, I'm a farmer, who breeds goats, has always been an environmentalist and consider myself progressive in my politics.

People farm for a variety of reasons, and "supporting farmers," is a bit like saying "you like air." Who doesn't? But actually having conversations with farmers, smallholders, landkeepers, land stewards, etc, is the only way to actually find out what kind of farmer you want to support.

To that end, this week's "Farmer Code Educational Activity," is going to be a word puzzle and a scavenger hunt. Only you'll know your success at the hunt, but I'll be listing different things about farms that "hunters," should learn more about. Hope you'll enjoy it. It'll be ready on Friday.

By the Way, from what I understand, the Amish value hard work, but some Amish see the animals and the land as just tools for their labor. Just like some people are fastidious in the care of the tools, others leave them out in the rain, and just plan on replacing them every year. You can decide what kind of "tool keeper," you are, or want to be, just as any Amish person, or any farmer, can decide how they want to farm their land.

New Venture

Okay, I'm going to try and stick to a timetable. Bear with me if I don't. It' s not my strongpoint.
Every Friday, starting next week, I will be posting a "Farm lesson," for those people who are interested in learning more about an aspect of farming. My focus will be on livestock, because that's my forte, but you can't have animals without plants and soil, so they will be included.

I've been trying to write a book on this subject for years and haven't found a way to do it. So, rather than struggle chapter by chapter, I'll take it week by week. Topics will vary, and sometimes the support information will be different than other times. This meant for families and adults, so there will be activities that can be shared with kids, and some that are more scholarly. But who doesn't like fun? Sometimes we'll use our digital video camera, or put together a podcast, but I'm going to try and keep it multi-media.

Have a question? Suggestion? Let me know and I'll try to address it. Give me until after Easter and then we'll kick off this project. Hope you enjoy it.

A Bit of Hope

I got to watch part of a confirmation hearing the other day for Dr. Kathleen Merrigan. She's been appointed to fill the position of Deputy Secretary of the USDA, and she hails from Massachusetts. It was wonderful to see a woman in such an important position, and the fact that she supports sustainable and organic agriculture is all the better.

The main comment that came out of the hearing was that Dr. Merrigan "loved organic" a little too much, and that she might give short shrift to conventional ag. I thought she responded appropriately by stating that there are a lot of different ways to farm, and that the USDA should be addressing all kinds. Sen. Harkin, the committee Chair, went on to state that he saw the fastest growing part of beginning ag in Iowa is organic farming, so even "the big guys in D.C." are noticing the change in the air.

Now if we could just get them to believe that we know what we're doing. There is a bill in the House that calls for a unified Food Safety organization, combining USDA and FDA into one organization. Part of their rationale is that the government would create "best practices" that farmers would need to ascribe to. The government is already taking suggestions for what these "best practices" might be. How long do they want the code to be? It needs to consider religion, geography, species, scale and philosophy. That's hard to do. My fear is that it will be "best practices" as described by the USDA which means corporate ag. I understand that there is fear out there about our food safety. Rather than coordinate all the farmers to try to think alike (every herd cats?) isn't it better than we educate the public and give them choices? I guess "home ec," wasn't such as a bad idea after all.

EAT

Everyone knows that Food gets attention. In looking at the rush of food safety proposals and this weekend's speech by President Obama, I think we need to find a way to point out that farming isn't a "one size fits all," thing.

When the USDA says "agriculture" they are picturing mega-farms, with commodities and CAFO's. When the average American hears "farm" they think Old McDonald. Certainly Old McDonald would be a pretty boring son if the only thing the farmer had was an "oink, oink," everywhere. Having that diversified farm made the song interesting, and makes the farm stronger, the earth stronger and the food better. So, how do we get people to realize the taste difference between grass fed and feedlot beef? How do we help tomorrow's kids learn some empathy and responsibility, which livestock experience teaches, if the only place the see a lamb is at a petting zoo? How do we stop this "rush to judgment" about the future of tomorrow's food? We have to take NAIS and Food Safety out of the sterile world of "someone else's problem," and into the realm if "it matters to me." I think circulating an image, which provokes an idea that makes people think about their own interests, would help. I've come up with one, but I'm not much of a graphic artist. Time is short. NAIS is rolling down like a giant cloud that will bury the small farmer, the 4H family, and the chances for better food down the road. We have to get people to care. If I sound desperate, I am. I raise little goats that don't "fit" eartags. My customers are families wishing to teach their children the responsibility of livestock care. They are people with autistic children that need raw goat milk, but can't get it from a conventional source. They are families with allergic children who suffer from digestive tract, skin and respiratory issues. They are Crohn's disease suffers. Raw goat's milk gives them a healthy, affordable answer to their conditions without huge medical expenses for treatments that don't work anyway. I am worried about my farm, but I'm also worried about these families and others like them all over the nation. I am a bleeding heart liberal farmer who cares what the world is like for my son when he has his own family. NAIS is very scary to me, and it's more than the fear of the government. It's the fear of existing ignorance and worse, apathy. I need help. Suggestions?

 

A New “Dust Bowl” from Washington?

A new Dust Bowl faces America’s farms, only this one isn’t coming on the Jet Stream, like the Great One of the 1930’s. It’s coming from our government, threatening to bury our small farms under storms of paperwork, expenses and intervention.
In the 1930’s, the expansion of American agriculture, coupled with years of drought and shifting weather patterns, buried millions of acres of American farmland under blowing clouds and settling layers of dust. The result was the loss of thousands of small farms, and with that loss, thousands of families drifted west, seeking new homes, employment and a new start. All of this happened in the heart of the Great Depression, when more than 80% of Americans lived on small farms, growing their own food.
But today, though the atmospheric climate may portend a new Dust Bowl, there is a more imminent risk, our own United States Government. In the 1930’s, the government created the Civilian Conservation Corps, Youth Conservation Corps and the Soil Conservation Service, to try and anchor our nation’s soil to the ground, and give hope and guidance to those wishing to remain on the land. Other government authorities were created to assist these small farmers to continue farming, such as the Farm Credit Service. Why? Because there was a need to feed the people, to create housing, and to empower people at a time when many were disparaged because of the worsening economy.
Today, while the government assists large farms to continue the very practices that damaged our environment in the first place, it has also created the National Animal Identification System, or NAIS. This program, if fully realized, will financially punish the farmer who keeps a diversified, small farm. Not only will their land be branded by a Premises Identification Number, but the value of that land may be lowered because of that very brand. Potential buyers may decide they don’t want to be under the “watchful eye,” of the government, and resist paying “the real price.” The growing numbers of sustainable farmers, who are answering the call of America to grow local, naturally raised food, will be ordered to permanently mark each individual livestock animal, regardless of why they are kept, or what the farmer intends to do with them. These tags may in fact cause illness to the animals that the farmer is trying to so hard to raise humanely. How? By implanting ear tags that will be ripped out, leaving injuries, scars and infections in their wake. How can a program be about “Animal Health,” when it’s very requirements are detrimental to the animal’s health?
In this time when people are fearful of food safety, this “Food Safety Program,” will endanger the healthiest protein supplies, and cost the farmer and his/her animals in both money and health.
The last component of NAIS is the reporting or tracking aspect. Every time an animal leaves its home “premises,” such as going to the fair, a show, the vet, a classroom, or even meets an animal from a different farm, such as for breeding to keep genetic diversity strong, the farmer has to report that movement with 24 hours. If they fail to do so, they can be fined up to a $1,000 or be incarcerated. There is no concession for not having a computer, having religious convictions that conflict with the program, or even having a mechanical breakdown making it impossible to return home in time to report.
While this “dust cloud” looms on the horizon for the nation’s small farms, the industrial giants, who are practicing the same techniques that caused the original Dust Bowl, are exempt from individual tagging and tracking. Their confinement systems pollute their neighborhoods and their watersheds, abuse their animals through denying them proper exercise and housing conditions, and promote the very diseases that many people fear. Yet, they are given incentives to continue those practices, by allowing them tag and track their “inventory,” by “lot numbers,” as opposed to small farmers who identify their animals by name, and don’t need a computer system to know how each one is doing.
So why invent a NAIS? It has been explained as being an answer to Terrorism, to Mad Cow, to Bird Flu and to Food Safety. It is none of these things. Centralizing our food supply makes it easier for terrorists to harm us. Mad Cow and Bird Flu are diseases of industrial agriculture, spread by confinement and bad practices. Food safety is an issue that is solved in the processing facility, with proper inspection, and consumer education. Sick animals are not allowed in slaughter channels now, and proper enforcement will keep that from happening. The vast majority of food contamination happens inside the processing facility, not on the farm. The USDA says it needs a 48 hour traceback to be able to protect the animals, but we have existing programs, such as tattooing, branding, and existing programs, that have already proven they are successful at doing that, without a NAIS.
Sustainable farms are part of the solution to healing the climate shift problem. Such farmers are attuned to the impact they have on their land, as they share the water supply, the air and often consume the produce of the farm themselves. They feed their neighbors, providing a sense of community and educating the next generation about how to feed themselves, nourish the planet and grow a local economy.
When the Great Dust Bowl left, farms and towns were buried in layers of dirt. Families were uprooted and scattered to the winds, and entire communities were lost. If this New Dust Bowl of government intervention is allowed to blow in, the growing population of small farms, preserving our rural landscapes, and traditions, will be lost to the expense of compliance. All that will be left behind are the industrial farms who do not factor humane practices into their bottom line, and who have proven that it is their finances that matter, not their neighbors, their livestock of the land on which they operate. We will have lost the highest quality food available, and will be forced to pay higher prices for our food as it will be concentrated in the hands of the agri-giants who authored this program in the first place.
Can we afford to lose our artisan cheeses? Our rural tourism? Our open space? Can we afford to have our children growing up continuing to believe that milk comes from cartons and that they are powerless to provide for themselves? Small farms create “empowerment zones,” as the farmers, their neighbors and their customers have freedom of choice, availability of high quality food and a chance to make a living in small town America? Even urban planners are seeing the value of urban gardens, homesteads and community supported agriculture. Why can’t the United States Dept. of Agriculture?
There is a hearing on March 11 that will discuss the animal identification system issue. There is a regulation pending in the Federal Registry, that would make NAIS mandatory for many farms, through existing animal health programs. That comment period closes on March 16, 2009. If NAIS goes through the sustainable farmer will either become an endangered species or a “pirate on the land,” all in search of the freedom to raise animals in a humane, diversified, sustainable way. Please tell your elected officials that you want the tradition of the small farm to continue in America and that NAIS must not be enacted. We already face climate challenges greater than the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. We don’t need a Government Dust Bowl on top of it.

Important Notice of Hearing

Liberty Ark Coalition Alert
February 28, 2009

The U.S. House Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry will hold a hearing on “animal identification programs” on Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The agenda has not been released, so nothing is certain at this time. Staffers have informed us that the Subcommittee will hear testimony from organizations about NAIS implementation generally, and that this is not a hearing to pass any bills. This is the first time in several years that any Congressional Committee will hear testimony about NAIS! We are working with other groups to try to ensure that the voices of people who are against NAIS will also be heard at the hearing.

Below is information on how you can take action, including a list of the Subcommittee members. After that is an update on NAIS in the Appropriations bill, so please read all the way through!

TAKE ACTION:

If one of the Subcommittee members is from your state, call that member. Or you can contact your own Representative and ask him or her to approach the Subcommittee member to urge them to oppose NAIS. If you’re not sure who represents you, click here.

When you call, ask to speak to the staffer who handles agricultural issues, and talk with them about your concerns about NAIS. Emphasize that you want them to ask hard questions of both the industry and USDA representatives, and to make sure that people representing those who oppose NAIS are also heard at the hearing.

Once the agenda for the hearing is released, we will send out another alert with more specific action points. And, after the hearing, it will be very important to follow up with the Subcommittee members to make sure they hear all of the facts that are likely to not be raised at the hearing! So stay tuned!

SUBCOMMITTE MEMBERS:

Below are the Subcommittee members, their party and state, and phone numbers. You can also send an email by using this format: firstname.lastname@mail.house.gov

We strongly recommend that you make at least your initial contact with the Ag staffer with a telephone conversation.

Name: Phone: Fax:
Mike Rogers (R-AL) 202-225-3261 202-226-8485
Dennis Cardoza (D-CA) 202-225-6131 202-225-0819
Jim Costa (D-CA) 202-225-3341 202-225-9308
Joe Baca (D-CA) 202-225-6161 202-225-8671
Betsy Markey (D-CO) 202-225-4676 202-225-5870
David Scott (Chair), (D-GA) 202-225-2939 202-225-4628
Leonard Boswell (D-IA) 202-225-3806 202-225-5608
Steve King (R-IA) 202-225-4426 202-225-3193
Walt Minnick (D-ID) 202-225-6611 202-225-3029
Frank Kratovil, Jr. (D-MD) 202-225-5311 202-225-0254
Adrian Smith (R-NE) 202-225-6435 202-225-0207
Tim Holden (D-PA) 202-225-5546 202-226-0996
David P. Roe (R-TN) 202-225-6356 202-225-5714
K. Michael Conaway (R-TX) 202-225-3605 or 866-882-381 202-225-1783
Randy Neugebauer, Ranking Minority Member (R-TX) 202-225-4005 or 888-763-1611 202-225-9615
Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) 202-225-5431 202-225-9681
Steve Kagen (D-WI) 202-225-5665 202-225-5729

APPROPRIATIONS NEWS

The 2009 omnibus Appropriations bill, HR 1105, passed the House on Thursday. The bill includes $14.5 million of funding for NAIS, which is significantly less than the amount requested by the USDA for FY 2009. Representative Obey (D-WI) included a statement in the record about the intended uses of the appropriations for USDA, including timelines and performance goals for NAIS. This statement does not mandate NAIS, but it implies approval of the USDA’s Business Plan, which includes using existing disease control programs to implement NAIS and achieve those performance goals.

Call your Senators and ask that they support an amendment to strip the NAIS funding out of the bill! You can find your Senators’ contact information here.

The good news is that it appears that the provision that would have required the School Lunch Program to buy meats only from NAIS-registered farms did NOT make it into the omnibus Appropriations bill! THANK YOU to everyone who called and wrote their Congressmen last summer and fall to oppose that provision!

To read the Omnibus Appropriations bill, go to thomas.gov and enter “HR 1105” in the search box. Click the option for “Bill Number” and then hit “search.” Rep. Obey’s explanatory statement can be read by clicking on the link for “H1653-H2088” under “Note” (towards the top of the page of the search result).


For more information, visit and support LibertyArk.net

Raw/Fresh Milk

There is a growing interest from consumers to purchase raw milk, or as producers call it, fresh milk. What does it mean? Isn't raw milk dangerous?

I used to believe that. I was taught that milk harbored all sorts of illnesses and germs, and that it was the root of all foodborne illness. I was taught wrong.  Raw/fresh milk is a wonderful thing, IF you know where it comes from. Milk that is harvested from conventional dairies, has a different set of "acceptable levels," than milk does that comes from raw milk dairies. That's because there is a  "default" application on most dairies, pasteurization. 

There is a reason for pasteurization in situations where lots of milk is going off to a centralized location to feed lots of people. It doesn't guarantee that it's safe, but it does take a step that renders it "safe," by cooking out the pathogens for some diseases. The trick, pasteurization kills almost all germs and enzymes, even those that are beneficial. There are germs such as Johnes, which are not killed by pasteurization, yet that milk is commonly sent on to consumers. For a long time it was thought that Johnes was a ruminant only disease, but there are now concerns that it might be related to Crohn's disease, which is on the rise in the US. 

Fresh milk is a complete food, meaning that it comes with the enzymes that it's needed to break it down. In the case of milk, the main problem is lactose, often causing an intolerance as many people have insufficient enzymes, known as lactase, to break down the lactose into its parts, so the body can use it. But fresh milk comes with that lactase automatically, making it possible for those with intolerances to be able to digest the milk. For some, goat milk is easier because the fat is in smaller bits, making it easier to break down the components inside. 

Scientists in the US keep saying that there is no nutritional difference between fresh and pasteurized milk. To me, that makes no sense. Milk that is heated to Ultra high pasteurization temps, more than 200 degrees F, is useless in growing cultures for yogurt or cheese. The required nutrients are destroyed in that UHT processing. Even conventional heating to 163 degrees for 30 sec. known as "flash pasteurizing," damages the milk. Some people can even taste the scorch. When I heat my milk for making pasteurized cheeses or for yogurt, I heat it to 145 degrees for 30 minutes, which does kill the bacteria but with less damage the milk itself. However, whenever I can , I drink and use fresh milk from my goats. I wouldn't necessarily drink it from everyone's farm.

It is important to know what the farmer's practices are for handling the milk, the udder, the utensils and for storage. Fresh milk is actually more forgiving than pasteurized milk because the "good enzymes" that would fight off infection in the animal's udder are still active. But that doesn't mean they are going to work for me. 

If you are seeking fresh milk, please ask if you can watch how the farmer harvests that milk. If you live in an area with strong raw milk laws, please be respectful of how careful the farmer must be. 

Fresh milk is a great thing, if you can find it. If it's not legal where you live to sell it, please join the fight to protect raw milk by joining with Weston A Price, or RealMilk.com, the American Cheese Society, and Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund, that are working to make it more available to consumers. You have the right to buy it. Why is that the farmer isn't allowed to sell it to you? 

Long Time Away

Sorry it's been so long since I wrote. Honestly, I've tried several times but my computer hasn't approved of my blogging, so it just kept exiting out without asking. How rude!

I've mentioned NAIS a couple of times, and thought I'd take the time to explain it. It's a federal program that would register every piece of land where livestock travel, such as farms, schools, fairgrounds, and assign them GPS identifiers. Then, every farmer will have to tag every one of their animals, including horses, alpacas and llamas, with a RFID chip (preferred) which has a permanent identifier for that animal. Finally, whenever that animal loses its tag (happens all the time), breeds with an animal from a different farm (genetic diversity, good thing most of the time!), goes to a show, the vet, or goes unaccounted for, the farmer has to report to the government about that "event." If not, they face fines and/or incarceration.

Who invented such an insane scheme? The agri-giants who conveniently are exempt from the individual tagging and tracking, because as we all know, industrially raised animals are so much  healthier, always behave perfectly and never feel the stress of confinement, overcrowding or lack of humane care. (Sarcasm, for those who missed it). They wrote this program up prior to 9/11/01, probably because they were seeing the effects of small farmers, knew that their own practices caused problems, and wanted to control the competition.

Small farms are a $5 billion business in this country, and growing. The USDA has a very hard time taking care of the corporate giants, so we little guys are just pests. Pests that raise the healthiest foods, have the healthiest animals and actually promote global environmental healing, rather than having massive negative impacts such as CAFO's and lagooning manure.

The USDA has been promising for years that NAIS would remain voluntary, though their draft plan stated that it would be mandated in 2009 if there wasn't a 100% compliance by farmers/ranchers. Well, what part of voluntary is that? In January, prior to leaving office, the Bush administration put into action the mandatory aspects for goats, sheep and cows, using existing health programs. That regulation is now open to comments until March 16, 2009. Please visit

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2007-0096  

and let your feelings be known.

NAIS will not protect against food borne illness. Most of that happens inside the processing plant, not on the farm. NAIS does not reach into the processor at all. We have existing, affordable solutions to tracking food contamination down now. It's much easier in meat and eggs than it is in plants. These products need refrigeration, and have a stricter code of tracking than fruits and vegetables.

NAIS will not keep our animals safe. It will act as a deterent as farmers fear calling the vet because they might be reported if the tag has fallen off, or if they don't comply. Vets will be an official arm of the USDA, more than they are now. NAIS will chase infections, without stopping them. By making more technicians and vets available as consultants, farmers can take better care of their sustainably raised livestock than corporate farmers can. 

NAIS will not stop Bird Flu, Mad Cow, Foot & Mouth etc. The first two are diseases of corporate agriculture, where short cuts were taken, or animals are over crowded. Foot & Mouth in the UK was a government accident, in all of the recent outbreaks. The contamination was found to be caused by lax controls as technicians left the laboratory, or disposed of the contaminant down a drain with a crack, which fed into the groundwater. 

Please, help protect your local food, and quality livestock. Help  us stop NAIS! Spread the word, as the $$$ to support NAIS is much easier to find than the $$$$ to stop it.

Apology

I just signed for Google Ads, and since I'm new, their 'bots took over and added some links per their advertising program.  I've set up a filter, but for the time being please accept my apology.

I am firmly against mandatory tagging and tracking, traceability and RFID tags for goats. Hopefully the filters will do away with the promo ads running above my words, as the ads contradict what this blog is about. I apologize for the hypocrisy. It is not intentional, nor appreciated. If they don't fix it soon, I'll drop the ads entirely.

How to Fight NAIS - Educate!

NAIS has gotten this far because of lobbyists money and public complacency. Today we welcome a new President Obama to our White House. He has been saying that each of us must take responsibility for ourselves, our neighbors and our community, if we are to bring America back to its potential. The USDA's NAIS program is completely anti-thetical to that mandate.

When I contacted my state Ag department, I told them that it wasn't their job to keep my herd safe. They actually told me the "terrorists were going to get my chickens." I asked them how they'd know, and they said "it's really easy to find who has small farms. They'll find you." I told that woman that I live in a tiny town and didn't know 5 families in my town that had chickens. I didn't tell her that at that time, I didn't have any birds. ( I do now.) That's when I found out that the feed bills were being reported to the FDA, and that the USDA was using that information and others, to create their own database for NAIS. When I tried to tell the public, no one cared.

Now that we have faced salmonella and e.coli outbreaks, melamine contamination and listeria infections, people are starting to finally ask "where does my food come from?" They are taking the responsibility to seek out the source of the best food, their local farmer's market or farmstand, and by it directly from the farmer. That local farm economy was a $5 billion business in 2007, and growing, in more than one way. Big Ag sees that, and it worries them.

Farmers need to reach out to the consumer and show why and how they do what they do. Consumers need to reach out to the farmer, and help the local government be "farmer friendly," so that the very thing that will help keep safe food available, can continue. Sustainable farms, organic farms, hobby farms, are all parts of the solution to global warming, climate shift, environmental degradatation. The practices of mono-culture, feed lots, and other industrial processes are the ones that created the "dead zone," in the Mississippi Delta, water pollution from run off, and the impending dust bowl that seems to be building following a multi-year drought with continued industrial practices on mega-farms.

President Obama, Mrs. Obama, teach your children about small farms. Grow that garden on the White House lawn, but don't just let the National Park tend to it. Let your daughters get their hands dirty growing food for their family dinner. Show developing countries that independent growers can solve food shortages where governmental programs may not be able to. President Obama, order the USDA to stop enacting NAIS. It hurts us on many levels. It is anti-environmental, anti-small business, anti-citizen independence, and anti-Constitutional.

This nation was founded by farmers. It was grown by farmers, but the future of farming is really threatened by the ill-informed, well-intentioned legislators, and the bureaucrats looking for their next, better, job. Let us continue to have citizen choice. Let people decide between the "cheap food," with higher health and environmental costs that are deferred until later, and the "fair priced food," that actually pays the farmer, the community, the land and the world with healthier people, economy, soil and water. There is no such thing as a "free lunch," but a locally grown one gives you a lot more than just a full stomach. It builds a future!

Please, if you're reading this, spread the word about NAIS. Speak to your legislators about its perils and its costs. We need to stop NAIS, but it has to come from a louder voice than just us small farmers. It has to come from you, the consumer, who wants the chance to make your own best choice.

Thank you,

NAIS - The Quick Version

Okay, here goes - NAIS in a nutshell.

NAIS stands for National Animal Identification System. Rolled out by the USDA as a "voluntary" program in 2003, it has three levels. The first is Premises ID, a registration of every property that has livestock on it, for any reason. This includes a 7 digit, GPS tracked number that goes on every school, fairground, farm, stable, vet clinic or any place where livestock might be found.

The second is Tagging. This is supposed to be a permanent, unique identification of every single individual livestock animal in the country. It uses 15 digits, the first is 840, the international code for the United States. Ideally it uses an RFID chip, in an eartag, though tattoos, brands and other techniques have been accepted.

Lastly is Tracking. This requires that every farm animal owner report to the USDA database whenever an animal receives a tag, loses a tag, disappears, goes off farm, or meets another farm animal. This report must be filed by broadband or high speed Internet within 24 hours of the event. Also, any reportable illness needs to be reported.

So what's wrong with that? It's just paperwork, right? No, it's not. First off, as of last week, it's not voluntary, it's mandatory to the Premises and Tagging level if you have any of the 17 species of livestock that are currently listed as NAIS involved, that also have reportable disease programs. That's pretty much everyone. The Tracking component is slated to be unrolled within a year, if they follow the original timeline.

Also, the technology doesn't exist for many species, including poultry, miniature goats, earless goats and other species. The tags that are now being mandated have been shown to be hackable by teenagers with cell phones. How "unique" is that?

Individual tagging and tracking is also not applicable to big industrial farms involved in poultry or swine. The lifespan and management practices of these species make it allowable for their "owners" to use a "lot system," and report movements by increments of 1,000's at a time. Of course, every individual animal always behaves perfectly. Just ask anyone who's tried to herd cats. These are the very animals that suffer the highest levels of stress and have the hardest impact on the environment, yet they are trusted to forego these crucial aspects of this "disease control" program.

Lastly, the rationales for this program have ranged from "agr0-terrorism" to Mad Cow, to Bird Flu to Animal Health. Who created this program? That shows the real reason for this program. It was created by Big Ag Livestock Producers and Animal Identification companies, prior to 9/11/01. These are the very people who will operate the database which holds all the information that the farmers report.

There is no sense of scale, except that "the bigger the better." There is no religious exemption, or exemption by purpose, such as a 4H exhibitor. There is no reality check that the program only chases disease rather than promotes health. Farm vets and technicians will be required to report any infringement they see, and probably lose that farm's business in the process. Any questionable farmer already delays treatment, but if they know that they are going to be reported to the authorities for a sick animal, why would the call for help?

The GAO looked at agro-terrorism and though NAIS was already being discussed, did not list it as an answer to the problem. They suggested additional inspectors, educators, field tests and things that the government should do. Instead the government decided that these were things that the farmer should do, give up their freedom and incur significant expenses. The rules for NAIS haven't been fully published yet, so there's no way to know what the cost of tagging and reporting will be. The financial cost of Premises registration will certainly affect the selling price of an enrolled farm.

The International Code also shows that this is about "Country of Origin." Only 15% of American farmers export, and certainly their customers can require additional information. But if it's about food safety and Mad Cow, why did the USDA stop Creekstone Beef from testing its own beef, at its own expense? Even the USDA said that would be "unfair practices," to the other exporting farms who don't test. Why is it not "unfair practices," to require the 85% of American farmers who don't want to export, participate in NAIS?

Country of Origin is an important concept, but NAIS stops at the slaughterhouse door. COOL starts on the inside, once the meat is harvested. But the identifying mark is removed before the animal is even processed, so how does NAIS promote food health? It doesn't.

There are so many places that NAIS doesn't make sense, it's amazing that it's gotten as far as it has. How did it happen? Because the consumer doesn't know what happens with their food, and the media is more concerned about keeping its advertisers than about covering this vital program. More to come but if you want to learn more, visit www.libertyark.net, www.ftcldf.org, or one of the many other anti-NAIS sites for their particular take on the issue.

Small Farms Matter

The USDA recently announced its new NAIS program, making it mandatory through existing Animal Health programs. This program, which for years the USDA has assured us would remain voluntary, and would incorporate appropriate technology for each species, is being driven through like a locomotive.

The program uses Scrapie, a disease which rarely afflicts sheep, and very occasionally, a goat or two, as a way to make every goat owner eartag every goat with a special USDA ear tag, complete with government seal!  What about "pride of ownership?" Heck, who owns the goat, me or the US government? If the government does then they can start paying the feed bill. 

I'm hoping that money talks, because obviously reason isn't being heard. If you have Nigerian dwarf goats, or know someone who does, please visit www.smallfarmgoat.com and click on the Economic Impact link in the upper left corner of the screen. I've put together a form that people can fill out, with a little bit of daydreaming and a little thought. How much land do you own? How many goats? How many stores/catalogs/service providers/magazines do you use that relate to your goats or farm? How much money did you make from your goats - not profit, just the income? If there were reasonable regulations for small farms, how much more could you make? How much have you saved because your goats provide your milk? That's more than milk and cheese, what about allergies? digestive problems? therapy? 
I'm tabulating this information in a set of charts to show the economic impact of the small goat on the American economy. If it's just a few farms, it's not much. But put all of us together, and it's a lot. Then, maybe we can get our legislators to understand why we matter, beyond our vote. 

I'll write later today about NAIS and why it's a bad idea. I've done so much of it already on other sites, I hate to get riled up again, but it's only fair that FarmerCode explain to those who don't have animals why it matters to you. Thanks,

Growing Farmers

One of the reasons I started my farm to teach kids where their food came from. Out of that grew the knowledge that there is a quiet crisis brewing - who will grow tomorrow's food? Students in Agricultural Science learn the corporate scientific view of farming, which hasn't proven all that wonderful for the planet. It has however proven very helpful in feeding people. It's also worked out really well for agri-giants. 

But when it comes to growing the safest food, and helping heal the planet and move forward in a more progressive way, it's the sustainable and organic farmers that will be needed. Where do they learn? 

Today's college students are being introduced for such farming through "Food Security," and "Food Policy" programs at places such as Yale, Marlboro College among others. But the next generation, those in elementary school, are being isolated from farms and told that their future is in technology, fashion, and engineering. For many kids that may be the direction they want or need to go. But what about the child who wants to nourish the soil, promote local health, work independently? are they lost to learn on their own? 

Opening farms like mine up to these kids, often through family and homeschooling programs, provides an opportunity to develop that nurturing soul in a child. But how do we get public schools to recognize farms are viable labs for biology, physics, relevant math, even creative writing and the arts? How do we get it back into the center of learning that it used to be, rather than the "orphan" class for kindergarteners?

I don't know the answers to those questions, but more and more farm education centers and nature centers are developing farm programs. A new organization, http://www.farmbasededucation.org/ are developing programs to tackle this issue. In school programs such as those developed with Alice Waters are also helpful.

But families can start now, by growing their own gardens, supporting Community Supported Agriculture (CSA's) and participating in farm education activities. They're fun. They're tasty, and they'll help feed your family tomorrow, and beyond.

Small Farms, Safe Food Just Common Sense

The Center for Disease Control announced yesterday that it still hasn't located the source of the salmonella outbreak that has travelled around the country recently. Last year there was an outbreak linked to Banquet chicken pot pies, made ConAgra. There was the infamous "tomato scare," which actually wound up being the "pepper scare," with imported peppers. There was adulterated peanut butter and pet foods, also imported. 

In 2006 there was a nationwide ban on spinach, grown in California. However, there wasn't an accompanying explanation that locally grown spinach was fine, unless you lived in that valley in CA. Ultimately, the contamination was found in the packaging, specifically the water used in that processing. The water was tainted by a leaching manure from a poorly managed dairy farm that was infecting the well of the processor. 

The FDA and CDC both recommend that people wash their food and avoid eating raw meats, and give extensive suggestions about food preparation. These steps should certainly be heeded, but consideration also needs to be given to the way these foods were raised or packaged. ConAgra is one of the nation's agri-giants, processing food on a massive scale. Intensively managed livestock operations, from milk to poultry, swine to beef, present environmental hazards that affect all those who live next door or down stream from them. There is no way to control the quality of the practices, or packaging, from imported food, except through inspection.

In the wake of these food poisonings the FDA has announced that plans on closing 7 of its 13 inspection labs. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19811664/These include many that deal with import inspection. Importers are finding ways to evade detection, and our food security suffering.

Growing your own food or support local farmers is a great way to promote safe food for your family. You should still wash the food, and your hands and utensils, but if you buy food in its raw form you can see that it's not adulterated with melamine or other by-products. 

While there is a need for large scale agriculture at this time, they should not have control of all the food. Volume has its advantages in lowering prices, but it also raises the potential for contamination. The USDA seems determined to concentrate the food system into the hands of these agri-giants, but at the same time, they are losing inspectors and the richest, healthiest food available. 

Big ag sees this happening. They've been working on it. But consumers are now realizing that the small sustainable farm has the ability to care more directly for each animal. In the event of a problem the potential outbreak is significantly smaller than a nationwide distribution of illnesses. It only makes sense that small farms need to continue to exist so that we can have the choice of where our food comes from. Getting your food directly from the source makes it much easier to judge the quality, and minimize the opportunity for germ introduction. Lastly, learning the skills to prepare and judge properly prepared meats is also important, and like so many things is getting concentrated in the hands of "chefs," rather than the "every person," which is traditional.

Witness to Small Farm Wonder

I know. I already posted today, but that was really a "fill in," waiting for the permission to use this link.                  
    http://www.projo.com/extra/2008/goats/

If people wonder why small farms matter. If there is any doubt that having farm animals in a child's life, watch this link. It was provided by TwinkleFarm,  

and the Nerone family.  It was produced by the Providence Journal. 

Thank you Sara for sharing this with me, and all who watch it. 

Great Little Goats

It's breeding time here at our farm, but it's almost "baby time," too. I've had lots of people ask me why I breed my little dwarf dairy goats. Well, between the luscious milk, sweet personalities and darling kids, it's a pretty rich life. 

Nigerian dwarf goats are great for people who want their own personal milk supply, or want their children to learn about biology before it hits them head on. Laborador retrievers are bigger than my goats, and have bigger litters, though my ND's have had as many as 5 kids in a grouping. 

We are a family of only 3, so when my goats give me 1/2 gallon a day, that's more than enough for us. Especially when I'm milking 15 goats in a session sometimes. Our milk is sweet, creamy and only tastes "bucky" or "strong" if we haven't cooled it down quickly enough and kept it for too long. When people come by and taste the free sample of milk they often ask where we're keeping the cow.  No cows here!

I have to say "free sample," because it's against the law in MA to sell raw milk without a permit, and since I don't have such a permit, and can't afford all the equipment I'd need to get it, I have to deny those who ask. We try to help people get their own goats if they have a strong desire or need, such as a child with digestive problems and severe eczema. 

Making cheese from our ND's is a joy because there's so much cheese from that gallon. The least I've ever gotten is 1 lb. of cheese per gallon, but I usually get 2.5 - 3.5 pounds of cheese for a gallon of milk. The difference is sometimes the type of cheese, the time of year, and how long my does have been milking. It's always a surprise to see what gift I get from my girls with each batch.

Same with our soap, which we can sell. There's a technique soapers use called "superfatting," which adds extra oils to the soap to make more available fat for moisturizing. We don't have to do that. Our milk is so rich it's automatically superfatted.

But one of the best benefits of goat keeping is watching tiny goat kids, 2.5 lbs in size, find their legs and pretend they have wings as they bounce and leap for sheer joy. I dare anyone to stay sad if see it. There's no way to put in a bottle, or a photo. It happens too fast!

If this sounds like an interesting adventure for you, check out Personal Milkers: A Primer to Nigerian Dwarf Goats. I confess, I wrote it. But it's a look at that first year in the adventure of keeping Nigerian dwarf goats, and I think you'll like it.

Whether the book fits into your plans or not, visit some Nigerian dwarf goats, especially in the spring, when the kid are "flying" into the world. 

Eggs & Poultry - Decoding the Glitz

There's a lot of concern about eggs, and some confusion about what the terminology means.

Here is some basic biology for those who are new to chicken talk. A chick is a baby, and if she's a girl, she's referred to as a "pullet." A male chicken is called a "rooster," or a "cock," but if you see the term "capon" it's a neutered rooster. They grow slower and their meat is more tender and supposedly less bony than a rooster, though I'm no expert there. Caponizing is a separate step from raising chickens, and because of that individual handling, raises the price of a chicken carcass. Pullets grow up into hens, which are the heavier bodied birds we usually see in pictures.

Pullets do nothing but grow and learn to be chickens until they are 5 to 6 months old. If they are lucky enough to live with their mother, they learn early on to scratch in the ground, seek out seeds and hide from danger. There's nothing more charming than watching a mother hen teach her "class of chicks," as they wander around the farm. 

Once the pullet gets to be around 5 or 6 months old, she'll start to lay eggs. But until that time, she hasn't really pulled any of her own weight in the farmer's till. After that though, she should lay an egg every 26 hours for several months. Hens that are older than two years old slow down their egg production, and are not usually kept on commercial farms. These are usually sold as "stew birds," because their meat is tougher and has a stronger flavor. However, other cultures treasure these older birds, so it's a matter of personal choice. 

There is a lot of talk about "free range," and "cage free," birds. These terms mean nothing most of the time. A truly free range bird is one that is never kept confined, which means they excavate all over the farm, fertilizing as they go. Finding their eggs, or nests, is a treasure hunt. They are also more open to predators if they free range. However, they are allowed to be chickens. Scratching allows them to find the grit they use to grind their food in their crop. It also aerates the soil. They will also eat ticks, worms, and insects, and find their own balanced diet, if allowed to. Chickens love a good roll in the dust, as it gets rid of their own mite problems, and this is impossible in a commercial confinement system.

"Cage free," means, usually, that the hens are not kept in commercial battery systems. This is an improvement over cages, but the birds may still not have access to bare ground, fresh air or sunlight. Battery cages are the industrial standard, where birds live in wire cages where they cannot stand up and can barely turn around. I won't go into much detail except to say that the only natural thing they do in those cages is drop eggs and manure. Industry has created a very economical and efficient system for harvesting eggs, with absolutely no regard for a chicken's natural behavior or requirements.

Many people keep the birds in good sized cages, called coops. These allow the flock to stretch and be natural, but keeps their impact within a set area and protects them from most predators. There are modifications of these coops which use electric netting that can be moved around a pasture, so effectively the birds have free range, but they and the farm, are safer than roaming free. Birds raised with exercise, freedom and fresh food access provide a flavorful meat which may or may not be a little tougher than caged-raised meat, but it's a better life.

Meat birds themselves, such as Rock crosses, are huge birds that grow at such a rate that they are usually harvested for meat by the time they are 8 weeks old. This is truly a gift for many of these birds, as they are so breast heavy they can't stand up. Their hearts are often not strong enough to support such a large bird and give out with any type of stress.

A lot of people are like me, raising heritage, dual purpose birds. There are even a few, especially the miniature breeds called bantams (or banties) that still know how to "go broody." This means that most of the other breeds have lost their natural instinct to collect eggs, sit on them and raise up a brood of chicks. This is not necessary in battery operations and on most farms, roosters are culled so the only way to fertilize a hen is artificial insemination.

Hens will lay eggs even without a rooster around. Roosters can be wonderful, or aggressive. They are beautiful, but noisy. That morning crow is a television creation. A real rooster may crow every 20 minutes for most of the day. Sharing a farm with a rooster means just tuning it out, but new neighbors may grow impatient with the racket. Rather than ban roosters, which m any towns are doing, I think it's better that people just wait a few weeks. Eventually they won't even notice. At the same time though, they may notice fewer ticks and chiggers, as roosters eat a lot for their size and help with these country challenges. They will also protect the hens, but car should be taken to cull or rehome any rooster that is aggressive. They can be very scary if they are "attack birds." 

Grading of eggs, ie. small, medium, large etc. is simply a weight measure. It has nothing to do with the quality of the egg. The different sizes are usually laid by younger or older birds, or by different breeds. White egg birds, such as the leghorn, are usually smaller boned and produce smaller eggs while brown egg birds are often heritage dual purpose birds, who's eggs will be larger because they are bigger chickens. But it's amazing to see the size of the egg that comes out of a bantam hen. It may grade out as small, but for the size of these little girls their eggs are huge!

The last thing that comes up in conversation is a debate of fertile vs. infertile eggs. That is a matter of personal choice. I don't know any farmer who would sell a fertile egg that they didn't know when it was hatched, or hadn't "candled" it. Candling is a simple process of holding the egg up to a  strong light bulb and looking through translucent shell. A fertile developing egg will have a denser section where the embryo is developing. The air sac at the top of the egg will be different too, as it is exchanging gases. If no embryo is developing, there is no specific difference between fertile and infertile eggs. Some cultures believe that the only egg to eat is fertile, but that's not been adopted worldwide.

There is a lot of "buzz" in the media about salmonella and the dangers of eggs. I think that chickens are amazing for their adaptation to keep eggs safe. When an egg is laid the hen's reproductive tract deposits a preservative layer on the shell's outside. This allows the moisture and gases to be exchanged for any developing chick, but protect bacteria from getting to the baby inside.  Hens lay their eggs every 26 hours, remember. They won't "go broody," for just a single egg, in most cases. When they do brood, they stop laying eggs, so nature has designed it to be very effective. They stop laying eggs once they have collected enough eggs to worry about. This means that the eggs were laid over subsequent days, yet they don't start growing until she starts to sit on them. She broods them for 21 days, in the case of chickens, and during that time she gets off the nest about 1 hour a day. It's a quick trip to the water bowl, the feed dish, the poop corner, and then back to work. She turns the eggs regularly to make sure they stay warm, and during this time, the eggs all develop at roughly the same rate. It's quite the system for making life easier for the hen. Can you imagine having 8 kids all 6 months apart in age? This system keeps that from happening. 

Because of this layer, when eggs are harvested, if they are not washed immediately, they can sit at room temperature for some time. They should be washed before using, because of the biology of the bird. But once they are washed they need to be refrigerated until use. I love how nature "thinks" of these things!

Well that's a lot about chickens. If you got this far, you probably enjoyed it. I'll write more about some of our chickens at a later date. But it's quite easy for a family to keep a couple of hens for their own use, and many cities are making that possible. There' are some wonderful books about "urban chickens". These include coop construction and some very innovative approaches to chicken housing. Just a couple of these are "Chicken Coops" by Pangman, "Chickens in Your Backyard," by Luttman and "Keep Chickens" by Kilarski. If you are interested in urban farming at all, give these a look!

Hobby Farms/Lifestyle Farms

I was thinking, while driving my chores, about the term "hobby farms," and how it makes me feel. It's always bothered me, though it's now a well accepted label for my type of farm. But my farm is not a hobby. It's a business, a lifestyle, even a life line. To me, the term "hobby" makes me feel like it's something I do in my free time. In reality, free time fits around the farm.

I do needlepoint, crosswords, jigsaw puzzles, and other things as hobbies. They do not suffer if I do not get to them, though I might. My guitar is more than a hobby to me, but even that will exist if I take time away from it. It has so far at least. But my farm inhabitants, from horse to chickens, dogs to goats, would not exist if I put them aside. They need me for their sustenance, but they also need my company. I matter to them.

I can't say that about everyone's farm animals, but it's one of the reasons I have goats, and the donkey and horse that I have. I am an individual to them. Some of us get along better than others. Some times we all get on each other's nerves. But if my animals were to leave here, they would miss me. Some would just plain die for the lack of me.

It's not that I'm all that special. It's that they are. Some animals, I've seen it with donkeys, develop such a strong bond that they have broken hearts if their loved one goes away. My chickens could care less, but goats certainly develop bonds to their herdmates and their keepers. It's hard on them to move from farm to farm. I wish more people remembered that. The idea of "hobby goats," diminishes them as unfeeling items to own. In reality they are caring friends who provide us with companionship, babies and/or milk, along with other gifts.

So who cares about this? I think it's important for people to remember when making the decision to enter farming. I also think it's critical for legislators and bureaucrats that these are not "hobby choices," when they seek to regulate and control small farms. Too much interference (translate: expense) diminishes the farmer's ability to feed the family, the farm, their neighbors perhaps and to protect the land from development. The term I prefer is "Lifestyle Farm."

I don't consider myself a homesteader because my farm is not based solely on supporting my family. I'm not a conventional commercial farmer because I don't practice mono-cropping and I do look at my animals as individuals and not just a commodity. But we all have the same choice of lifestyle, in whatever form we choose. I think these choices need to be respected as we respect married vs. single, gay/straight, Catholic/Protestant. Our existence strengthens everyone around us, and for lots of us that's more than just a "fun thing we do on the side." My farm is part of my identity, and it's certainly part of the footprint I leave behind when I go. To me, that's more than my hobby. I hope others feel the same way.

Speaking for the Farms

Starting this blog is pretty uppity of me. After all, who am I to try and speak for all the farmers, or all the consumers.?Well, farmers and consumers don't talk often enough and since there are more buyers than growers out in the world, at least in America, someone has to try and build a bridge. 

So here I am.

I'm a sustainable, not organic, goat farmer raising Nigerian dwarf goats in central MA. I'm not a big grower, nor am I a factory farmer. My goats have names, as well as registration numbers. I milk them everyday, twice a day, even when it's cold. (Of course, if they aren't in milk, I just feed, water and take care of them.) I've also taught lots of children about meat, milk, eggs and gardens, and watched their parents nod in amazement from behind. There have been plenty of times when the kids can't even get their questions asked because the "grown ups," are learning too and the conversation has taken a "grown up," turn.

There are lots of times when the news reports only the words of the USDA (Dept. of Agriculture), or a big Ag-giant, and the information doesn't apply to those of us who farm like I do. We need to have a voice too, and since I've been doing this orally for 20+ years I figured I'd just put it writing. If you have any questions about food safety, farmer's choices, how to do something? just ask. I don't just mean consumers, but also people who are dreaming of a farm or garden of their own, or already have one. 

However, this is not a place to discuss animal rights or omnivore/vegetarian. There are lots of places to do that, and from my experience there is no easy way to keep things civil. So, for the record, I'm a "card carrying" animal welfare practicing, meat eating farmer who knows all my animals by name, remembers their parents and doesn't have to look up in a computer who they gave birth to. I'm also an environmentalist who greatly respects those who  choose to avoid meat, but God gave me canine teeth and He knows more than I do, so I'll follow his lead.

Hope this grows into a community of friends. I'm better at raising awareness than I am at carrots, so this, and the goats, are my main commodity. Hope you enjoy it.