a very still pond
As we button down the strawberry beds and prepare the land for winter, possibilities for The Farm keep at the forefront of our conversations. Practical Farmers of Iowa’s Annual Conference on January 8-9 should help us exercise our planning muscles. The two-day “Jubilee” in Marshalltown will feature guest speakers, a white chili chowdown, seed swap, and informative workshops. Looks like Mom has her eye on Manure Handling, CSA Pricing and Major Pests and Solutions, while you’ll likely find me at A Diner’s Guide to Food Trends, To Market, Finding Success in Succession and Writing Your Farm. Who else is game for Jubilee? Register here.
I find great encouragement in my encounters with local farmers who are also reinvigorating their land. These connections occur wherever I go, including work (COSC), fundraisers (Great Outdoors Fund), dinner (Le Jardin), craft fairs (Market Street Media) and more. I met Carol from Cumming who is growing organic aroniaberries with her sisters. The berry grows especially well in Iowa and is known to be higher in antioxidants and other benefits than most fruit, including elderberries and the acai berry. Jenni Smith owns Butcher Crick Farm near Carlisle. She has received attention numerous places for her recent career change from insurance sale to farming tomatoes. Beth Kemp is a jeweler who has a 4 acre CSA farm with her father, and Ray from Escondido, California, owns 100 acres in Dallas County with his 6 children. It was nice to hear his excitement about revitalizing the land and its buildings. “The next generation has opened up our eyes to how we need to do things differently,” he gladly reported.
As for some recent physical work on the farm, Mom, Molly, Seamus and I tackled (sometimes literally) the trees on the hillside going down to the pond. We gave them a major buzz cut from ground level to 6 feet high. They look a lot healthier since we cleared the overgrowth, and now the pond is in view again. This may make sledding more interesting too… those discarded piles of limbs just might enable an adventurous crew to catch some serious air. ;o) Here are photos of the day, and of our first glimpse of winter (what a start!)
Lots of good news, Siobhan; thanks for it. The January conference sounds fantastic…though I can’t make it I would be interested in hearing an overview in an upcoming Dirt. Have you plans to collect materials from such conferences as part of the Spain Farm’s “owners’ manual?”
Smiles,
C.