Chefs & Farmers Raise a Toast to 'Food Stories'

Diverting from bees momentarily, I couldn't resist this story in the Berkshire Eagle about chefs who love a good "food story" to add to the allure of their dishes. One New York chef - Dan Barber of Blue Hill- is quoted in the story, "The more we have a food story, the better the food tastes. It's what these big food chains cannot provide."

[Be sure to check out Blue Hill's "Food Mission & Philosophy," which states, in part, "Actively reconnecting the farm and the table creates a distinct consciousness...Through our choices of food and ingredients, we -- chefs, waiters, diners - are inescapably active participants in not just eating, but in agriculture. This awareness adds to the pleasure of eating."]

Chef Barber and a number of other chefs are members of a sustainable farm supporter Berkshire Grown. The article covered the 9th Annual "Farm to Table" 'networking event' sponsored by Berkshire Grown.

Always good to hear from the farmgirls in these articles and I wasn't disappointed with a mention of Laura Meister, who owns the beautifully-named CSA "Farm Girl Farm" in North Egremont.

This story is further proof that the next Rock Star may indeed be your local farmer.

As an aside, Virtual Farmgirl had to point out that Farmgirl Laura also produces documentaries and in 2005 was on the road with "Sweet Soil," which featured the Berkshire farm co-op community.

Bee Week Continues with 'Hobbyist' Kits and a Pollinator's Paradise

I promised myself I would not blog about bees for a fifth day in a row, but then my husband came back from an evening event in Chicago full of info about some buzz'n kits we might be able to buy for our Central Indiana farm.

From what I can tell, kits like these from Murray McMurray Hatchery, are great for helping pollinate gardens. My family maintains a significant garden and has a summer roadside business, so we're going to have to check this out.

Here's another great site - Pollinator Paradise - with loads of research and resources for the would-be honeybee hobbyist.

I'm not sure we'd want to get into the honey business, but according to the Agriculture Department there are an estimated 140,000 to 212,000 beekeepers in the U.S., most of them (95 percent) considered "hobbyists" with fewer than 25 hives. More info about this sweet biz from the National Honey Board [Which is yet another good source of info about Colony Collapse Disorder].

For City Farmgirls and those not interested in pollinators, check out these alternative bee kits from one of my favorite green companies, Burt's Bees.

[Photo links to a page featuring the New Mexico Native Bee Pollinator Project.]

Penn State Podcasts Feature 'Honeybees in Crisis'

As a follow up to recent posts about Colony Collapse Disorder and the mystery of the disappearing bees, Virtual Farmgirl recommends checking out a podcast series "Honeybees in Crisis" produced by Penn State.

The podcasts explore a range of topics, beginning with a discussion of Colony Collapse Disorder from January, followed by segments exploring possible diseases that might be related to the disappearances, potential economic impact, and interviews of beekeepers about CCD.

A release accompanying the series outlines some of the issues -- agricultural and economic impacts, etc. - and directs readers to the Mid-Atlantic Apiculture Research and Extension Consortium, which maintains a repository of major research and developments concerning CCD.

Vanishing Bee Mystery Deepens

If there is such a thing as a horror-story for agriculture, the mystery of the disappearing bees fits the playbill. After beekeepers in 24 states began sounding alarm bells last year when they noticed empty hives, the general media and government is taking notice.

Indeed, the New York Times reported about the vanishing bees - which have disappeared by the millions - in February. The bee mystery was today's front page news in Chicago, with the Tribune running this story by one of my favorite investigative reporters, Maurice Possley: "Missing Bees Create a Buzz: Whole colonies are vanishing across the country."

Possley traveled to Missoula, Mont., to the offices of Bee Alert Technology Inc., which is investigating what happened to the bees. Besides the loss of honey, the vanishing bees are threatening a $14 billion agricultural industry that relies on pollination, according to the Tribune. The Agriculture Department is going to hold hearings on what experts have dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder this week. [More in an AP story in February.]

Estimates going back decades declare that at least a third of the food we eat is supported by bee pollination. Wow. Something definitely to watch.

We had thought about putting hives on our property. Gotta wonder if there's enough of a bee population to fill the hives. Let's hope so.

Where Have All the Bees Swarmed?

There are some beautiful, touching and out-right hilarious observations in Erika Schickel's LA Observed blog post entitled "The Swarm." She relates her experiences dealing with a swarm of bees that has overtaken her sister's home in Pasadena. Here's the Virtual Farmgirl relevant passage - complete with lessons about environmental protection, farming and nature. In the passage, Erika has just been reminded that it is illegal to kill bees in California:

"Of course, as a gardener, I know that bees are beneficial insects. But I never knew I could be cited for Apicide. Bees are the tiny, efficient hinges that our entire agricultural system swings on. Without them our state's farming infrastructure would collapse. In fact, bee keepers have reported a strange disappearance of bees from hives across the country recently and this mysterious die-off is deeply alarming. I thought of the tens of bees that had died at my hands, crushed beneath the glossy pages of a gourmet food magazine and the irony smacked me upside the head. No bees cross-pollinating the almond and fruit trees? Then no almond pear clafouti. It's that simple. I felt a pang of guilt realizing that not only was I endangering our delicate ecosystem, but also the future of desserts everywhere."

The graph links to a February story in the New York Times, "Honeybees Vanish, Leaving Keepers in Peril," about the bees disappearing from dozens of states around the country "at an alarming rate."

[Photo links to a story from the University of California, Riverside, last spring with tips on how to keep bees from choosing to reside in your home.]

As City 'Creeps Closer' to Farms Each Year, Families Opt to Preserve Land

To preserve the almonds and grapes that grow along the San Joaquin River near Fresno, Calif., families such as the Wattenbargers have sold their development rights and entered a conservation easement, according to this story in the Fresno Bee.

Farmgirl Anna Wattenbarger says it's been her dream to keep the family ranch going for her son and grandchildren. The Wattenbargers were paid a grand $585,000 from the California Farmland Conservancy Program to preserve their 200-plus years for agricultural purposes for an indefinite period.

In a release about the easement, Anna says about the land and her farming husband Bill, "We’ve grown all kinds of crops on the land - at various times, cotton, corn, sugar beets, alfalfa and other things. We’ve slowly but surely moved into permanent crops. Bill is semi-retired now. He only works when he wants to. We’re just very happy to know that future generations will be able to farm here, too.”

One conservation trust director is quoted in the Bee saying that it is part of the program's "mission to promote agricultural uses that are consistent with protecting the river. I think you're already seeing the pressure of urbanization spilling into agricultural areas, so we hope more people become interested in conservation easements."

Here's another story, in the Madera Tribune, about bees on the Wattenbargers' almond ranch.

Farming Dry Land in Shiprock

Learn about 70-year-old Navajo Farmgirl Mae Denet Claw and the health of farming in Shiprock, N.M., in this piece in the Farmington Daily Times. The story talks about how in the Shiprock area the older farmers rely on farming for their livelihood, but younger farmers have jobs elsewhere...mines or power plant.

There are some insights into the difficulties in farming on reservation land, which because of divisions in the '50s have left many ranchers with too little land to expand. Another huge hurdle is the lack of water. According to the Daily Times, farmers have switched to raising Beefmaster cattle and piping water to specific portions of the crops to adapt to the arid conditions.

Check out more about water management and ranching in Shiprock in this piece in Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.

Film Features 150-Year-Old Family Farms at Chicago Expo

Those attending a FamilyFarmed.org Expo in Chicago this weekend will be treated to a special sneak preview of an exciting new documentary that features four Illinois families who have farmed their land for at least 150 years, according to this piece in the Daily Herald.

The film, "Deep Roots: Legacy of 150-year-old Family Farms," will be screened at the Chicago Cultural Center. Producers hope to have it finished sometime this summer for airing on PBS or some similar venue, the Herald reports.

Among the families featured is the Flanders clan, headed by Tom and Farmgirl Carol Flanders. Their family has been farming the same plot of Kaneville Township land since 1851. It's also one of 28 farms enrolled in an agricultural protection program to protect it from development, according to the paper.

Farm-Inspired Recipes in New Book

I saw today in the NW Indiana Times that there's a new cookbook - "More Recipes From the Farm: Family Recipes and Memories of a Lifetime" (Pediment Press, 2007, $29.95) - on its way from one of the farm-connected journalists in Northwest Indiana. Columnist Phil Potempa writes a "From the Farm" column each week, with mouth-watering recipes he continues to gather. The new book is due out by Mother's Day.

To conclude the column about the new book, Phil shared this spring perfect recipe for "Not Just Another Carrot Cake."

Cake:
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded carrots
2 cups flaked coconut
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 cup dark raisins

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups powdered sugar

* Combine sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl.
* Stir in flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and mix well.
* Fold in carrots, coconut, pineapple, walnuts and raisins.
* Pour batter into a 9-inch-by-13-inch greased and floured baking pan.
* Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan for 40 minutes before frosting.

* To make frosting, combine all ingredients EXCEPT powdered sugar, blending with electric mixer, then add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Frost cake and keep covered and refrigerated until served. Makes 16 servings.

Farm Wife Top 10

I got my Women in Ag newsletter today and homed in on a great Letterman-like Top 10 list: "You know you're a farm wife when..."

There were some cute one-liners in the newsletter. But the best were on the Women in Ag discussion board. Here are of my favorites, from a post published on March 8.

Let's call them the Virtual Farmgirl Top 10:

10. If your name is taped to the side of a cake pan.
9. If the vet's number is on the speed dial of your phone.
8. If your second vehicle is still a pickup.
7. If your husband has ever used field equipment to maintain your yard.
6. If a "night out" involves the local 4-H club.
5. If you've ever washed off each other with a pressure washer.
4. If you can mend a pair of pants and the fence that ripped them.
3. If your tan lines are somewhere below your shoulder and above your elbow.
2. If you have lots of machinery and each piece is worth more than your house.

And the best way to know you're a farm wife is:

1. If the directions to your house include the words, "miles," "silos," "last," or "gravel road."

Family Enjoys "Simple Times" with Raw Goat's Milk Dairy

BusinessWeek.com has a vivid little story - dated Monday - featuring a young family making a go of a small raw milk goat farm in Michigan. The story chronicles a typical day in the lives of the Klaty brood - Farmgirl mom Tamra, dad Robb and their five children - at their Simple Times Farm in Grand Blanc. [You can check out their blog detailing their religiousness and lifestyle (including their sawdust toilet) at http://klaty.com/.]

The Klatys started out boarding horses, but more recently got into the raw milk business, distributing unpasteurized milk to 50 leaseholders. Part of Business Week's interest is in the problem the Klatys face with expansion of their growing farm...a near impossibility considering their land is constrained by a housing development and a golf course. [BizWeek also reported on raw milk in 2006.]

The family doesn't gross enough from their farming operations for Robb to give up his lawn care business. The magazine quotes Katherine Ozer, executive director of the National Family Farm Coalition, says most family farms rely on one or more family members to work outside the farm.

MBA-Wielding Farmgirl Banks on Alpacas

I've been thinking of those adorable, cuddly looking alpacas lately so it was great to see this enticing headline: "N.C. Woman Quits Banking to Raise Alpacas." Raise alpacas indeed. Farmgirl Erin McCarthy's Belleauwood Farm is one of the largest alpaca operations in the country. While many farms have an average of 12 alpacas at any given time, this one-time Bank of America VP has the largest herd in the southeast with 230 of the Peruvian creatures. The Salisbury Post story notes that the largest alpaca herd of 2,000 is in Washington State, but that most farmers - many of them couples - manage herds of up to 40-50.

The miniature llama-like alpacas are raised for their fleece that is currently a small niche textile business. In the article, Erin says she expects there to be an increase in alpaca farming - enough to support a commercial processing facility. Meanwhile, Erin is working with the North Carolina State University College of Textiles to develop such a commercial processing business model.

[Image is of Cara Blanca, one of the alpacas Erin has for sale...list price? $20,000.]

Farmgirl, Lawyer, Pioneer, 'Girlie' Ag Secretary

Pennsylvanians celebrated Women's History Month today with a lunch in Harrisburg featuring Farmgirl Hero Jane Alexander, the first woman in the country to become a state deputy secretary of agriculture. That was way back in 1972. Alexander, aka the "Gavel Girl," is a lawyer and heads the progressive J&J Agri-Products & Services, a consulting agency that also manufactures organic ag products.

According to this piece in the Dickinson Magazine, the 77-year-old Alexander has never lost a case at trial and has maintained a law practice for more than 50 years on Dillsburg, Pa.'s main drag [Image from Dickinson Magazine]. Here's my favorite quote about how her grandfather, a district judge, predetermined her career: “When I was 5 years old, my grandfather said, ‘Jane, you’re going to be a lawyer,’ ” Alexander is quoted saying. “It was decided on that day. He said, ‘We’re going to overlook the fact that you’re female.’”

Farmgirls Will 'Rule'

I was checking out the American Agriculturalist this morning and a piece headlined "Women Will 'Rule' Farming" definitely caught my attention. The article notes that during the next 20 years, 400 million acres of U.S. farmland will change hands and that women will inherit 75 percent. The numbers are even higher in the New England states, where women already own some 30 percent and in Connecticut and New Hampshire an exciting 40 percent of the farms.

That means women are poised to "shape the future of a farm business," Lynda Brushett, of the Cooperative Development Institute, is quoted saying.

This Agriculturalist article is a teaser for a program coming up this month in Vermont (and later in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire): "Women, Families, Farmland: A Farm Transition Gathering for Vermont Women."

The free programs (funded by the USDA Farm Service Agency) are supposed to help "senior" women figure out how to transition to ownership, pass on their land, "retire comfortably" and "ensure the agricultural future of their farmland."

Farmgirl History Lesson: Dairy Farming Emerged As Ancestors Developed Taste for Cow's Milk

This day in history, circa some 7,000 years ago, our early relatives couldn't digest milk. At least so says new research by University College London scientists who claim that human ancestors lacked the gene required to produce the enzymes most of us have now to process cow's milk. The working theory, according to the Khaleej Times Online and the BBC, is that Europeans and subsequently Americans developed milk tolerance as dairy farming emerged. The reports note that while northern Europeans and some African and Middle Eastern populations can drink milk, most of the rest of the world's adult population cannot digest milk's sugar lactose. Scientists set out to find out whether lactose tolerance led to dairy farming or that exposure to milk led to the evoluton of lactose tolerance.

"This is a simple chicken or egg question, but one that is very important to archaeologists, anthropologists and evolutionary biologists," one of the researchers, Dr. Mark Thomas, is quoted as saying. "We found that the lactose tolerance variant of the lactase gene only became common after dairy farming, which started around 9,000 years ago in Europe."

Image: Women Milking Cows, from Harvest of History.

Celebrating a Farmgirl

My mother-in-law died very early this morning and for some reason, I can't get this image of her as a young woman driving a tractor out of my mind. I've heard stories about her family farming background for years and despite declining health in the last few months, I will remember her strong and vibrant, a child of rural Indiana who saw the world, raised three kids, and juggled a marriage and career. She never knew the meaning of a short day. A true farmgirl hero.

Farms Fueling 500, Indy Cars Racing on 100% Ethanol this May

NASCAR has yet to make the switch, but beginning this racing season, cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be fueled 100 percent by ethanol. It's a move Speedway President Tony George says was prompted by a desire by the IRL to be "socially responsible and innovative at the same time," according to this piece in Hoosier Ag Today. In an accompanying audio file of the interview, George also notes the benefits to the agricultural industry and he adds that the Speedway sees the shift to ethanol as a "win win" for all involved. The article notes that there were some adjustments that had to be made for the cars to use ethanol, which burns hotter and results in better gas mileage for the cars. The IRL has been planning for greater ethanol use for years, beginning with an announcement in 2005 that the league would partner with the ethanol industry. Unfortunately the ethanol won't be coming from the Midwest, but will be trucked in from Wyoming, according to the Billings Gazette.

Food, Photos and New England Artisan Farms

Doing a little surfing tonight, I found myself engrossed in food photographer Nika Boyce's mouth-watering site Nika's Culinaria. I don't come across too many sites in full color, so to see so many tastefully chosen images and full-color galleries of food prep is especially exciting.

So what does this have to do about farming? Well, actually, I landed on Nika's site because she was blogging about Northeast Family Farms, a grass-fed beef operation and the community of artisan farms with "natural" and "organic" products marketed by the 139-year-old Dole and Bailey. Both are great sites, especially if you're in the New England area.

But after clicking through Nika's site, I'm starved.

Celtic/Canadian Farmkids to Headline Savannah Music Festival

Thanks to this piece in Connect Savannah entitled "Eight is Enough," I learned about the Celtic musical sensation of "Leahy." The group is comprised of eight brothers and sisters - children of a fiddle champion and step-dancing champion - were raised along with three other siblings on an Ontario farm. In the interview two of the brothers - Doug and Donnell - spoke from their recording studio "The Farm," which is located next to their family farm. Doug was quoted saying that the siblings still work the farm. "I find it's a great release of stress to get away with the animals and be out in the field."

The double-platinum troupe is set to open this year's Savannah Music Festival on March 15.

Farmgirl Finds: Eat Well Guide & Growing Organic Farm in NW Indiana

Here's a nifty little way to find sustainable - fresh, local - food to eat: The Eat Well Guide. Just plug in your zip code and find local farms and markets where you can go for fresh meat, veggies and dairy.

The site turned me on to this cute nearby farm near Valparaiso, Creme de la Crop. The organic farm was founded by Farmgirl Leann Landgrebe-Stephens in 2003, with the first three acres planted by hand. The farm has grown every year and is venturing into Community Supported Agriculture.

Some of Leann's ups and downs - having to lay off her whole crew during an Indiana drought - are featured in this 2006 piece in Lake Magazine.

'Farm Girl' Pelosi Pledges Disaster Aid to Farmers

A special Virtual Farmgirl thanks to The Nation, which a few days ago alerted me with this beautifully written headline, "Nancy Pelosi: Farm Girl," that the glass ceiling busting House speaker was speaking to the National Farmer's Union in Florida. Farmgirl Nancy earned "wild applause" when she announced that an Iraq War spending bill would include agricultural disaster assistance, according to this piece in Wisconsin Ag Connection. The NFU's convention theme was "Feeding the World. Fueling the Future" and along those renewable energy lines, the speaker is quoted saying, "Energy independence is a national security issue, it is an environmental issue, and it is an economic issue for our country and for America's families...It can be an economic solution for America's farmers." More on the politics in this Orlando Sentinel piece.

One Farmer Calls it Quits, Another Buys Up Land

For every five plus stories like this one in the North County Times about an avocado farmer throwing in the towel after four years of losses from his 31-acre farm, there is one like this Patriot News story about a longtime Pennsylvania farmer who recently bought up 270 acres of neighboring farmland to expand his family operation and protect the historic land from developers. "I know it seems crazy to most people, and I can guess what they think about me, but it's something I believe in, deeply," 58-year-old Ed Brofee was quoted saying. Brofee also says he's the only farmer in his area with adult children who want to keep farming.

Pa. and Feds Warn Against Raw Milk Use

Because I've been posting about raw milk and trends toward more widespread consumption, I thought I'd include the latest advisory from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. This week it sent out an alert, warning consumers to discard raw milk purchased from Stump Acres Dairy in New Salem. According to the warning, at least two people became ill with salmonella after drinking raw milk, which is non pasteurized and non homogenized. For its part, the dairy is initiating multiple tests before it resumes sales.

But Farmgirl Glendora Stump, who owns the farm, questions the health department's findings. Glendora told the York Daily Record that her family regularly drinks the milk and none of them has been sick. "I just feel bad for my customers because they depend on us," she is quoted saying. The dairy apparently provides raw milk to some 250 customers and been in business for 40 years.

The advisory in Pennsylvania came a day after the CDC and FDA issued a joint warning about the dangers of raw milk. A Virtual Farmgirl thanks to the Food Poisoning Law Blog for details about the CDC/FDA warning and tons of info on food-borne illnesses. Here's a Q&A from the joint warning too.

[Photo is of Glendora from a 2004 feature "Old-Fashioned Flavor" in Enzyme University.]

Organic Gear for Growing Farmkids

I've been searching though my email a bit early today. I am going to see This American Life in Chicago this evening with my friend "Non-Farmgirl from Chicago"and I wanted to find a daily post. Eureka! I found a message from another one of my urban-dwelling friends about Farmerkids.com. It's a great fully organic, sweatshop free, e-retail shop aimed at "bringing a little bit of country life to all kids." In a description of her business, graphic artist Farmgirl Gabrielle notes she's based in New York City, but that she "tries to get to the countryside as much as possible for fresh air, and inspiration!" I hear you Gabrielle.