RFFP S U M M E R
Newsletter
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RFFP: History, Legacy and Lessons By Tracy Frisch
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n 1993 three friends in the Capital District began looking for a way to motivate more people to care about farm and food issues. Back then, neither the media nor the public at large expressed much curiosity about such subjects. Locavores wouldn't get a name for over another decade, farmers weren't yet revered as celebrities and organic still constituted a small, fringe movement. In this very different context the three of us, Melanie DuPuis (now a UC Santa Cruz professor), Janet Britt (the first Community Supported Agriculture farmer in the state) and I (then the director of the NY Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides), decided to hold one event together to help put sustainable agriculture on the map. We invited a speaker and held a harvest dinner in an Albany church. When 90 people showed up, the Sustainable Community Harvest dinner became an annual tradition. This dinner spawned several years of monthly potlucks at the Albany Quaker meeting that helped lay the groundwork for RFFP. Another thing that grew out of these gatherings was a voluntary simplicity-sustainable living group in Troy that has hosted a speaker every month for 15 years. By 1996 we had convened a working group of farmers and food activists to found a new organization. The Regional Farm & Food Project started modestly with a $5,000 grant and a loose mission. Rather than lobbying the government (and banging our heads against the wall with little to show for our efforts), we chose to work in the real world to expand farmers' capacity to ecologically and profitably produce good food, and forge connections between farmers and consumers. During the years that followed, with a strong vision and committed core, RFFP went on to develop a comprehensive array of activities to promote local foods and help farmers succeed. As a pioneering organization we worked with people and introduced new ideas and models around our region – generally conceived of as 10 counties. For certain projects though, it stretched across the Northeast. We remained committed to raise public awareness with an informative quarterly newsletter and a monthly one-hour radio show aired on WRPI-Troy. And the dinner speaker in 1993, Ram's Horn newsletter editor Brewster Kneen, then of Toronto, ushered in a line of inspiring and provocative speakers at future dinners, including Elizabeth Henderson, Mark Winne, Joel Salatin, Nina Planck and Jerry Brunetti. Over the years our little grassroots organization would make a surprisingly large impact on the food and agriculture scene both here and beyond. One of our specialties was nurturing newer
farmers and helping other farmers change course to become more sustainable -- for example, by pasturing animals, doing valueadded dairy, a CSA, or direct marketing. Ultimately RFFP spurred a variety of groups, agencies and initiatives to emulate its programs. Yet in its early stages our organization was often ignored, scorned or even seen as a threat. After we demonstrated that our vision-driven approach attracted a loyal audience and bore worthwhile results, more mainstream, betterfunded groups got interested in using some of our methods to strengthen and reshape agriculture.
RFFP achievements led the way Helping consumers find farmers: Every two years we produced a large foldout 10-county directory and map of farms using organic, grass-based and sustainable practices. Providing a new paradigm for farmers: Starting in 1996 RFFP held some of the very first Holistic Resource Management courses in the Northeast in order to offer decisionmaking tools for sustainability to farmers and those who work with them. Holistic Management, as it's now called, helps farm families (and businesses and other entities) articulate a holistic goal and manage their whole to reach it. Like the triple bottom line, this goal encompasses economic, environmental and social concerns. HM proved tremendously influential in radically shifting the way people think about and run their farms. Creating the model for major farmers markets: In 1999 RFFP initiated the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market, culminating many months of organizing and planning. This dynamic, producer-only year-round market has set the standard for other ambitious markets, like the Schenectady Green Market. It has introduced thousands of people to the broad variety of local foods available and helped to revitalize the city. Pioneering local food dinners: Each year we held two large annual celebrations -- our community harvest potluck plus a more formal fundraising dinner prepared by chefs with foods from sustainable local farms. Early on, we put on Through Women's Hands to spotlight women chefs and farmers, while the later event was called Farm Fresh and Fabulous: Chefs Make a Local Feast. (continued on page 3)
RFFP Newsletter
Mid-Summer 2011 Mission: The Regional Farm & Food Project is a member-supported, farmerfocused, non-profit, serving the greater Hudson-Mohawk Valley food shed of New York. Founded in 1996 to promote sustainable agriculture and local food systems, we do grass roots organizing, farmer to farmer trainings, consumer re-skilling workshops, and urban homesteading and young farmer advocacy. Our reward is restoring the balance between farms and factories, local and global, and people and profits. Contact: PO Box 621 Saratoga Springs, NY 12966 Telephone (518) 573-8831 Website: FarmAndFood.org Newsletter Editorial Board: David Delozier, Secretary Nate Darrow, Chair Contributors: Tracy Frisch Chris Kemnah RFFP Board: Nate Darrow Chair, Saratoga Apple Farm Tim Holmes Treasurer David Delozier Secretary, publisher: eco-LOCAL Living magazine RFFP Board of Advisors David Yarrow Carbon-negative.us Louise Frazier Nutritional Consultant Tracy Frisch Writer, Founder RFFP Skotty Kellogg Radical Urban Sustainability Chris Kemnah Otter Hook Farm Our thanks to retiring Board Members: Louise Johnson, past Chair Michele Smith Dana Salazar We need member involvement! If you would like to help direct RFFP‟s future programming, please send a statement of your interests by email to nate.appleman@gmail.com
Message from The Chair:
Reflecting on the past successful RFFP initiatives which are now mainstream and self sustaining, the question arose: what next for RFFP? Dan Kittredge‟s Nutrient Dense Crop Production course, which we are currently sponsoring at Hawthorne Valley School, is special & seminal. Dan and his Real Food Campaign (see www.realfoodcampaign.org, introduction to principles) , is an important new initiative which we will continue to help gain traction. Low food quality is the real issue. It takes a balanced and fully mineralized soil with microelements and lots of microbiology (life) to have robust plant and human health. Since publication of the “Nutrient Dense Manifesto”, Dan has been a reliable partner in discovering the way forward, and sharing thru teaching. Because “nutrient dense” already means different things to different people, we need a new word: “bionutrient”. Hopefully, Dan‟s new umbrella entity Bionutrient Food Association will become a clearinghouse for food quality information. Some „bleeding-edge‟ farmers are testing not only their soils, but also the sap of their plants for pH and brix, and the crops for brix (total soluble solids), to grow more nutritious and tasty food. From direct customer feedback at farmers markets, we know that consumers passionately want better quality food, and the hectic sales pace of the market is often not conducive to learning much about a farmer‟s practices. So... RFFP is forming a working group to do brix testing of foods from
farmers markets, and later from other sources. This will involve squeezing a drop of juice from an carrot, apple or tomato and examining it through a refractometer. Brix is more than just a measure of sugars, its really all the soluble solids, including minerals. Other more sophisticated photonic analyses are in the wings, but for now we should be trying to eat food which tests good to excellent rather than fair to poor on the brix scale. To more fully understand brix, see: www.realfoodcampaign.org/content/ brix). We are now looking for volunteers to help organize this and make it happen. If you are passionate about high quality food and would like to be able to “spot check” and compare produce for nutrient density, we have refractometers available to learn about this and for loan. Willing to work on this?...email nate.appleman@gmail.com with “brix testing” in subject line. Be sure to attend the upcoming annual meeting at the Bethlehem Grange, just south of Albany on October 29. Details are on page 8. Best, Nate Darrow Connect with RFFP Our website, farmandfood.org, is under construction and will be relaunched in September. The redesign will include a comprehensive farm directory and other pertinent information about the Hudson/Mohawk foodshed. Like us on Facebook! It‟s your best way to stay in touch with RFFP. RFFP needs you! If you are dedicated to a safe and healthy local food system, please consider joining as a member volunteer and become active on the board to help develop future projects. The future is uncertain, and we need your energy and talents now more than ever!
3 LEGACY (continued from page 1)
Keys to RFFP's success We started and tried to stay on the cutting edge of trends. When our work on a given topic started to catch on, we frequently moved on .RFFP actively examined what interesting and leading organizations beyond our region were doing. Using our own creativity, we applied their work to our context to create something that worked here. .We grew the organization slowly and kept experimenting to find out what worked. Sometimes when our ideas didn't take hold, we had to retool or even pull back. Some projects took too much energy in relation to their results. In other cases, we may have been premature and needed to wait until conditions were ripe. Rather than calling in an expert consultant, we worked collaboratively with interested stakeholders and others we recruited on task forces. Together we would analyze and seek solutions to a problem or figure out how to collectively take advantage of an opportunity. This process built ownership and brought the benefits of multiple perspectives. We used this process to develop the Troy Farmers Market, for example. Recognizing the importance of having credibility, for our instructors and leaders, we deliberately sought outstanding farmers who embodied sustainable values. Similarly we avoided hype, such as get-rich schemes and magic bullets, and honored the complexity of respected farmer experiences. RFFP worked hard to facilitate connections among our membership and create community. At events the organization took steps to encourage networking and socializing. Serving as a resource to individuals was an integral part of our mission. We made a point of becoming acquainted with the needs and aspirations of the farmers and potential movers and shakers who we came in contact with. By knowing the lay of the land, we were able to guide, counsel, refer and connect people.
par with program content. We put in place some standard steps that usually brought in the audience we wanted. We recognized that personal contact – face-to-face or by phone – got people's attention and strengthened relationships far more than mailings, email and the Internet. We were not shy to reach out and even made reminder calls reflective of individuals' interests. We were strategic in what we put our energy into. In a lot of our work RFFP served as a catalyst for additional change, for instance, by putting forth new models. Just because a project sounded appealing didn't mean we took it on. We tried to weigh its likely benefits and impacts against the time, skills and others resources it would take to accomplish. Tracy Frisch was the founding director of RFFP (1996-2004).
Books and more... by our Community Harvest Dinner Speakers (Please order through your local independent bookseller, the author's website, or the publisher.) Jerry Brunetti Cancer, Nutrition & Healing: A Personal Odyssey (available from producer, www.acresusa.com) Elizabeth Henderson Sharing the Harvest: A Citizen's Guide to Community Supported Agriculture (available from publisher, www.chelseagreen.com) Brewster Kneen, www.ramshorn.ca The Ram's Horn: A Monthly Newsletter of Food System Analysis (Annual subscription available for US$25 from 2746 Cassels Street, Ottawa ON, K2B 6N7, Canada, (613) 828-6047.) Nina Planck, www.ninaplanck.com • Real Food: What to Eat and Why
We took pride in being a grassroots membership organization, rather than a top down or bureaucratic agency that had difficulty changing course. While we couldn't take on all the projects that people may have wanted, we could be very responsive to emerging needs that seemed to fit our abilities.
• Real Food for Mother and Baby
RFFP relied on diverse funding streams (members, fundraisers and educational events) rather than being primarily funded by grants. Building a strong membership and organizing wellattended programs made this stability possible. It also enabled the group to set its own priorities, rather than letting foundation and government funders dictate what direction to take.
• You Can Farm
We did our best to be financially sustainable and maintained a lean operation that stayed within its means. Though we priced our activities to be affordable and as inexpensive as possible, most of them covered expenses and sometimes contributed to RFFP's overhead. We also created incentives for people to become members.
• The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer
We treated publicity and outreach as essential functions, on
Joel Salatin, www.polyfacefarms.com • Pastured Poultry Profits • Salad Bar Beef • Family Friendly Farming • Holy Cows and Hog Heaven • Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal Mark Winne, www.markwinne.com • Food Rebels, Guerrilla Gardeners and Smart-Cookin' Mamas: Fight Back in an Age of Industrial Agriculture • Closing the Food Gap
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Nutrient Dense Farming Getting measurable results By Chris and Samantha Kemmah To get the same calcium content from fresh veggies today as when JFK was president, you'd have to eat twice as much broccoli. To get the same amount of iron as when the Beatles were singing "We All Live in a Yellow Submarine," you'd have to eat four times as many collard greens. To maintain your vitamin A and C levels under the next administration, it will take three times as much cauliflower and twice as much watercress as during the Nixon and Watergate era. These are a few of the conclusions gleaned from comparing the U.S. government's food composition tables from the 1960s and 1970s to the present day. -- “The Disappearing Nutrients in America's Orchards” by Alex Jack, December 2004.
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e‟ve all heard different statistics about the disappearing nutritional value in our food. Usually, they are linked to an argument about the benefits of organic agriculture over conventional. While most will agree wholeheartedly that organic agriculture is better for the soil and our food than chemical, a question still remains – how do the minerals that our foods are lacking get into the soil?
Minerals for nutrients So, how do we remineralize our soils? Rock powders are essential. Lime, soft rock phosphate, green sand, granite dust among others will improve the quality of our soils and our food. Some issues come along with these inputs . . . most are relatively expensive, for many of us they have to be transported a long way and mining practices should be questioned. But – if our goal is to grow the most nutrient packed foods possible -- we really have to find a way to get these rock powders to our farms and gardens. Another point to bear in mind is that heavy applications of rock powders may be needed initially to get the soil up to snuff, but once the soils are balanced, it‟s just a matter of keeping a maintenance regimen for continued success. Measuring soil and plant health Now, how do we measure where our soils currently stand? There are several tools we can use to see where we are and get some direction on what our next steps should be. A refractometer can be used to measure brix.
Most organic farmers add certain amendments to their soil… compost, manure and cover crops in particular. But what if those inputs are also lacking? If the grass the cattle are eating is deficient in certain nutrients, it stands to reason that the manure that they generate will also be lacking.
Many people believe that brix is simply a measure of sugars, but it is actually more than that. It is also a measure of dissolved solids. Think about what is in plant sap. Dissolved nutrients! With low levels of nutrients in the plant, there will probably be low levels in the fruit or vegetable. This is also true for forages, grazers!
Nutrient Dense farming addresses these questions. Organic and conventional farmers alike can apply these principles as can home gardeners. Nutrient Dense farming is about improving soil health, thereby improving plant health, thereby improving our own health.
A pH meter can be used to measure plant sap. The optimum pH for most plants is 6.4. A lower reading tells us that we are deficient in calcium and potassium and a higher reading tells us we are lacking nitrogen, phosphate or sulfur. All this is useful in helping us figure out which rock powders need to be applied and in what quantities.
Weeds and pests as indicators The first step along the path to Nutrient Dense food is being able to read the indicators your land is giving you. The number one indicator for deficiencies is weeds. Foxtail grass (and most other grass “weeds", for that matter) is an indicator of low calcium. Pigweed and lambs quarters indicate a malfunction in your phosphorus cycle – the phosphorus might be there, but it is inaccessible to the plants. Every weed corresponds to some kind of an imbalance or problem with your soil. Insect pests are another major indicator of soil health. Insects have simple digestive systems and can only digest simple sugars and incomplete proteins. They “clean up” the sick or weak plants and are attracted to certain wavelengths that these sick plants give off. Given all the nutrients they need, including trace minerals, plants will produce complex carbohydrates and sugars and complete proteins, thus giving them a built in “defense system” against pests. It‟s pretty incredible to think that when plants are given all the minerals and organic matter they need, our soils could produce gardens without weeds or pest issues – or at least minimal issues!
A conductivity meter measures soil energy. Plants need energy to live, just as we do. As plants grow, they take energy from the soil and air and grow larger. As fruit begins to form, there is a certain energy requirement of the soil. If it falls short, the plants will just stand still instead of producing. Through reading, we can find out what the soil energy should be at different stages of the plant‟s life. Careful monitoring can indicate the rock powders or foliar feeds that will increase the energy when the plant needs it. This year we did an experiment where we planted Napa cabbage. When we took an initial energy reading, it was extremely low. We applied an organic fertilizer to a portion of the planting. When we took a reading again a week later, the energy level was right on target. We could visibly see the difference between the treated plot and our control area – the plants grew bigger faster, their leaves were a darker, richer green and the plants had less insect pressure than their counterparts. Mycorrhizal fungi for better crops The last tool that has really helped on our farm is inoculating with mycorrhizal fungi. These beneficial fungi colonize the roots of our (continued on page 7)
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Death of a Grass Farmer: David Huse (1953-2010) His passion was to see other farmers succeed By Tracy Frisch
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n June 7 2010, Richmondville farmer David Huse, 56, met a tragic death when a compact car crossed the yellow line and struck his tractor. David had been on his way home from making hay for another farmer. His old Massey Ferguson had no cab or rollover protection.
Fellow farmers will always appreciate David for freely sharing his gifts as a teacher and mentor. He took pleasure and pride in helping others save money, build soil and pasture health, produce healthier, more profitable livestock and develop more viable farm enterprises, just as he had over his lifetime."
The Schoharie County farmer had been one of the most dedicated graziers around as well as an influential grazing advocate. Among the earliest farmers to join the Regional Farm & Food Project, David also stood out as someone who embodied key values of the organization.
David Huse explains his grazing techniques at one of his workshops (photo by Donna Murphy)
When he died, friends say he was "coming into his own," and "at the top of his game," doing better financially than ever before. Buoyed by the demand for his grass-fed meat, he was the midst of a major herd expansion. For over thirty-five years David had raised beef cattle with his father at Stone Broke Farm. While his parents came from Kansas and Iowa farming stock, he spent his early years in New Jersey where his father was a telephone company executive. His family bought their farm in 1966 and moved there in the early 1970s. David graduated from nearby SUNY Cobleskill and never left the farm. Moving conversations with people close to him in the agricultural community confirm that David's legacy extends far beyond his outstanding cattle, flourishing pastures and personal success with Management Intensive Grazing. David believed that ideas were worthy of spirited discussion, that planning toward his holistic goal – and for each project – was the best way to reach the desired end, and that it was good to take chances on people and practices that had a hint of promise. He was not afraid to diverge from the pack to do what he determined would be best for the land, his business, his own well-being and that of those he cared about. He also loved to challenge others to think for themselves. David never tired of his work as a farmer. "People go through life and lose their passion. Their senses become dulled. It was not like that with David," observed Kathleen Harris, who arranged meat processing and sales for Stone Broke Farm. He loved farming so much, but not blindly, she said. "His enthusiasm for agriculture was very intelligent. He was like a wide-eyed child . . . a real pleasure to work with." David rejected the contemporary model of farming in isolation. Stereotypes of the lone, uncommunicative cattleman and farmer aside, he cared deeply about his friends and made a lot of them. His idea of friendship entailed cooperation and mutual support. (The farmers he helped out tried to reciprocate by pitching in at the fall roundup of his large herd.)
Kathleen said, "Most people are so busy farming that they're grateful for the help [getting their meat processed and sold]. But David would turn it around and say, how can I help you? And the follow through was tremendous." When the company truck broke down 3-1/2 hours away in the Adirondacks, David readily volunteered to drive her to get it after it was repaired. A farmer mentoring farmers When John Radliff was going through difficult times sometime in the 1990s -- "a conventional dairy farmer sinking into the abyss" - David, then but a passing acquaintance, began coming around on a mission. "He would nag, cajole, harass, and harangue," recalled John, who's been milking cows on his own for 33 of his 54 years. He acknowledges how much persistence it took for David to get through his own entrenched thinking. Like so many dairy farmers, John had thoroughly bought into the notion that cows should have all of their feed mixed in a wagon and served up to them and he was incredulous that pasture could make an important contribution to the modern dairy cow's diet. With David continuing to "press forward," John eventually gave in. After he took up grazing "in a mediocre way," David responded with more specific conversations about grass and pasture walks around the farm. Not everyone was as receptive as John. "You got to go through a lot of weeds before you find a blade of grass," he said. "David had the patience and he believed in it so much." He was happiest "preaching the grazing bible." Once John got the hang of grazing, David's "tutelage started to decline" and the visits became fewer. John surmised that he "went out in search of another student." The two men continued to "pal around" and go to farm meetings together, and David always (Continued on page 6)
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HUSE (Continued from page 5)
showed up for Radliff family occasions. An accomplished grazier As a grazing advocate David spoke confidently from experience, having honed his skills for decades. Using animal management as his primary tool, he had transformed fields in the windswept, hardscrabble landscape of the Huse family's 700-acre hillside farm into lush grassland. By mob grazing, David was able to improve the soils to the point where it "felt like you were walking on a mattress, the organic matter made it so springy," according to Elizabeth Marks, who organized David's last pasture walk for the Grass Masters. It was held at Stone Broke Farm in May. She started the farmer-to-farmer learning group as coordinator of the Hudson Mohawk Resource Conservation and Development Council. Grass Masters was one of many agricultural programs and associations that David actively participated in, supported or in some cases helped to found. On the farm David practiced extreme frugality, preferring sound management to throwing money at a problem. "He knew the value of a dollar," John explained, ". . . that you don't need a Cadillac when a Chevrolet will do." However this ethic did not impede him from being scrupulously fair and prompt in payment in business transactions and loyally supporting organizations he believed in. His insubstantial two-strand electric cattle fencing showed the effects of his economic restraint. "It looked like a stiff breeze would knock it over," Elizabeth said. While other farmers looked doubtfully at his fence, David didn't worry much about his cattle getting out or coyotes preying on his calves. If a cow kept getting out or didn't defend her offspring, he'd ship her. This ruthless culling was part of his selection process for the type of animal he desired. (He also favored "gentle, fertile easybirthing mothers that had calves who would gain quickly on either grass or grain," according to the notice his brothers penned for his memorial cattle sale.) Quality pasture also motivated his cattle to stay inside the fence, as within the managed area, grass was more productive than outside. Elizabeth was particularly impressed that David had never planted a seed or spread any lime. His only inputs were low cost electric fencing and some hay from off the farm that he used to import nutrients.
Despite the farm's high elevation, David worked at extending the grazing season. The cattle at his farm live outside year round. One winter he didn't start feeding them hay until mid February and another year he stopped feeding hay as of late March, Elizabeth reported. For winter feed David set round bales out in his fields to be rotationally grazed. Elizabeth said other farmers in Grass Masters knew about the practice but didn't have the courage to try it until they saw how successful it was at Stone Broke Farm. From feedlot to grass finished beef Over the last decade David made big changes in how he farmed, ultimately embracing grass finishing as the best way to produce and market his cattle. David used to be comfortable having his animals finished in a feedlot, recalled Mike Scannell. The two farmers met and became friends in 1996 as participants in RRFP's very first Holistic Resource Management course. Industry consolidation eliminated the market outlet for David's cattle. With his familiar system coming to an end, his farming enterprise was forced to evolve. This turning point came when IBP, one of the top three or four beef processors, bought the two nearest industrial meat packing plants -- Moyer and Taylor, both in Pennsylvania. After David decided to pursue completely grass-based beef, it took a few years to make both production and marketing work. At first he would grass finish those cattle that would fatten on grass, and send the others to the feed yard. The transition became stressful when the pioneers promising a market for the farmers' grass-fed meat couldn't take the animals they had ordered, payments were delayed or other issues typical of a new sector arose. Despite the frustration, David persevered. Unable to get his animals butchered to customer requirements when they were ready, he joined the Northeast Livestock Processing Service Company, which assists farmers in getting their livestock slaughtered, processed and sold. He told Kathleen Harris, the manager, that the last thing he ever thought he'd do was pay for such a service. Ultimately he marketed about 100 head a year through NELPSC and in characteristic David fashion became a big supporter of the business. Though David never became a foodie (he habitually ate at Arbie's), he wasn't immune to its cachet. When Michel Nischan of the famed Dressing Room restaurant prepared and served his beef at one of pre-inaugural balls, David turned into "a kid in a candy store," according to Troy. "He was so excited to meet the chef. Finally he got to be a celebrity. He was almost smitten," Troy recounted. Win-win partnerships – growing together In developing his own farm business, David deliberately created
7 HUSE (continued from page 6)
NUTRIENT DENSE (Continued from page 4)
opportunities for several other farmers to grow along with him. In recent years David partnered with three other farmers to produce grass-finished beef from his own animals. Troy was the earliest of these partners. The part-time Oneida County farmer, who himself became a master grazier, points to David's holistic goal as one motivation for these arrangements.
plants and live in a symbiotic relationship with them. The fungi form massive webs of “roots” (mycelium) that scavenge for nutrients and bring them back to the plants in exchange for sugars from the plant.
Simply put, David wanted to lead a stress-free life at his farm. "That's why he hired several of us," said Troy. "He was the chess player moving all the pieces." Paying other farmers to graze or feed different life stages of his animals simplified his operation considerably. Troy started by grazing the Huses' yearlings. Richie Gaige, who had worked at a feedlot that Troy used and later ran his own, fed their young stock hay and grass silage and balage in the winter. Frank Johnson did some grass finishing and, since he had good handling facilities, also held the animals for him until slaughter. Troy and his father began custom grazing for David and his father in the late 1990s. "We'd get 500-pound stocker calves and grow them to 800 pounds," he explained. The first spring the Huses brought them 30 animals. Later Troy grazed 200 of their cattle for 6 or 8 months a year." David had a lot of trust in our relationship. Cattle would come and cattle would go. I'd talk to him maybe once a month and send him a picture or two. From square one, everything was on a handshake," Troy said. Where other customers micro-managed Troy, expecting him to put their animals on feed if the grass isn't great, with David he was free to exercise his own judgment.
Last year we could really see a difference in our pepper plants, which we had inoculated with mycorrhiza. They were big, bushy, dark green and so full of fruit that they have a hard time standing up straight and they were in their third bloom! We even bought in some pepper plants as controls. Although they were started at the same time, these plants were smaller. They had fewer fruit and were a week or so behind the ones that we had inoculated in fruit maturation. The contrast was so striking that we will be inoculating all our plants and seeds next year. On our farm, using these tools and indicators, we have learned that our soils are deficient in calcium. Increasing calcium levels will be a multi-year project of applying high-calcium lime and gypsum, along with soft rock phosphate and other rock powders. If we are able to stay on schedule with our applications, within five years our soils should be producing plants with high brix, few pest issues and few weed issues. We take the job of growing healthy food for our community and our family seriously and truly believe that this is the best way to do it!
The Kemnah Family: Chris, Samantha and sons
Troy acknowledges the importance of David's hands-off role in his own development as a grazier. "He let me use his animals so I could learn. He gave me the opportunity to grow to whatever I am now.” Expressing his sorrow at David's sudden passing, Troy commented that their relationship went far beyond a simple business proposition. "When you take care of a man's livelihood, it's much bigger than that," he said. "We evolved as a family. I wrote notes about my family with every bill to his dad." Now, with all of David's cattle moved off two farms, he's also mourning "the end of an era. . . Now what do we do?"
“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope.” Wendell Berry
The Kemmahs operate Otter Hook Farm and raise vegetables for their CSA and farmers market in New Baltimore, NY.
What is BRIX? BRIX is a technical term to measure the amount of soluble solids (including minerals and sugars) in a plant‟s juice. In general, higher BRIX indicates higher quality produce. One method to identify nutrient density is with a BRIX refractometer. A few drops of juice of a vegetable or fruit are placed onto the refractometer‟s glass plate which then reveals a number on a scale. The higher the BRIX number, the better the nutrient value. Your tongue is also a delicate testing device as well; nutrient-rich foods taste better. However, modern processed foods with added sugar and salt can trick you into believing that you are eating nutritious food, when it is not. Go to realfoodcampaign.org/content/brix
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2011 Mid-Summer Newsletter PO Box 621 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Join RFFP
Annual Meeting & Mixer...Save the Date
RFFP is an all-volunteer organization and needs both your contribution of time and money to continue. Your membership helps support our advocacy of local farms and food systems. Please consider joining as a member at a level that is comfortable for you (higher levels receive all lower level benefits):
We are in the planning stages of our 2011 Annual Meeting and need help with the agenda, workshops and organizing audio and visual affects. The theme is “Preparing for Transition”, with workshops oriented around re-skilling, seed saving and soil preparation for winter. So far, we have: Date: October 29, 2011 Time: 3:00PM– 9:00PM Place: Bethlehem Grange, Rt. 396, Selkirk, Albany County. www.bethlehemgrange.org Film Screening: The Greenhorns movie, info at thegreenhorns.net Keynote Speaker: Shannon Hayes of the Sap Bush Hollow Farm and author of “Radical Homemaker” and “The Grass-fed Gourmet” Food: Potluck community share - bring a dish crafted from your own harvest! Workshops, music and more! $10 suggested donation. Please consider sponsoring the film or keynote so that we can make this program a success! Call 858-6866 to volunteer and get involved!
Student/Low Income $25 Basic $50 Supporting $100 free admission to RFFP events Sponsor $250 featured in the newsletter‟s sponsor page Leader $500 recognition in all communications Lifetime $1000 gratitude and praise in everything we do! All members receive the printed newsletter and email updates as they occur. Remit your donation to:
Regional Farm and Food Project PO Box 621 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, your contribution to RFFP is tax-deductible