Pens to Pasture ~ Chustnut Farms

When friends and family began forwarding me weekly CSA newsletters and farm e-mail updates sent from their farmers, I knew these stories needed to be shared with a wider audience. Welcome to Pens to Pasture: Fodder from the Field where each week we feature one farm and the stories they share with customers through CSA newsletters, blog stories and e-mail updates. We celebrate the agricultural life, the hard work of farmers and the grace and openness with which they share it in writing each week. Dig in, enjoy and (especially this week) give thanks to those who sustain us by growing delicious food.

Chestnut Farms ~ Hardwick, MA 

Kim & Rich 

“Connecting Communities Through Agriculture”

www.chestnutfarms.org

It was a warm and blue-skied June day when I met Kim at the Chestnut Farms Open Barn Day. She was answering guests’ questions near the pen of very cute young piglets playing keep away with a piece of orange baling twine. Despite hosting a farm full of CSA members, she was willing to spend time answering our aspiring farmer questions with genuine enthusiasm, even though we didn't happen to be her CSA members.

Kim’s friendly and open demeanor wasn’t a surprise to me, as I’d been reading the Chestnut Farms monthly CSA newsletter for a while. My dear friend Darcy, who did subscribe to the Chestnut Farms CSA, thought I would appreciate the farm tales, especially the ongoing rooster saga, which I did. Much like the weekly e-mails from Puzzle Peace Farm, the monthly updates from Chestnut Farms inspired the Pens to Pasture project.

Chestnut Farms is a family owned operation in central Massachusetts, offering pasture-raised beef, lamb, goat, pork, chicken and turkey to community members using the CSA format. Members are guaranteed a certain poundage of meat each month, but the CSA ‘risk’ is in the type of meat provided in each share. Beyond conscientiously raising a variety of livestock on grass, Rich and Kim are keen to share their farm experience and promote larger agricultural issues through their enterprise. The passages below are selected from the Monthly Updates which are sent out by e-mail before each CSA distribution.

Beyond good writing and delicious meat, Chestnut Farms is beautiful. We spent the remainder of our Open Barn Day ooohing and aaaahing at the school bus-turned-chicken coop (which I loved enough to use as the main image on this blog), relaxing while taking in views of the sheep in their pasture, investigating the brand new manure management system and finally spotting the trouble-making rooster himself.

You can find all the monthly updated, recipes, farm photography, a very thoughtful pricing policy and much more at the Chestnut Farms website. Please do enjoy the excerpts from their monthly updates below. As usual, we welcome your submissions of your favorite farmer’s writing, just send it along by e-mail, and we'd love to share it! 

From: Chestnut Farms

Date: April 3, 2010 8:31:55 PM EDT

Subject: Chestnut Farms Meat Shares to be Distributed

Spring Chickens are here!! The first batch arrived in our henhouse this week and we will continue to raise all the way through next December.  January through March is a good season for New England Chickens to be in the freezer, as the growth rate slows considerably, meat birds can freeze (because they don’t move around like layer hens) and we don’t have an indoor structure to raise them in. We have both meat birds and layers in our first batch and are working hard to expand our layer hen population this year.  We are still looking for an additional school bus if anyone knows of one…

Finally, the ROOSTER.  We have a rooster who is roaming the barn,  He is a beautiful Arucana Rooster who believes he owns the homestead.  This has caused a bit of a personality conflict between Rooster and Kim.  I (Kim) have repeatedly tried to put him back with the hens on the other side of the road and up in the school bus.  Rooster responds by repeatedly escaping and coming down to the barn and eating the piglets food.  The last time this happened, Rooster added and attack. He clawed and pecked at me stating that there is no way he will leave the barn.  I was not pleased and noted that I need Rooster Stew. However, I have not been able to catch him.  This provides a high level of entertainment to the rest of my family.  Stay tuned for further adventures of Kim vs. Rooster!

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow.  As always, THANK YOU for supporting local farms  We really appreciate it – It DOES matter and makes a huge difference.

Naturally yours,
Kim and Rich

Chestnut Farms
Hardwick, MA 01037
www.chestnutfarms.org

From: Chestnut Farms

Date: May 3, 2010 8:31:55 PM EDT

Subject: Chestnut Farms Meat Shares to be distributed on TUES May 4th from 4 to 7 pm in Arlington

Kim vs. Rooster- Chapter Two:  When we last visited the saga there was a stand-off between Kim and Rooster – Rooster had attacked Kim literally causing bodily harm and Kim tried to kill Rooster without success. (I couldn’t catch him).  Then Rooster flew at a child who was looking at “his” piglets (the Rooster is the self appointed guardian of the piglets in the barn).  This time Sam caught the Rooster. Kim tied up his feet (not very gently) and carried him up to one of the Schoolbuses full of hens.  The theory was that 247 female chickens would keep his attention better than three sows and 27 piglets.  Like many scientific theories this one was bunk.  Within an hour, Rooster had fled the bus and the attached pen and was dancing around the farmhouse – not to be caught again. 

Hmmm – we have lots of coyotes thought Kim.  Let’s leave the Rooster alone and see what happens….  So all day and all night the Rooster was completely free and out of the barn.  The next morning at 4 am the singing began.  Just underneath Kim and Rich’s bedroom window the Rooster starts crowing and crowing and cocka-doodling – loudly – for HOURS. With 106 acres – barns, schoolbuses and sheds Rooster managed to find the ONE square foot below our bedroom window and crow.  Kim got out of bed and tried to catch Rooster – stew it is she vowed.  So at 4:30 am as the sun was thinking about rising, Kim was out on the front lawn in a nightgown and no shoes chasing Rooster.

Rooster won.

Rooster finally (two days later) returned to the barn and his beloved sows and piglets.  His picture is on the website. 

Rich and I will look forward to connecting with you tomorrow for your May shares. Happy Spring and THANK YOU for supporting local farms : )

Naturally yours,
Kim and Rich

Chestnut Farms
Hardwick, MA 01037
www.chestnutfarms.org

From: Chestnut Farms
Date: 03 August 2010 11:29:21 AM
Subject: Meat Shares are coming TODAY!!!

Farm dogs, turkeys and coyotes: Like all farms, we love dogs and even have three.  Not well chosen, but well loved.  We have a yellow lab that is a farm dog (nine years old) and the Lexi our female Saint Bernard is four.  We also have three year old Dozer (a 178 lb male St. Bernard) who was dropped at our farm.  So with 100 sheep, 100 cattle, pigs, poultry and a coyote problem we have an old lab and two huge, but rather limited dogs that are useless.    

Unless of course it is 2 am and the coyotes are howling. Then all three suddenly spring into action. Then the dogs will wake the dead in an effort to get OUT of the farmhouse and onto the front lawn where they can bark at the coyotes from a safe distance.  They bark, The coyotes bark back, Our dogs howl. The coyotes howl.  Then, apparently drawn to canine noise, the energetic turkey will wake and try to fly over their fence to taunt the coyotes. So we have turkeys (last night it was 12 of them) flying around the field, coyotes howling to call their friends in for a turkey dinner and three large dogs sitting right in front of the farmhouse barking.  Sleep over for awhile, Rich and I grab gun (him) and flashlight (me) and head down to the barnyard.  We put the dogs in the house and tell them somewhat ineffectively to BE QUIET.  As we head to the barnyard we can see and hear the pack of coyotes. In the moonlight I make out a turkey running to and fro and taunting a coyote as it slinks down in the pasture.  I shine the light and Rich shoots. It is tough at night to get the coyotes We were not successful last night, but I know we will have another chance tonight.  After a shot goes off, the coyotes all leave the pasture, but we know they are just over the stonewall in the woods.

So far we have only lost one turkey this year.  We have clipped wings and will do it again within the month. Clipping wings on poultry is like giving them a haircut. It doesn’t hurt and prevents them from flying over fences (usually) and into the mouths of foxes, skunks or coyotes.  We have learned to clip only one wing.  That way, as the feathers grow back in, the bird remains off balance. With one long set of wing feathers and one short it is hard to flap for an even take-off.  We like to say we have punk poultry!  If you would like a delicious, fresh, coyote-avoiding turkey for Thanksgiving, please fill out the form on our website.  We will be collecting for the turkeys at the Sept or Oct distributions.

Our sheep have enjoyed a great summer on grass and will be heading to the first appointment in early September for the harvest (slaughterhouse). We will then process by weight throughout the fall and winter.  As I noted last month, we like the lambs to be 100 lbs or so before we send them.  This results in the best yield and the most cost-effective harvest.  The goat herd has been fabulous at their secondary career of brush clearing.  They have cleared a whole pasture of multi-floral roses and are moving onto the next fenced area.  We are so pleased with their ability to take out the scrub and leave the grass.   They are also growing really well.  As I watch them loving the heat and hot of July, I recall the sad January where we lost so many kids – clearly our vet was right – goats love a warm climate.  They have thrived this summer.

Recently I spoke at the Livestock Forum at Tufts University.  This was put on by the New Entry Farm Program run by Jen Hashley of Jen and Pete’s Backyard Birds.  It was well done, well attended and so encouraging to see so many people interested in livestock farming.  I hope we are at the beginning of real growth in the family farm. 

Our cows have had a great summer, our pigs are doing well and continue to have wonderful litters.  We did spend last weekend chasing over thirty pigs through the woods, but they all came home and are now happily chewing on some fresh grass and roots in a pasture additions.   Pigs, like horses get bored and will try to get out of pastures when there is more exciting or fun things on the other side  They believe that the grass is ALWAYS greener outside the pen

Tomorrow is a play-off game for Sam's Little League Team. After much back and forth I have decided to attend Sam's game.  Anna and Theresa will be doing our CSA distribution. While I will miss personally connecting with you tomorrow, I hope you understand my parenting commitment.  I have not missed a single Arlington distribution in four years and really feel torn between my son and the shares - I will be there next month and hope you have a great August.  If there are any share questions or concerns, please let me know.  As always I personally packed your share and if there is a mistake it is mine.  

Thank you SO MUCH for being part of our farm family.  We really, really appreciate it.

Naturally yours,
Kim and Rich

Chestnut Farms
Hardwick, MA 01037
www.chestnutfarms.org

Pens to Pasture ~ Puzzle Peace Farm

A few months back, I asked for your help in naming a new feature at just.write.food – a weekly snapshot of farm stories straight from the farmer’s pen. I’m honored to present the first edition of Pens to Pasture: Fodder from the Field. 

About the time I moved to Boston, a few CSA e-mails and farm newsletters began popping up in my inbox. My Mom and dear friend Darcy were appreciating the news from their farmers, and wanted to share with me what they were reading. This sparked an idea. Collect the best of these informal agricultural stories, the trials and tribulations of everyday farming, and share them with others. Just another way to showcase the amazing work of local farmers and help folks understand exactly what it takes to grow the food we require and savor.

I adore the CSA newsletters, blogs and update e-mails composed and distributed by small farmers in an effort to directly connect with their eaters. Part storytelling, part marketing and part shoot-from-the-hip honesty, these bulletins share far more than the weekly CSA harvest report or what to expect on the farmers’ market table. In these writings, we are invited into the world of each farm to experience the details of the day-to-day beyond just the time in the barn, the greenhouse or the fields. These writings impart the subtle character of each farm enterprise, reveal a family behind the action, and provide a transparency and insight rarely exposed by any other small business. What other shop owner would share the details of their insurance policy, previous night’s dinner or stories of dancing in the rain?


I don’t know if any of the authors in this feature consider themselves to be writers, but they are - and I am grateful for it. Today’s small farmers are expected to be a jack-of-all-trades in order to survive, and how lucky are we that penning a regular missive to customers is a required aspect of success in this line of work.   

So, please join us each Monday for the latest edition of Pens to Pasture, and an inside glimpse at the farming life. And of course, your entries are always welcome. Feel free to send along your farmers' newsletters, blogs or other correspondences - especially the ones that make you laugh or fill you with awe.

Puzzle Peace Farm ~ Bostic, NC

It wasn't too long after my Mom found Thomas and Lindy of Puzzle Peace Farm at the Charlotte farmers' market that she started forwarding me their weekly e-mails. Talk about a delight! The e-mail updates from Puzzle Peace Farm are the biggest inspiration for Pens to Pasture, especially the first passage below. Thomas and Lindy write with such clarity, humor and frankness that I usually end up laughing out loud or tearing up when I read their e-mails. They convey so clearly the exuberance and exhaustion of farming - and I resonate with their motivations so much - I don't think the farming mentality could be better expressed than their words. These two also keep a blog that is not to be missed, including beautiful photos in the most recent post. And if you live in North Carolina, be sure to look them up at farmers' markets near Charlotte so you can enjoy their produce, pork and other delights in person. Thanks, Thomas and Lindy, for agreeing to be the first farmers featured in Pens to Pasture and thanks for growing lovely food and words!

Date: July 1, 2011 1:28:12 PM EDT
Subject: Puzzle Peace Farm, yet again...

Hi Charlotte folks,

This week we will have... pac-choi (with recipes!), cucumbbers, a small amount of our first okra harvest (get there early if you want it), Red Pontiac Potatoes, heirloom yellow scallop squash and zuchinni, haricot vert beans, the last of the carrots, the first heirloom tomatoes, sungold cherry tomatoes, kale, swiss chard, and our heritage pastured pork, that we finish on organic feed.  Sorry to all of your pets that depend on our luscious goat cheese. We weren't able to make any this week. 

The pigs are alive and well... and in the pasture, for those of you wanting to know. All seems well around the farm. The fields are full of green, massive plants, and the bees are buzzing in harmony about the blossoms and buckwheat cover crops.  The weeds are under control (just barely), and there is still a bit of moisture in the ground. If there were ever a great time to host a farm tour it would probably be right now.  But it has surprised me at how long we've been hanging on in this transition phase between crops. I keep expecting the next week to be a better harvest but for the last 3 weeks it's steadily gone down. The tomatoes we started indoors in January that got hit by 2 hail storms are just now starting to produce good tomatoes, and very slowly at that. And the Squash got hit so hard by the vine borers that we have had  just a small fraction of what we had planned. Beans that we got handed down to us had really poor germination... I could go on and on. It has been tough, but we know that is just how farming is. There are no guarantees and everything is a gamble. This week's may be the least amount of harvest we've had this year, but, thanks to all the help we've had from our interns, I am hopeful that from here on out it will only get better. So cheer up and be glad... You are the ones that make this rough life possible. Because I'd rather be broke and tossing rotten tomatoes into the woods in 95 degree weather than sitting behind some computer in an air conditioned office any day... Well. It's not so bad at the moment, really. But I really should get back out there and help the crew with the harvest.

So on an end note... don't pity us or our other farmer comrades. We chose this path. And we get to eat like royalty. But you are allowed to appreciate us, as you have, just as we appreciate your support.

Thanks to all of you,
Thomas and Lindy

for other sad stories and occasional laughs visit our blog: www.puzzlepeacefarm.blogspot.com

----

      Date: Fri, 24 Jun 2011 09:42:11 -0700
From: Puzzle Peace Farms
Subject: Puzzle Peace Farm At Yorkmont, 6-2

Hi everyone, hope you are all well. This week we will have... green beans, squash and zuchinni, sweet green peppers (bell and marconi), radishes (spicy!), cucumbers (poona kheera, a white heirloom from India), Irish potatoes, kale, chard, carrots,  pac choi, fresh basil, pork, and "for your pet" fresh dill and garlic, and basil and garlic goat cheese. Please ask if interested or curious to know more about this. We finally got a new litter of pigs. Three of them, eight weeks old, just weened, Ossabaw/berkshire crossed heritage breeds. Good looking pigs with their brown and black spots and the one that's black with white spots. They're fiesty too. The first one we put in to the fence immediately bolted right through and headed for the woods. None of us really prepared for the pursuit, with our shorts and sandals on, took off after him. We almost gave up. It was a rather expensive pig that we scrounged to afford but this chase led us deep into neighboring woods with lots of briars and at times we thought we had lost him. Finally we managed to direct him back to a path that led to our house where his siblings' squeals drew him in and, after some very makeshift barriers were patiently constructed, I managed to grab him. Ear piercing squeals followed. Unfortunately the fiasco wasn't over. We re-worked the fence to our satisfaction and tried again, saving the escapee til last. Again, as soon as we put him down he was out of the fence with a short little yip as it shocked his hams. Long story short... Another chase pursued, as long as the first, until we gave up.  He wandered back that evening and hung around outside the fence wanting in to be with his brothers and eating the food we had set out for him. I managed to slowly sneak up on him the next day as he slept and caught him and put him in with the others where he currently resides. Whew! Pigs are smart. take care and hope to see all of you. thomas and Lindy, www.puzzlepeacefarm.blogspot.com ---- Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 09:19:28 -0700 From: puzzlepeacefarm@yahoo.com Subject: Puzzle Peace Farm at Yorkmont, 7-16-11 Greetings, This week we will have... tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes of all shapes and colors, a few bunches of kale, potatoes, basil, anaheim peppers, sweet marconi beppers, and sweet flavor-burst peppers, yellow scalloppinni squash (the best summer squash in my opinion), heirloom zuchinni's, green beans (haricot vert and regular), burgundy beans, pork sausage, fat back, leaf lard, and of course that delicious goat cheese that you shouldn't know anything about because it is only legal for me to sell it to you as "for your pet." For all of you that formerly knew me as Tee Bone from the name on my emails, please note the change. It took several attempts, all of which I thought were sucessfull (but in the end were not), before I resorted to yahoo help. Apparently there are a dozen or so ways to name yourself on your email account. In an attempt to keep my digital ID anonymous when initially setting up my account I hastily and thoughtlessly chose this pseudo name which happened to be my old sign in name when I delivered pizza while in college, equally chosen with haste and little thought. Unfortuntely, I think I will have a hard time living this name down among some friends and customers. Maybe if I specialized in grass fed steaks I could keep it but for now I'm happy to see it go... Now that that has been over explained... I am delighted to hear rain on the tin roof as I write. We need it so bad. Our methods of watering don't quite cut it for extended periods. Thank you folks for all of your support. Hope to see all of you. Try some samples while you're visiting.  Now I'm going to go dance and sing outside like a crazy farmer ought to ---

Goodbye Goats. Farewell Chickens.

This morning I found my white cheesemaking smock freshly laundered, with a new hairnet in the pocket too, hanging on the usual hook in the cheeserie. Something about the smell of another household's laundry detergent makes items smell so much cleaner than my own. There was a certain irony to this fresh start to the week, as it was actually my last day at the farm for the season.

Diana keeps a seasonal herd, meaning her milking goats (and heritage Jacob Sheep too) stay on their natural breeding cycle. Unlike so many dairies that stagger the breeding of the herd to maintain uniform milk production over a year, a seasonal herd is quite the opposite. All the does are bred in the fall (October at this farm), carry their young through the winter and kid in late winter or early, early spring. The herd produces milk from the birth of the offspring through the end of fall. This method provides milk, and cheese, that is indelibly marked by the changes in the seasons and a short respite from twice-daily milking for the farmer and herd alike while the girls are dry.

this is, generally, how it feels

And back to the clean smock in the cheeserie - milk volume decreased to the point that required cheese production only twice (no longer three times) a week, and the CSA ended as well. With less milk, less cheese and fewer deliveries, there wasn't much justification for an extra hand on the farm. As a special treat for my last day, and a warm reminder how much I'd learned in a short five months, I was tasked with hauling and pasteurizing the milk that morning, as Diana headed into town to wave her daughters goodbye on the bus. It was an honor to feel trusted enough to undertake the alchemy of transforming three hundred and twenty some pounds of raw goat milk into delicious and tangy fresh cheese. Even better to feel confident through the process.


The learning curve has been steep this summer and fall, and I have been grateful to learn so much about basic cheesemaking, animal management and farm systems from the perspective of a small scale dairy. I especially appreciate the introduction to the policy, politics and regulations surrounding small scale dairy in Wisconsin. Oh, and eating lots and lots and lots of cheese. And, of course, a small amount of knowledge gained reminds me of just how much I have left to learn.

mingling in the barn

The introduction to goats and cheese is, of course, the main reasons I ended up here. But in every new situation, there is always comfort in that which is already known. For that reason, I flocked to the chickens in my early days at Dreamfarm, all 250 Americaunas, Bovans, Leghorns and someone else that just slips my mind at this moment. The girls live in four separate houses on pasture, fenced in from predators by circles of electric fence that stopped being electrified as the season wore on. These pasture raised ladies warm my little heart. Partly because these egg layers are the one thing I've had previous experience with, and also because layers are the only enterprise I've always placed on my own farm (of course, in my future planning mind). The truth is, the Dreamfarm chickens became my summer security blanket. They enchanted me and brought oodles of laughter. In return, I loved them.

At the end of each farm day, after the 'clean clothes' work in the cheeserie was through, we'd head to the great outdoors for the afternoon chores: feed and water the young goats, hogs, cattle, chickens, bucks, cats and dogs; collect eggs; give whey to the pigs and haul alfalfa to the feeders for the milkers. And then it was time for the second milking of the day. I was always drawn to the chickens, and happily re-filled extra waterers, collected the feed, grit, egg basket and cheese scraps into the cart to ramble down the hill to the hen's valley. At each hen abode we replaced waterers, moved and refilled the outdoor feeders, replenished the contents of the grit bowl and headed inside to collect eggs and survey mischief. The mayhem progressed through the season to include: pecking laid eggs, laying eggs outside the nest boxes (floor, below the roost, corners, tall grass...), brooooooooding and escaping. I'd like to note that these ladies take the art of escape to a new level. Part boredom, the search for better bugs and the chicken humor conspiracy - these girls spent more time outside the fence than inside.

chicken house one

There is just so much to love about chickens, it's hard to imagine a farm without them. There's a good reason why every farm doesn't have a laying hen enterprise though: despite all their value measured in humor, hand warming, feather donation and beauty - it's hard to make a profit with small-scale egg production. Between ever increasing feed grain prices, the cost of day old chicks or pullets, cartons and (heaven forbid!) your time, the five dollar price tag for a dozen beautiful orbs at the farmers' market may not cover the true cost. Sigh. Of course no farm enterprise should exist beyond the planning stage without black in the bottom line, but it's hard to image grassy green fields, cloud-pocked blue skies and classic red barns without the feathered trouble makers in the picture.

A few reasons why chickens earn their feed, even when they don't earn their keep...a list...

chicken house two

The way the ladies flock to the nearest edge of the fence and squawk hellos at the first sound of  the afternoon chore cart wheeling down the hill. I feel like a rock star each time. The football player-like squat and run-in-place of the Bovans, so tame! Instead of running away from you, these girls run toward you, crouch and then prepare to be picked up. The lack of tailfeathers on the Americaunas as they begin to molt, they don't seem embarrassed one bit. The brooding ladies, the same few every time, who huddle in their nestboxes to hoard the clatch's eggs. They don't know there is no rooster on site to fertilize the gems below their warm bodies, but they persist. Each time they make an evil sounding hiss, and either peck my hand or escape out the skinny space behind the nesting boxes when I reach in to collect the eggs under their rumps. It's the same drama, on repeat. Of course, there are the rebels, truly free range, who live in the barn. They snack on cat food, scratch for maggots in the barn floor straw, mingle with the the sheep and deposit eggs in the haymow. I've caught two nesting for the night in a small tree, quite a sight to behold at dusk. Of the highest importance is the fact that chickens give us eggs, the daily basket of white, buff, chocolate, pale blue and olive green prizes bouncing in the cart as we travel up the hill. A miracle for which I thank them (in person) endlessly. 

A few chicken antics deserve more than just a few words...

I am convinced, after this season, that these fine fowl have sufficient brainpower to create and enjoy a specific breed of chicken humor. It looks something like this. Knowing full well the farmers prefer for the chickens to overnight in the houses, and that regular efforts are taken to accomplish this, the flock conspires and nominates one to three lovely ladies to escape for the day. The job of the escapees is to lure the farmer into chasing them in a completely futile attempt to catch the girls and return them to their house. Imagine a full grown adult, running in circles (or zig zags), slightly bent over, and using an enticing voice for "Here chicky-chicky. Come on, I know you want to come back to me." The remaining hens inside the fence congregate at the fence line to enjoy the entertainment and squawk with delight. I try to negotiate compromise every afternoon, to no avail.. I am sure this is how they contrive their daily giggles.

Beyond the laughter conspiracy, it has been well noted that some chickens eat the eggs in their very own house. As the season progresses, this phenomena seems to worsen. At first, I would find a wet, yolky mess in the bottom of a nesting box. Most likely a sign that someone acquired a taste for egg insides, through an accidental crack or intentional peck. Then the yolky mess increases, someone is acting intentionally. Next, a few brave souls swarm the egg basket at collection time. As the season wears on, they peck at the eggs in the basket, despite the presence of a large human shoo-ing them away. Then the procedure turns to ultimate mayhem - a mix of shoo-ing, protecting eggs as they are placed in the basket and breathlessly crossing your fingers to avoid cracking any extra shells through the chaos.

chicken house three

And some of the eggs that avoided being pecked, and ended up in the basket and safely back to the house were huge. Huge. Early in my time at the farm, I noticed some extremely large eggs during harvest. Really big eggs. I mean, bigger than the biggest jumbo egg you see in the grocery store. Too big to fit into a carton without cracking the shell. Upon preparing these eggs at home, I had the great joy (over and over) of discovering two yolks slip out of one shell when cracked over the hot cast iron pan. A wonder indeed. Many other people were eating these eggs and noticing the joy of the double yolk. Then the questions started. Diana and I pondered chicken twins while down at the farm, Nikki and I wondered at home, and regulars at the farmers' market starting asking questions too. Why two yolks? Why are the eggs so big? Can chickens have twins? Of course, this brought on research and instant proof (a la YouTube) that indeed both yolks in a double yolk can be fertilized to form two chicks. Two totally separate chicks. Twins, in fact, in most cases. Phew - mystery solved and the spellbindingness of chickens increases, and I still can not restrain my excitement when I see a double yolk in the pan.

{Just a warning, there's a graphic description of the nature of nature below. Skip the following paragraph if you don't like to hear about death or anatomy. Do read on if you are fascinated with how nature works.}

Toward the end of the season, as the afternoon shadows came sooner and steeper, and the landscape burnt with the fire of yellow leaves, predator attacks in the chicken valley increased. I'd notice a puff of feathers outside a fenced area, or inside. On one of my last chicken runs, Diana slowed the tractor as she passed me en route to the barn just long enough for me to hear, "There was a predator in the chickens." I could see the explosion of white feathers, like the contents of a burst pillow, that tipped her off at the last chicken house of the day. I wasn't sure what to expect up close. I did see, though, a gaggle of girls, her very own kin, swarmed around the feather pile. As I swung my leg over the fence, a leghorn ran toward my feet, depositing a detached head, comb and all, at my feet. Walking up the short hill to the bird's remains, and shoo-ing away the hovering ladies and insects, I instantly saw  the chicken body was cleanly slit open, an exact gash top to bottom, exposing. Most likely caused by the sharp talon of a predatory bird. (I don't know my birds well, so I call these birds "large birds of prey I should know the name of"). I bent over in amazement, in awe of this first person internal anatomy lesson, the chest peeled wide open. I knelt down to inspect further, in absolute amazement. And then I noticed it. A peek of white buried, giving way to a view of a wholly formed egg still inside this recently alive hen. It appears she was stopped before she laid today's egg. This is a picture my mind will not soon forget. Stark, beautiful and still miraculous.

{P.S. It's ok to start reading again if you took a time out.} 

chicken house four

I could, clearly, go on and on about the chickens. The goats too if given enough time. For now, my white cheesemaker smock, freshly washed, will hang on the hook in the cheeserie for the last few batches of cheese made this season. My farm boots flipped upside down on the boot rack outside the mudroom door. This may be the end of one season, but undoubtedly not the end of the stories and farm planning. I am so excited to return for more next spring, in time for February's kidding season - with so much more to learn in the second go round.

 

- - - - -

In the mean time, I get to warm my writer's chair, steep plenty of tea and dream for the farm-to-come. The short days of the winter months will be filled with writing, the other job that keeps me plenty busy, snow adventures and farm planning.

Keep posted for (with much hope) more frequent posting in the months to come. Brewing updates, cider press stories, quince detective tales, the vegan footprint and a peek at the use of agricultural plastics - just a few of the topics on deck - and, of course, more farm stories. The Pens to Pasture series will hit the blog soon, along with at least one other regular feature. And, if all goes as planned, the blog will get a smidge of a makeover. Fun times ahead indeed.

Enjoy the transition to winter, and the snow where you already have it. As usual, we love your comments and are happy to write about any (food related) topic you request.

October's Bounty: National Farm to School Month & American Cheese Month

October is a month of celebration, always has been. Even way back in elementary school, it was birthday celebrations, when the birthday girl brought a box of donuts to class to share with the homeroom. (That birthday girl happened to be me.) Turns out some of the most special people in my tiny world share October as a birthday month. This first full month of autumn also marks the peak of preservation season, the elusive quince harvest and the first true chill in the air. Now there are two more reasons to celebrate in October with the inaugural year of both National Farm to School Month and American Cheese Month. Who could ever imagine such bounty!

Have you heard of Farm to School? You likely have, even if you don't know it! Farm to School is the concept of connecting students with the roots of their food, and connecting local farms with schools. There are a ton of different ways to create a Farm to School project, and no two look the same. School gardens, Harvest of the Month programs, local salad bars, cooking in the classroom, agriculture education, taste tests and farm field trips are just the tip of the iceberg (lettuce) of creative ways to connect farms and schools. The goal of Farm to School is to serve healthy meals and snacks in schools, improve child nutrition, create opportunities for students to learn about the food system, teach students about nutrition and support local agriculture. The last on the list, increasing economic opportunities for producers and those in the food distribution chain (like light processors and distributors) is a very important benefit of Farm to School because it contributes to strong and sustainable regional food systems. Want to geek out on Farm to School? Check out the National Farm to School Network and look for programs in your state.

In November 2010 Congress officially showed its support for the value of Farm to School by naming October National Farm to School Month. Much thanks to Representative Rush Holt from New Jersey for introducing this important resolution and another reason to celebrate each October. The inaugural National Farm to School Month is being celebrated by students, schools, districts and states across the country as a way to highlight incredible Farm to School programs and promote the successes of this wonderful concept. Folks are encouraged to invite farmers and chefs to visit schools, enter the Farm to School Month Poster Contest and share the good news widely. Farm to School month provides a double reason to cheer: formal recognition of the importance of Farm to School and a full-scale effort to promote these excellent projects!

As if this month weren't already chock full of excellent activities, this October marks the first annual American Cheese Month. Lest you think this is the promotion of those square slices of plastic-wrapped cheese-like-substance, it is not. The American Cheese Society is the good name behind this campaign, with the sweet intention to "recognize and raise awareness of the quality and diversity of American cheeses." I don't know about you, but we don't need a reason to celebrate cheese in our household, we do it every day - mostly by consuming large quantities of this delicious goodness. But I won't rain on anyone's parade, so this month cheesemakers, cheesemongers and cheese enthusiasts are encouraged to promote American cheeses through meet the cheesemaker events, cheeserie tours, local cheese features and media events. I'll do my part by encouraging you to seek out the best cheese shop in your neighborhood (if you are in Madison, by all means go to Fromagination!), be daring and purchase a new style of cheese at the Farmers' Market, and give thanks to the cows, sheep, goats, buffalo, farmers and cheesemakers who work tirelessly to hand-craft delicious cheesiness for your enjoyment.

In a million years I never expected that everything I love could be wrapped up in one month: celebrating great people, promoting farm to school and eating delicious cheese - what could be better? Go forth for the remainder of October: bring your favorite teacher a local apple and savor the cheese of your local artisans!

Pens to Pasture

Just.Write.Food is embarking on a new project and we need your help. 

Will you support the cause?

There is nothing better than a good read about farming life and growing food. The sense of season, appreciation of nature, care for small details, and the beautiful narration of hard work - all so aptly captured by those whose livelihood is growing food and writing about it. First hand accounts of living in cooperation with the land - from those who practice, endure and savor it on a daily basis - pass along the most accurate and beautiful depictions of what it truly means to be a farmer.

From Wendell Berry to Michael Ableman to David Mas Masumoto to new farmer-writers including Kurt Timmermeister and Kristin Kimball, there is a wealth of well-thought, well-written, well-edited writings about the farming experience direct from the pens of those who live it. These writers enrich us with genuine emotion and truth, enhanced by the beauty of the well-written word. It may be that farmers have sufficient time for contemplation (on the tractor, weeding, harvesting) and those with a scribner's leaning take that time to notice, and then internally translate the agrarian experience into mental prose...and then later (after work, in the dark hours before bed or before work) transcribe, made permanent by pen onto paper.

People who care enough to hone the blades of hoes and nibs of pens are a special lot, and they are not limited to the polished and edited writers above. There are others who regularly convey a farming message from the source to share how really hard and beautiful it is to grow food for other. These are small farmers, connecting with their audience of consumers, CSA members, farmers' market shoppers and dedicated fans, through CSA newsletters, weekly blog posts, farmers' market updates, and all the creative ways to connect. Amidst the chaos of plant-cultivate-harvest and feed-water-milk, small-scale and family farmers are marketing their goods and stories through the written word. These regular writings display it all, with a soft candor of dirt under the fingernails: glimpses of the intersection of farming and family life, ongoing battles with renegade roosters and heartbreaking loss of a late season hail storm. These less formal writings, often scribbled or typed in a few spare minutes between physical labor and sleep or in a cluttered farm "office," elegantly convey in an impossibly authenic voice the true amount of labor, risk, planning, cost and love that contribute to the cultivation of our nourishment.


Each week, Just.Write.Food will feature an excerpt from a farmer's tidbit written to share the farm news with customers. The feature with include the farm, location, excerpt and links to blogs or other newsletters. Consider it a small offering of gratitude to those who grow our food, and an opportunity to share their reflections of striking, heartfelt, original, spur of the moment and insightful words to convey the sentiments of the farming life.

Your Help, Please?

This new writing endeavor needs a name - and no better place to turn for inspiration than food and farm loving readers and writers. Some already suggested titles for this project include: Pens to Pasture (or frankly - Pasture to Pens), Hoes Down, Pens Up, Just Write Farm and Pen & Stink (or Pig Pen & Ink). But quite frankly, your help is needed in finding the perfect name for this project. We're hosting a tiny contest to inspire you to help. You are invited to submit your suggestions for the name of this project ~ and if we pick your suggested title you will receive a one-of-a-kind handwritten post card from Madison, WI. (I know that's a big incentive, don't all crowd the computer at once!) Submit your names of choice to justwritefood@gmail.com or as a comment at the end of this blog post by the first day of fall. We need a name ~ and we need your help.

Also needed are more writing pieces from farmers to provide the fodder for your reading pleasure. Please send CSA newsletters, favorite farm blog posts, farm newsletters and any farmer-writing that has touched you to justwritefood@gmail.com or post the name of the farm or blog in the comments section below. Feel free to forward along good reads on an ongoing basis - especially you folks who live in year-round growing climates.

Fingers are crossed to to release the first two stories - Chestnut Farms in Hardwick, Massachusetts and Puzzle Peace Farm in Bostic, North Carolina - in the next few weeks...but we need a name first!

Fair Food for All!

Fair Food For All!

Equal Access to Fair Food!

On most occasions, yes, that should be true. However, when it comes to the kind of fair food that you enjoy at the Wisconsin State Fair...it's a totally different story.

I am fascinated with state fairs. This is possibly because I never attended a state or county fair as a child or because I love livestock, people watching and fried foods. Not any fried foods, but the specialty fried foods that you can only consume at state fairs, large street festivals or outdoor music venues. For someone who savors a home cooked meal full of fresh ingredients and blah blah blah...I have a mean (occasional) appetite for processed, unnatural, unidentifiable foods - often fried. Consumption of foods in this category is very limited. I'll pass up the fried chicken, tempura, egg roll or french fry at meal time, but watch out if you take me to the fair. There is an allure to the special event corn dog or funnel cake, even though I know my belly and general well being will pay the price.

My great enthusiasm for the State Fair is rather unfounded. It began with a visit to the Iowa State Fair in 2004, a stop along the way while biking cross country. I vaguely remember wonderful conversations with carnival workers, big political brouhaha in preparation for the upcoming election and my first ever funnel cake. The most life changing? The funnel cake. I grew up looking forward to a weekly jelly-filled donut after every Sunday mass, but that was the extent of my fried, cake-like food desires until that point...most likely because I had never seen anything like a funnel cake before. The texture, the greasiness, the powdered sugar that induces coughing if accidentally inhaled, it opened up a new world for me. Between the unimaginably diverse attendants, the blue ribbon livestock, the food and the political atmosphere...I was hooked on the fair concept.

Being hooked, however, did not mean I became a regular fair attendant. There was the trip to the Oregon State Fair to check out the poultry exhibition, which was canceled thanks to the eminent threat of Avian Flu. I wanted to see my Sebrights and Americaunas on show, and instead I got an empty pavilion. Most recently there was an invitation to the Big E, New England's regional fair. I considered, until I heard the area surrounding Springfield, MA turns into a giant parking lot during the time of the event. The State Fair experience would have to wait until Wisconsin.

Something special happened as August approached in our new home state of Wisconsin, and my internal State Fair radar began to perk up. Radio ads for county fairs throughout Wisconsin passed over the airwaves, and I knew the main even, the State Fair, must be close behind. I asked my usual adventure buddy if she would make the trek to Milwaukee for a day of gawking at animals, people and more people. She signed on for the midweek adventure with the promise of pizza dinner in Milwaukee and the possibility her brother could join us. Excellent.

The big day arrived and I was giddy as we drove east to the large metropolis of Milwaukee. We parked blocks away, where we could do so for free, and walked our way to the main gates. The midway stood behind those large entrance gates, and we found our way through the fun and games to the information booth. With a newly acquired map in hand, and the Food on a Stick guide, we made our way to the main stretch of food vendors and entertainers. I was eager for two things: livestock and food.

The adventuring began with a pass through the Wisconsin Products Pavilion featuring all of the food products made in Wisconsin or from Wisconsin commodities (I use that term generally). The Apple Growers Association sold caramel apples on a stick, cider, apple sauce...you get the picture. Now imagine that for everything grown or made in this fine state. Our excitement peaked at the Wisconsin Dairy Goat Association display that featured a Dreamfarm pamphlet and jars of Rose Memories cheese - two small rounds of fresh Crotin steeped in a jar of extra virgin olive oil, chili pepper flakes, oregano and other delicious flavors. The three of us almost squealed to see cheese we knew so well on display! We then turned around and instantly spotted the dark brown Pretzilla pretzel bites from Miller Bakery and I knew they would be the first snack of the day. I am a sucker for a soft pretzel, and these were delicious. At first bite, we were all surprised they were not warm (quite cold, in fact), but soon realized that their deep molasses kick and robust pretzel flavor was all we needed. Even the small cup of mustard went unused, as this was the perfect soft pretzel. From here we meandered between the livestock pavilions and food vendors. Below is a brief summary of edible highlights from the day.

Deep Fried Butter

I secretly wish they were empty

Yes friends, I just couldn't resist. I'd been hearing about deep fried butter for a few years and between my love of butter and my love of fried novelty items, I was magnetically attracted. My overly creative imagination was expecting a gourmet twist on deep fried ice cream. Maybe a pat of frozen butter dipped in tempura batter and flash fried...offering me a hot, light and crispy exterior with all the satisfaction of creamy, salty butter on the inside. In reality, six chicken nugget-sized fried blobs in a tradition red and white paperboard tray were handed to me over the counter, along with the suggestion to grab plenty of napkins. At the first bite, hot and very liquid butter squired out the sides of the fried-until-chewy batter. Imagine a pat of butter seasoned with old black pepper, tucked inside a stale egg roll wrapper that is deep fried until chewy and unpalatable. If you can imagine that, then you can understand the deep fried butter experience. Ick. I gave it a second chance, even though I knew this short lived relationship was over.

Deep Fried PB&J Sandwich on a Stick
Other members of our party, those not daring enough (or too smart) to try deep fried butter, instead chose the deep fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a stick. Of course, this food item gets bonus points for being both fried and on a stick. Imagine, if you will, what it would would happen if you used a large round cookie cutter to remove a circle from the middle of a regular old pb&j sandwich. Then put it on a stick, dip it in batter and deep fry it. It's as simple as that. I was granted a bit of the peanut butter and jelly snack, and I have to say it was surprisingly good. My taste buds were still reeling from the butter incident, but my overall impression was positive.

The Famous Wisconsin Cream Puff

The Cream Puff is indeed famous and the highlight of the Wisconsin State Fair for many. This is obvious when you walk into the Cream Puff Pavilion, and see the near mile-long line that winds within it. This, of course, is highlighted by the smiling people who have just paid for their cardboard tote box full of a baker's dozen of these specialty bakery item. The cream puff has its own page on the State Fair website, a long and illustrious history and now even merits a mention in the Guinness Book of World Records.

The cream puff is, at best, a novelty baked good created to promote Wisconsin agricultural items like butter and cream. The production of cream puffs at the fair this year used 10,000 gallons of Wisconsin heavy cream alone. I say, at best, because the final product ends up tasting like a bland, whipped, dairy-like, food-like substance sandwiched between two pieces of stale, flavorless, puffed cardboard. It may just be that I am not a cream puff kind of girl, but it's more likely that I was turned off of this fine pastry while watching the assembly line of cream puff mass production one is subjected to while standing in line to purchase one of these specialty items. Behind a long window, high-school age 'bakers' hand make these cream puffs right before your eyes. That is if you consider hand made to include machine-like assembly production, air-injection machines that instantly poof crates of heavy cream into whipped cream and puff pastry rolling in by the thousands on bakery racks. If a picture is worth a million words, this You Tube video of the production line is worth a billion. Here's the catch after all the cream puff buzz: it doesn't even taste good, but the people watching is amazing

Some Non-Fried Food Activities
Our bellies needed a break after significant rounds of fried and puffed foods. We enjoyed several typical state fair activities including: air hockey, photo booth and livestock competitions. I love a good livestock show, and I still can't believe that there is a market for special hair dryers and combs and accoutrement to prepare beef cattle for show competitions. But there are, and I love it. Please enjoy this trio of cow photos, but just know they look so much prettier in person (and so much bigger too). I could watch cows, sheep and pigs all day...but eventually we moved on to more food items.

Deep Fried Cheese Curds!
Somewhere at this point in the afternoon I was told I couldn't leave the fair without experiencing deep fried cheese curds. It took a good twenty minutes to actually find a booth featuring this Wisconsin delicacy, but our pace picked up to a jog when we saw the big, painted sign "Fresh, Deep Fried Cheese Curds". I knew it would be love at first bite.

Also known as squeaky cheese, curds form when rennet or acid is added to milk in the cheese making process. The milk proteins clump together into the solid curds, and only the liquid whey protein remains. The curds are then pressed together to form cheese as we know it. However, in these parts, the curds are also enjoyed as a delicacy - within a few hours of becoming curds and fresh enough to still having a squeaky consistency when chomped. When I sunk into my first deep fried cheese curd, it really was love at first site. This is the kind of deep fried I was looking for: salty, lightly battered, gooey and good consistency. We wandered happily, a pile of cheese curds in hand, and I was satisfied. There was nothing more I needed to eat that day.

Since nothing could top the deep fried cheese curds, we headed in the direction of the exit. We passed the poultry pavilion along the way, but the space was used largely for dog-jumping competitions, dog weddings, pet store vendors and baby chick incubator and less than ten poultry. We thought about waiting fifteen minutes to congratulate the next round of canine newlyweds, but we were pretty tuckered out and happy to head home. We meandered through the midway...passing on the deep fried pickles and deep fried Oreos...and found our way out the enormous State Fair gates. I made a mental list of fried fair foods I could hardly wait a whole year to consume (cheese curds and the aforementioned pickles and Oreos) but was grateful to depart with a full tummy and some great memories.