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!

Not a Bad Life

Two and a half days a week I spend hauling milk, washing aged cheese, stirring curds, packing soft cheese, "doing the dishes", squeegeeing the cheese house floor, readying coolers for market, feeding hens, collecting eggs, chasing runaways, forking goat poop from barn stalls, watering baby steers, talking to Jacob sheep, and serving as playground equipment for young goats (I would call them kids, but I don't want to somehow convey that I have children - which I do not). Barn swallows, lounging cats, one fuzzy bunny, two white and burr-covered farm dogs, laying hens producing white, brown, tan, blue, olive green and speckled eggs, buzzing hives of bees, three young steer, twenty four goats for milking (who are out at pasture all day and I hardly see), their offspring, five heritage pigs with the most ear piercing cry I have ever heard and the kindest farmer I have ever met... these are my daytime friends when I am at, what I like to call, my farm job.

Standing endlessly, and joyfully, in the cheese house to make farmstead goat cheeses, the fresh and the aged alike. Hauling milk from the milk room to the cheese house. Meandering into the 'valley' to feed and water the hens, collect their dreamily hued eggs and humorously wrangle the rebel escapee hens back into their fenced pasture. It all takes place at the most beautiful farm I have ever stepped foot on or even seen through the lens of farm photographs (which we all know can lend such a mystic, agrarian daydream feel to any cultivated or fenced land). It's no wonder the place is called Dreamfarm, because it truly is. And there's no wonder why such beautiful land and grass, kind people, sweet goats and hard work turn into some of the tastiest, most savory cheese I have ever been lucky enough to eat. (And no, I am not biased just because I have the great pleasure and privilege of eating it almost every day now.) And that's not to mention the Saturday mornings at the Westside Community Market, helping Diana sell this delicious cheese and the abundant cartons of eggs, talking with the smiling folks passing by and drinking basil lemonade shared by the farmers in the booth next store. (And really not to mention the involuntary nap that occurs after the bike ride home from market).

The farm job is a good one. An early morning pulling on cool and light clothes in preparation for a long day in the humid cheese house. A thirty minute drive, through Madison and beyond, and past grassy roadsides with hilly, tree covered landscapes. An easy drive, still full of appreciation and excitement for the day's work ahead. I love the farm job. In part because I love the work, the environment and the people I get to spend my day with. In part because I know it's another piece in the puzzle to having my own green valleys, rebel hens, barn swallows and all the mischief it entails...one day. By the end of the day (which is not the end of Diana's day, as she still has chores and the evening milking ahead of her, and all the business of running a farm that goes on once the sun turns off) I am sore, tired, blistered, dirty, smelly and grateful. I can't get enough, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Photos can't even do justice to the view over the alfalfa field valley.

Three days of the week are filled with the following: desk sitting, computing, typing, phone calling, e-mailing, strategizing, and not being outside. This is what I call my office job. Admittedly, that sounds pretty lame compared to the farm job, although I bet that depends a bit on your perspective. However, as far as office jobs go, this is my dream job too. I spend my days coordinating farm to school efforts in the Great Lakes Region with the National Farm to School Network. I have the pleasure of talking with people running farm to school programs at the state, local or school level and helping them connect to whatever resources they need to be helpful. And I get to work on national policy issues surrounding farm to school, working to support farmers from the other end of the system: by creating more markets for local and regional producers. Not a bad deal either. And I get to work in a department with some of the neatest people who are working on some pretty dang cool sustainable agriculture projects.

I love both of these opportunities, and the balance they provide throughout the days. Office days bookended by days on the farm or at market are not a bad deal and there is surely no room for boredom. My dream has been, for a number of years now at least, to be a part time farmer and a part time farm to school policy maker. It's hard to believe that balance can actually be true, and that I get to live that dream for now. But, if you were to ask me on a farm job day if I'd rather be at the office job, you'd probably never hear me utter 'yes'. There is something magical about being on the land, carrying buckets of goat's milk or being covered in manure that I just can't resist.