What goals are we setting for the farm this year? Read to find out!

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posted on

February 3, 2022

How are you doing with these cold, gray winter days? Over the last three snowy weekends, I've been thinking about a poem, "The Shepherd's Calendar" by John Clare, that I wrote about in my dissertation. The first poem, "January", opens with the following scene:

"Withering and keen the Winter comes,

While Comfort flies to close-shut rooms,

And sees the snow in feathers pass

Winnowing by the the window-glass;

While unfelt tempests howl and beat

Above his head in chimney-seat."

Who is this "he", watching the snow flying in such tempest around him? It's the farmer,

"Whose Almanac's thumb'd pages swarm

With frost and snow, and many a storm."

I'll spare you the dissertation-level critique of these lines, but beyond loving the word choices (withering! winnowing!), I was immediately captivated by the image of the farmer, reading over well-worn pages while planning for next year, all while the storm rages outside.

In fact, I've come to learn, it's how we get through these long, gray days - by planning, and hoping, and looking forward to the spring. We may not have a well-worn Almanac to thumb through yet, but we have been working hard to set goals for this year - all based on your feedback from our survey in January.

So, what goals are we working toward this year? I'm excited to share a few of these with you!

More turkey, more of the year! This year, we'll be running two batches of turkeys: a spring batch, ready by the summer; and our traditional summer/fall batch for Thanksgiving. This is to provide you with options for ground turkey, turkey parts, and whole turkey that you requested - throughout the year! Our first turkeys will be ready in late summer, and we hope to maintain our freezer inventory through the winter!
Recipes! You asked for recipes, and we have them! We now have a dedicated recipe page on the website, which I'll add to each week. Feel free to make requests or suggestions for what you'd like to see there!
Specific newsletter content: Two of the most requested categories include more stories from the farm and more education on regenerative practices and nutritional information. I'll be working to provide both, and adding more resources, books, and other outlets where you can find even more information.
A farm store! We've been working with our friends at Heirloom Builders on a farm store for a few months now. I'll be sharing the upcoming progress with you over the next few months, as well as plans to host on-farm events there, as many of you have said you'd like to visit!
Shipping! We're working hard behind the scenes to get shipping off the ground. If you like our products - or know someone who might - but don't live in the Triangle area, stay tuned!

I can't wait to share our progress with you - and update you on many more goals we're setting for the farm in future newsletters.

We're so grateful for your support, and I especially love your feedback! Send me recipes, ideas, articles, suggestions - every little bit helps!

Can we care about animals - and still raise them for food?

I probably spend the most time with the pigs on our farm. Part of this is practical: since pigs can’t sweat, we spray them down twice a day to help them wallow in the mud and stay cool. But part of it is emotional, too. I enjoy being around the pigs. When there’s a lot on my mind, or I’ve spent too much time on the computer and need to get outside, wandering over to that week’s pig paddock is one of the ways I can clear my mind. Pigs are highly emotive and responsive. When I spray them down with the hose, they like to sit back on their haunches, prick back their ears, and snap playfully at the water as it showers down on them. And then joyfully roll around in the mud afterward, of course. But they’re responsive to humans in general, too. They are naturally curious and, in the case of our heritage breed Red Wattles, gentle. They’ll come up and sniff you, rub their mud-streaked bellies over you, and let you scratch their ears. And maybe this is the part where you start to wonder: But aren’t you raising them for food? Why would you want an emotional connection to an animal that you are raising for food? I understand where this question is coming from. I was a vegetarian for nearly a decade because I didn’t like the thought of killing animals, especially within the framework of our industrial food system. But actually, it isn’t a problem or moral quandary for me. Yes, we grow fond of and attached to our animals, including our pigs. Yes, we still send them to the butcher or process them on our farm for food. And yes, this still makes sense to me. I would gently suggest that the idea that we shouldn’t have any emotional connection to our food - that we can only eat meat that comes from animals we withhold our emotions or affection from - is a sign of our disconnection to the way food is grown. That is, after all, one of the premises of industrial agriculture. Designate animals with one sole purpose - “becoming food” - and then shut them away in buildings, cramped quarters, or far away from humans who might interact with them beyond the farmer. And the farmer, too, should be as disconnected as possible. After all, this is an efficient machine. The problem, from a regenerative perspective, is that growing food is never just about growing food. Food is the gift you receive at the end of your work, but it’s the work itself - and the consequences of the work beyond the food - that is the point. The work, on our farm, is caring for the land. That means working alongside animals to nurture native plants, clear forest areas to make existing trees healthier, and create habitats for birds, pollinators, and wildlife. And that means becoming attentive and thoughtful - to animals and to the land. Watching, learning, and yes, developing bonds with the habitats you’re nurturing and the animals that are helping you do so. Is it sad to load up animals and take them to the butcher at the end of the season? Yes, it often can be. But I don’t feel guilty about it. I know that we’ve given them the best life possible, and that we’ve partnered with them to leave our farm better than we found it each year. And if that doesn’t make sense, that’s okay. I’m not saying that everyone has to agree with me. I’d simply like to advocate for a way of farming and consuming meat that includes this experience - one of affection and bonding between animals and humans. After all, this is one of the many ways we try to do things differently on our farm. We don’t want to just provide you with food that meets your standards - non-GMO, no vaccines, no antibiotics, grass-fed and pasture-raised. We also want to help you reconnect with that food. And part of that is knowing the animals, hearing stories about them, and yes, maybe even having an emotional connection with them, despite the end goal of providing meat to you.

What goals are we setting for the farm this year? Read to find out!

More from the blog

Why should we care if grass-fed beef is grown in America, anyway?

Can we care about animals - and still raise them for food?

Know your beef farmer - and stock up on grass-fed and grass-finished beef you can trust.

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