Friday, September 22, 2006

T-shirt Entry of the Week

Finally I have a non-human entry! I'm a huge dog lover and every once in a while I feel a connection with a certain dog...and it usually is a dog that already belongs to somebody....and for a while I seriously consider how I might swipe their dog....and then I come to my senses and realize we can just be friends, I don't have to own them....and then that keeps me from being on bad terms with my human friends....because nobody continues to like the guy that stole their dog.

Anyhoo, you're about to meet one of my favorite dogs, Dottie Mae. Dottie Mae lives on the Soque River in Habersham County, Georgia, which is one of the best places for a dog to live. Especially if you like trout, and Dotti Mae and I love trout.

So apparently Dottie Mae heard about my adventures (and my pleas for a goat wearing a t-shirt) and broke out her credit card and ordered herself a doggy costume.



Dog facial expression translation --

"Mom, can I please take this thing off and go jump back in the River"


Thanks Dottie Mae (and Glad and Marty). Dogs that know their food comes from farms are superior dogs. One of these days I'm gonna get myself a smart dog like this so I can stop lusting after everyone else's.

I hope this first "non-human entry" isn't gonna be the last.

My best,

--Justin

COMMENTS

Dan wrote:
This has all been some seriously beautifully stuff; and that is all that I've got to say about that
Cheers
-Dan

New Farm - Homestead Organics - Hamilton Montana

Homestead Organics

Hamilton, Montana

Tuesday, September 26, 2006


It’s so damn cold. I awoke this morning after coughing myself unconscious last night. Given the choice between sleeping in a trailer and sleeping in a teepee I of course chose the teepee. It didn’t take me long to realize that the teepee was the colder of the two options, what with the huge gaping hole in the middle of the ceiling. I could feel my throat getting scratchy just standing inside. Though this was no ordinary teepee. Huddled against the back wall was a futon covered in blankets, and a very tacky gold ornamented lamp had been hung from it’s wire directly overhead. After spending a few moments trying to figure out how to turn it on, I decided “Hey, let’s go check out that trailer.”


It was quite warm inside as the beautiful sunshine from the day had heated this metal contraption up quite nicely. I’ve slept in some strange places this trip. In fact, every night ends up being a strange place, relative to where I spend most of my nights in regular life.


I had arrived at the farm a little after six. Hungry I stuffed an apple in my pocket and ripped into my bag of BBQ potato chips, before going inside. Taking a quick look around, the first thing I noticed was a ginormous pumpkin sitting on a pallet. The color was a creamy orange. I gave it a tap and it made a nice hollow thump, just like you would expect a pumpkin to.


I headed around to the main door and was greeted by Paul Grimmet. He invited me in and I had a seat at the kitchen table. It was his night for kitchen duty and he was in the middle of cooking what I would later find to be a superb meal of emu spaghetti. Paul’s two kids, Henry and Helen were playing and watching t.v. in the next room. It didn’t take them long to warm up enough to begin begging me to go jump on the trampoline with them. Paul answered for me saying, “He’s been riding his bicycle for 50 miles today, I don’t think he wants to go jumping on the trampoline.”


Paul and his wife, Laura Garber, had been farming for the last eight years. Apparently things had gotten started with Laura’s small backyard garden. Paul was working for a restoration company at the time where he supervised plantings at reclamation sites, primarily for closed mines. He had studied forestry at the University in Missoula, but this job was keeping him on the road 6-8 months a year, and that’s not the kind of job he wanted.

He requested a position that would take him off the road and he was given the job of bidding on new contracts. After a year they wanted him to go back to field planting, only this time not as a crew chief. He’d had enough and walked away. Jobs are scarce in this neck of the woods, so his most immediate option seemed to be to step up Laura’s garden business. It didn’t seem to be a conscious decision at the time to turn this into their livelihood; it just seemed like the only option at the time. With the added labor and attention, the potential really began to reveal itself. That was five years ago.


Now the farm hires 2-3 interns for seasonal labor, operates a CSA for 80 people, does some wholesale of their salad greens for a local distributor, has a three day a week farm stand, and they have just built a new house, have expanded their acreage owned and acreage cultivated and in general seem to be doing quite well.


The property is littered with accommodations for interns. The original house where they lived before completing their new house is where the two girls, Leslie and ______-- live. I slept in the trailer, and then there is the tepee.

The view of the mountains is spectacular. The farm borders Hwy 93 so the constant hum of traffic is somewhat annoying for work in the fields. In fact, the farm is soon to be bordered on all sides by mega suburban developments. Just across the street from them they are building 180 homes. This staggered me, but for a farm like Homestead, this may well be welcome news. Since their customer base is local, and the more local the better, new people moving in, and people with money at that, may be exactly what they need to keep growing.

They’ll be boxed in tight soon. Paul gave me some figures of what some of the surrounding properties are selling for and the option of buying more land just isn’t an option any longer. He talks a little about the challenge of keeping two pigs in an environment like this, “the smell is terrible,” he explains. Not to mention he has become more visible over the years drawing the attention of state well inspectors that want him to do more regular testing of his well water, which he uses to wash and clean his produce, as well as county regulators that want to tax his new home as a commercial structure since he also uses the house as a farm stand and business office. Part of the cost of growth I presume.


Paul and Laura have grown accustomed to the bustle of visitors, volunteers, interns and WWOOFers. This is the first farm I’ve stayed on that supports WWOOFers so I should explain what that is.


WWOOF – stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms and is an international association of farms that provide temporary room and board for individuals who want to work on organic farms. It has become an extremely popular method of inexpensive travel abroad in places like New Zealand, Europe and South America. The farm provides two meals a day, and a place to lay your head in exchange for a commitment to stay and work for three weeks. I think they ask for at least 4 hours of work a day, or something like that. It is an extremely low cost way of fulfilling labor needs on the farm, and keeps an interesting, and quite intelligent group of individuals rotating through on a regular basis.


Homestead Organics has two WWOOFers or more accurately, one and one former WWOOFer who has been elevated to intern status as she has been here for more than two months now. Both are young female college graduates (cute I might add) who have a natural gravitational pull to a culture of food.

That’s all for now…..my fingers are all numb plus it’s time to have cup of coffee and get to work.


COMMENTS


  • 9/28/2006 9:55 PM Rebekah wrote:
    I still enjoy reading about your travels! Almost there! I've been thinking about the T-shirt submissions and I think I should win since I started the whole weekly T-shirt contest. For my prize, a complimentary copy of your book when published.

  • 10/5/2006 2:35 PM Dan Chouinard wrote:
    So grateful to hear about your travels through Adventure Cycling's e-newsletter. Wow. Bravo, and thanks for what you're doing.

    I worked on a WWOOF farm in the south of France in 2002 during a summer of bicycling Europe with tent and small accordion. I recall noticing throughout that trip that the musicmaking was best when it followed a day of hard work - whether on the bike or in the gardens - and when it was accompanied by good local food (and drink). It's a timeless combination I heartily recommend: well-earned rest, do-it-yourself music and food from close to home.

    Like many, I suppose, I'd love to jump on the bike and join you, but I'll content myself with checking in on your journals now whenever I can. Safe travels.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

National Farm Animal Awareness Week

I never knew until I picked up a local version of TIDBITS ...the neatest little paper ever written, that September 15-21 was national farm animals awareness week. I thoroughly enjoyed finding this article which I have nearly completely rewritten...or copied rather..... filled with interesting facts about farm animals, many of which were still new to me, or at least added some clarity to things that I've learned on this trip.

I was in Sheridan, MT having breakfast when I picked up the Tidbits for Beaverhead and Madison Counties. Appartently this paper is circulated to 3.5 million readers all over the country.

I have written a few brief comments in italics after some of these facts. Here's the article, hope you enjoy it.

DOWN ON THE FARM

By Audrey Cunningham


This is National Farm Animals Awareness Week, so what better time for Tidbits to take a look at the place that makes sure we have fresh eggs and milk for breakfast in the morning?


  • According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Texas is home to more farms than any other state in the union. Missouri comes in second, followed by Iowa, Kentucky and Tennessee. Ninety percent of the more than two million farms in the United States are family owned and operated.


  • When it comes to small farms, beef cattle are the preferred livestock. Beef cattle roam freely and require little supervision, unlike pigs and chickens. This makes it convenient for farmers who have other jobs outside of farming. Cattle are also cost-efficient, requiring additional feed only during the winter months.

I have found this statement accurate, in regards to the number of cattle owners that are only part-time farmers (in the west their called ranchers). The idea is that cattle can take care of themselves with little effort except occassional moving, providing winter feed, ensuring access to water, and calving season. However, many of the grass-fed beef farmers, or those who practice rotational grazing would assert that simply allowing cattle to roam freely isn't good for the pasture, is not most efficient for weight gain and pasture production, is harmful to sensitive areas like watering holes, streambanks, or underneath shade trees, and can negatively affect the cows health if they spend to much time on land they've contaminated with their own feces. Joel Salatin described it best when he spoke of a farm where he watched a cow who had waded into a pond drinking the water, as it urinated into the water it was drinking from. In other words, cattle don't behave like the wild herbivores they evolved from. We have to help them behave in ways that are healthier for them, for the environment, and also most efficient for the pasture grasses. The notion that owning cattle is simple and only requires low supervision may be true if you want a low quality operation.

  • Whether the cattle is raised for dairy or beef, the terminology remains the same: The male is a bull, the female is a cow, and the baby is a calf. Females who haven’t yet produced a calf are called heifers. A steer is an altered bull that is raised strictly for meat.

Boy I needed this definition. I'd been confused about the heifer and steer distinctions. By altered bull they mean of course.....well you can figure out what they mean.


  • Those stylish black-and-white cows that we regularly see on posters and calendars are Holsteins. Holsteins feed primarily on grass and clover and are excellent milk cows. A cow must give birth to at least one calf per year in order to keep producing milk. Holsteins cows’ markings are as unique as human fingerprints – no two hides have the exact same pattern.

You know....the Chik Fil A cows.

  • Dairy cows must be milked twice a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. They give more milk when they’re relaxed, which is why farmers try to milk them at the same time every day. Cows prefer routine, and get nervous and upset when their schedule is interrupted.

So this may be one reason why so many people are getting out of the dairy business as well. It is one of the most demanding farm lifestyles.

  • Pork is the most widely consumed meat in the world, but the United States only ranks third in swine farming (China is first). Raising pork is becoming an increasingly commercial industry, so family farms of today often raise pigs for the show ring instead of the dinner table.

Now this was a suprising fact, but Wikipedia confirms, 38% of all protein consumed in the world comes from Pork. Chicken is the most widely consumed meat in America.

  • Piglets need to have teeth clipped soon after birth. The babies use their razor-sharp teeth to latch onto their mother and keep their littermates from displacing them. If the sow gets bitten too hard, however, she’ll react to the pain by refusing to feed her litter.


  • Pigs will not only eat grass, they will also use their noses to dig up the entire plant and eat the roots. That’s why you’ll see some pigs with rings in their noses – it prevents them from “rooting.” By contrast, some farmers use this behavior in a beneficial way, to clear entire fields. The pigs not only remove the vegetation, the also plow and “fertilize” the land.

I have encountered two farms that utilize their pigs to do farm work. Joel Salatin at Polyface Farms was the first. Joel actually buries corn kernels in the cow manure that collects inside of his haybarn where his cows feed for the winter. By scattering the corn into the manure throughout the winter, the corn ferments and when the pigs are let loose come spring they will literally turn the entire pile by rooting around for these intoxicating nuggets amongst the excrement. By so doing, Joel gets to turn his manure into compost more quickly, he doesn't have to do any work himself, and the pigs get to do what they love doing best....root through s%#t!

Ryan Morris at Country Roots Farm will actually loan his pigs to surrounding farms after the harvest and the pigs will litterally till the earth, burying crop residues and weeds as they dig out and consume the roots. The benefits to the farmer who borrows Ryan's pigs is he doesn't have to waste time or fuel on tilling his crop residue under, and he also gets his field ferilized with pig manure. Ryan benefits by fattening his hogs without having to purchase feed.

In other words, crops and animals go together.

  • No other animal provides us with a wider range of products than the pig. We use their heart valves to replace faulty human ones, their adrenal glands to manufacture cortisone, and their pancreas to make much-needed insulin for diabetics. And pig flesh is so similar to human skin that it is often grafted onto burn patients.


  • Farmers use various techniques to try to coax their hens into laying more eggs. Studies have shown that hens will lay larger eggs if the henhouse stays lit for a 24-hour period. Soothing music seems to encourage egg production too, as does a nicely heated henhouse floor.


  • North Carolina leads the nation in turkey production. A tom (male turkey) can gain 30 lbs within 18 weeks of hatching. This is possible thanks to years of careful breeding, not hormones; there are currently no approved drugs that are used in the United States to stimulate the growth of turkeys.


  • The red fleshy mass that grows over a turkey’s beak is called a snood, and the flesh under its chin is a wattle. The carnucle is the red skin on the turkey’s neck. Then a tom turkey is trying to attract a hen, his snood and wattle turn bright red. If frightened, the snood and wattle turn blue, and if the bird is feeling ill, these areas will turn a very pale shade.


  • Sheep represent less than one percent of livestock farming. Americans aren’t large consumers of lamb and mutton, so most sheep are raised for their wool. This requires a large investment in animals, food, and shelter for what amounts to a once-a-year shearing.

I haven't visited a sheep farm yet, but I've talked to a few farmers. I've got a couple of sheep farms planned in Oregon.

  • Female goats (does), babies (kids) and castrated males have no odor. Males (bucks) do emit a musky aroma, and are generally kept separately from the does so that their milk isn’t affected by the odor.

And goat milk is delicious, but I advise you brush your teeth shortly thereafter. It leaves a bit of an aftertaste. Some farmers say that goat milk tastes better when the goats are free to range on grasses of their own choosing.

  • Many farms keep a few donkeys on the premise because they make superb “guard” animals. They’ve been used for centuries to mind flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. Donkeys have acute sight and hearing and very in tune with their surrounding. They tend to immediately take note if a predator or intruder enters the area. Donkeys are similar to horses when it comes to saddling or harnessing, but as a rule, the only time you’ll see a donkey gallop is when it’s feeding time.

I got a great story from a tobacco farmer back in Kentucky about donkeys. He confirmed their worthiness as a guard animal and added that they will literally stomp a coyote to death, whereupon they will trample it into the earth until there is nothing but a greasy spot on the earth. There will be absolutely nothing left.


So that's it for farm animal awareness week. My thanks to Tidbits for providing the inspiration.



COMMENTS


5/28/2007 4:48 PM Thomas Mcmanus wrote:
I like what you did with the infomation

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Scenes from Wyoming


So I've completed 7 of the 10 states on this journey: Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and now Wyoming. At the completion of each state I've compiled a small photo summary, so here goes Wyoming.



My (somewhat) trusty steed. At the beginning of the trip I decided I would name my bicycle Rozinante after Don Quixote's horse. A beautiful name for a loyal companion and I have grown to love him more day by day. Here I have allowed Rozinante to rest before climbing over steep gravel hillsides in search of the famed Twin Creek Ranch, a Ranch like no other, high in the valley, surrounded by steep crimson walls of sandstone, with a bright ribbon of green grass and happy cows winding back and forth to the valleys mouth. As Rozinante and I rode up into the hills, we thought that finally we were beginning to see the true Wyoming.



And yet another egg mobile. If you haven't read very much yet about egg mobiles (or perhaps I haven't written enough), here is the concept. Animals, just like us humans, find it difficult to retain their health if they are forced to live on the same patch of ground amongst their own feces. The area becomes unclean, and also picked over, devoid of fresh grass, insects, and any of those things that provide life. In order to grow healthier, happier laying hens, while at the same time allowing nature to heal and mend herself from their impact, a new system has been developed by which the hens are moved every few weeks to new ground by means of an egg mobile. Now an egg mobile is simply this.....a contraption, a jalopy if you will (though in this case I mean a trailer), that contains laying nests (little boxes filled with fresh hay), that can be moved using a tractor or a truck. Once moved onto fresh ground, the chickens are fenced in with an electric feather net, although this is primarily to keep predators out as the chickens often flap in and out of the feather net at will.

There the chickens happily pick about eating grass and bugs which is extremely healthy for a chicken. Then once the area has been thoroughly pooped upon, voila, you hitch up the hen house and pull it on to fresh ground. These systems are simply called egg mobiles. Don't you wish you had one?



It may not be obvious what you are looking at. This is Xena the goat being milked by Andrea Malmberg, the matron of Twin Creek Ranch. I was so excited about going to milk the goats I could hardly contain myself. And I even gave a few tugs of the teat myself. The ritual of milking is incredible, not to mention the fact that ...now you have very fresh milk. The next day, after the milk had been chilled in the fridge I took a big swig. I was really looking forward to it, as I love goat cheese, but had never had goat milk. It was delicious. Not goaty at all (though I do recommend brushing your teeth not too long after). I was so enthused with everything goat that Tony responded, "I see goats in your future."

The great thing about these goats is they roam totally free among the mountains, eating only wild plants, which apparently improves the flavor of the milk. They are also milked outside which is why I was able to get this great photo.



Ok, if you're not into farms but are into nature and wildlife. The next several pictures should appeal to you. This was my first glimpse (and photo) of the Teton Mountain Range in western Wyoming. Suprisingly of all the pictures of the Teton's this was my best one. A few hours after this photo was taken I had climbed to the top of Togwattee Pass (one of the highest passes of the trip) and there found a beautiful, crystal clear lake. The sun was going down so I decided to camp there. It became my most beautiful campsite yet and believe it or not the very first time so far I have built a campfire (it's been warm up until now). I slept wonderfully. The next morning I awoke and felt confident and daring and .....went for a swim in the lake. There is no question it contained the coldest water I have ever submerged myself into. I swam for about 15 seconds before I began to lose feeling across my entire body. I exited the lake and had the most amazing tingling feeling, almost like burning, and goose bumps even beneath my eyebrows. A fantastic experience....and one that left me feeling feverish later that night....and a lingering sickness that I am shaking off even now. Oh well.



Within 20 minutes of starting my first full day in Yellowstone we spotted two coyotes playing in a field next to the river. Nice and simple. No explanation needed.



The first day in Yellowstone you are just dazzled by the abundance of wildlife. Then by the second day, if you can't get within twenty feet of them you're just like, "Hey, look another buffalo." This one was probably only 35-40 feet away. Neat huh?



Bull Elk crossing the river. Looks nice and serene, but actually this Bull Elk was flaunting for a posse of twenty or more semi-professional photographers. These Elk have grown so accustomed to being photographed that they actually bask in the attention. This fellow here waited on the bank, teasing us all, until he was quite certain he had our undivided attention. Then he strutted across the stream, exited, was towel dried by his harem of she-elk, then took a bow before exiting the stage....or something like that. It actually was pretty fantastic.



So that last Bull Elk photograph was taken from a distance of 70-80 feet. This one here, a mere 40-45 feet. I could practically smell his prairie grass breakfast. Neat huh?




The day after leaving Yellowstone, I pretty much expected I'd seen all the dramatic wildlife I was gonna see. To my suprise, I looked up the hill and saw this gang of Bighorn Sheep peering down at me. Distance from lens to creature = 55 feet.


I am now in Montana. A mere 3 states left to journey. It has become quite cold. The first day through Yellowstone was in the '20's with snow. I was travelling with 4 other bikers and we covered an amazing 74 miles in these conditions.

Stay tuned.....this trip ain't over yet.

--Justin

COMMENTS

  • 9/21/2006 10:03 AM Anna Erickson wrote:
    Your pictures are just amazing. Makes me get all tingly and itchy like I GOTTA GET OUT THERE!!! Don't forget that I have a wonderful friend in Missoula who would be a prefect contact for you. Happy Trails, Justin.

  • 9/21/2006 5:53 PM g wrote:
    Welcome to the majesty of big sky country. Say hello to it for me.

  • 10/6/2006 3:41 PM Stan Blanchard wrote:
    I have looked at yout photography and you do a great job. Sometimes it is very difficult to make the photographs look interesting and you have done very well. Always ask yourself what is the story I am trying to tell with the photo.


Wednesday, September 13, 2006

T-shirt entry of the Week

Georgia Organics recently asked me for a photograph of my t-shirt. The photo below is not the one that I sent to them.

In terms of the best t-shirt photo entry...this one is a contender folks! Not much longer to go...maybe 6 or 7 weeks so if you haven't gotten goofy with my t-shirt, express your creativity. It is good for you.

And this photo was obviously good for these three goof balls. In case their mothers can't recognize them from this position, these stunning models are (from left to right) Shannon Wilson, Elizabeth Gilbert-Lawson, Anna Erickson, and of course....the only one to enter this contest twice....Mitch Lawson.

Thanks guys. You always make me smile....and you make the Soque River Lover smile too aparently.



Can anyone guess whose idea this was?

So what does everybody think would be a good prize for this contest? Send me your suggestions. And thanks for spreading the word?

This entry was posted on 9/13/2006 2:29 PM

small bit on Twin Creek Ranch, WY & Georgia Organics piece

Howdy Folks,

I'd really love to tell you all about Twin Creek Ranch in Wyoming, but I'm short on time. I'm trying to beat the snows so must keep moving. This was one of my most powerful visits yet. I was beginning to feel like I was wasting my time riding my bike through this part of the arid west until this visit. I've included below a newsletter article I just submitted to Georgia Organics who graciously requested I write about my experiences. So the first part of this will be familiar to most of you.

Happy reading. Please let me know if you think of an outlet for these stories. Thanks again to Georgia Organics. Hope you won't mind me sharing this on my blog in advance of publication.

What is Farmland Conservation?

All great journeys begin with a great question. Earlier this year I decided to embark on a 5,000 mile bicycle tour through ten states from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean to study what individuals and communities are doing to protect farms and farmlands. As I began to plan for the trip I only had a small inkling of what I might discover. Now nearly two-thirds of the way there, I can begin to reflect a bit on what I have learned thus far, my impressions of farming across the country, and the impact of the experience on my own life and viewpoint.


Over these last three months I have visited over fifty farms, ranging from half acre garden plots of organic vegetables to 2,000 acre conventional grain farms and feedlot operations. I’ve planted and harvested more beautiful fruits and vegetables than you could imagine, milked cows and goats, gathered eggs, processed poultry grown on pasture, fed hogs, driven tractors, surveyed greenhouses, baled hay, tasted wines, picked wild mushrooms, interviewed Mennonites, shared meals with the Amish, and plunged headfirst into the 2007 farm bill. In my free time I’ve read books by Wendell Berry, Michael Pollan, and John Ikerd. I’ve been able to meet and ask questions of agricultural gurus such as Wes Jackson and Joel Salatin. I’ve also discovered my own personal heroes like Larry Decker, the owner of one of the only five organic wheat mills in the country, or Susana Lein who taught me the lesson, “nature doesn’t till, it builds the soil.” And now in this brief moment of reflection I can appreciate what an incredible blessing and tremendous education it has all been. And I’m only two-thirds there!


In preparation for this trip I also spent several months working for an industrial scale poultry operation in North Georgia, learning everything from what goes into their feed, to how they are processed at the plant. To truly understand and promote a more progressive agriculture I felt it was important to understand the conventional practices as well as to embrace the sustainable ones. After spending most of my adult life devoted to the conservation of rivers, I realized that despite my love of nature, my day to day living was still pretty disconnected from the basic origins of life. Where does our food come from, how is it grown, who grows it? The questions are so basic that we’ve only been unable to answer them for the last sixty years or so. What we’ve lost over those last sixty years is slowly being realized.


My journey is more than a search for knowledge. I hope that in some small way I can express my thanks and appreciation for the landscape and the individuals that feed us. I appreciate the people who farm; especially the one’s who are struggling to keep their farms. Our food ultimately depends upon the natural and human resources spread out across the landscape. This trip is in honor of those individuals and that landscape. And yet, despite America’s burgeoning interest in higher quality foods, we are slow to realize that it is our own naiveté and disassociations that have allowed our food quality to diminish, our farm families to vanish, and our farmlands to be mined of their wealth.


I have begun to believe that it is not enough to eat better if we still lack those connections and relationships to the land and its producers. My opinion about how we really come to know and understand our world has changed dramatically over these last few months. Food nourishes more than just our bodies. The food you have sown and harvested yourself is good for you beyond those basic nutrients. This is followed by food from a farm you have personally visited, where the farmer can explain to you exactly how it was grown, when and why. Short of these experiences; look for food that has attached to it a story of the farmer and the land. Yesterday I ate a grass fed beef burger with fellow bicyclists, and I had just come from the ranch where the meat had been raised. As we sat happily munching I explained to them how sixteen years ago this rancher had decided to quit blowing up beaver dams. He had observed the consequential erosion and downcutting of his stream, and had a terrible feeling about what he had just done. So he quit blowing up the dams, and the beavers began to dam up the stream. In Wyoming where the riparian area may represent 6% of your land but 35% of your grass productivity, these moist belts of land are your most critical pastures. He was taking a big risk on nature’s way.


After 16 years of working in collaboration rather than opposition to the beaver, the water table throughout the length of his valley has been elevated by as much as 6 to 8 feet. The riparian area is now subirrigated as the moisture spreads up the valley slopes. His riparian area has expanded, and his need for ditch irrigation declined. Not only has the production of grass improved, but because the cattle are only given access to these grasses once the plants have recovered, he never has to use fertilizer. I just want to tell you, that burger tasted better because of that story.


Food you can feel good about is food you can understand. Understanding comes most directly from experience, connections and relationships. To convey the value of this deeply rooted understanding to others we must learn to tell stories; stories of the food, stories of the land, and most importantly stories about people.




Tony Malmberg is the owner of Twin Branch Ranch....and a friend to the beaver. He stands here in front of vine ripening tomatoes. How many ranchers also pull tomatoes?


  • 3/17/2007 10:23 PM J K Sharma wrote:
    this is just fantastic.this young man should be awarded the highest honor.He has true qualities.He deserves Noble prize for raising such a noble issue.I want to meet this man.I love him.

  • 4/12/2007 2:11 PM Judy Kinsler wrote:
    Just to say Hi,
    Your comments are really moving.
    It reminds why we do what we do.
    Glad it showed as you were traveling.
    We are experiencing an exceptionally
    cold spring as was the winter.
    This is the time of year we mess with
    our cows and calves and get ready to
    go to grass with them.
    Take care and stop in if you are
    ever this way.
    Judy, Ross and Ryan Kinlser

Photos of Me

So I don't have very many photos of myself from this trip but I thought I'd share these two because they are kind of neat.

The first one was taken about 10 miles north of Kingman, KS by new good friend Judy Kinsler. Judy and her husband Ross put me up for an evening, fed me steak, and exposed me to more Kansas farming than I could have ever hoped to have seen in a day's time. I'm so glad Judy wanted to take a photo as I had just had a sign company in Newton, KS make these sharp signs for my trailer that show my website address. If I'd waited another week for a photo those signs would have been all muddy, and bent up like they are now. But on this day they look crisp and spiffy. Ever since I put these signs on, now I have farmers walking up to me and asking "So what is this farmland conservation all about?" What a miracle. Second best decision I've made...after going on this trip in the first place.



This second photo is the result of the advice of another road friend, Vicki Pense in Carbondale, IL. She said that she thought I should pose in the same position as the Don Quixote logo I created (with a little help from somebody they call Pablo). I had had that idea myself, but not the motivation. One evening as I pulled my bike up to a picnic table in Kremmling, CO the setting sun cast a shadow on the wall and I thought, "hey, I actually do kind of look like Don Quixote." For the next 30 minutes or so I played around trying to get a photo of my silhoette. Here's the result....



I've given quite a lot of thought to the Don Quixote analogy but I'll save that run-on sentence for another day. Thanks for the encouragement Vicki, Judy, and everyone out there that make all this impracticallity and idealism almost sensible.

All my love,

--Justin

COMMENTS


9/25/2006 10:53 AM vicki pense wrote:
Hey, the shadow Don Quixote a.k.a. Justin is great! Jeff is keeping up on your blog too as he mentioned it to me at church. I love the Wyoming/Yellowstone photos. So glad you camera is fixed you do a great job. You are almost across - Keep a goin'! God bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you and give you peace (and strength)

Thursday, September 7, 2006

Our Relationship to Food


There are certain questions that continue to fascinate us no matter how many times we ask them. Such questions are complex, deeply rooted in our human experience, and common the world over. When was the last time you looked down at your plate, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner, and asked yourself, “where did this food really come from?”


The question seems almost childish in its simplicity, and sixty years ago most people could have given you a pretty informed answer. Today, it would be a brave man or woman who would refuse to admit their own ignorance in the matter. The fact is both urban and rural populations have become dependent upon an industrial food chain that has disconnected us from the source of our own food. The questions to ask may be simple, such as “where did this apple come from,” or complex such as, “what was the cow fed that produced this meat and how healthy was it,” or “how many gallons of oil did it take to produce this loaf of bread?”


I used to believe that farmers possessed an edge on the urban masses when it came to overcoming our ignorance about food. I was always bemused, if not downright alarmed when farmers would remind me that today’s urban youth believe that food simply comes from the grocery store. While urbanites may barely understand that milk and beef come from cows, and bread comes from wheat, they are less apt and less capable of comprehending the connections between the food on their plate and the natural landscapes and processes that produced it.


Michael Pollan points out in The Omnivores Dillema that a trip down the aisles of your local supermarket could, and perhaps should be viewed as representing a “landscape teeming with plants and animals.” After all, even the most processed of our foods were once “some sort of formerly living creature.” Virtually “every item in the supermarket is a link in a food chain that begins with a particular plant growing in a particular patch of soil somewhere on the earth.”


Today’s farmers may possess a better understanding of the basic origins of all things edible, but few are any better informed than the rest of us regarding the details behind their modern diets. That’s because most farmers today are specialists, growing a large volume of only a few crops or livestock. The old days of producing most of one’s own food are long gone. Canning fruits and vegetables for the winter is nearly a lost tradition. Taking your surplus and bartering with the neighbors for eggs or fresh milk is little more than a nostalgic memory. Most farmers can remember growing up this way, but the supermarket has won out, even in our remaining farming communities.


But have we really lost anything with the decline and the demise of a local food culture? After all, we can now get canned, even fresh foods anytime of year, and at reasonably cheap prices at the local supermarket. Why should farmers bother with the growing, harvesting, and preserving of a wide array of foods that are now so easily and efficiently provided in one convenient location? Let farmers in Kansas grow wheat, those in California grow lettuce, and Georgians can stick to peaches, peanuts and chickens. Let everyone stay focused on their own singular efficiency and it will all get sorted out on the supermarket shelves.


Wendell Berry suggests that if we examine where our food comes from we will become perplexed and confused, and anytime that our most basic needs are beyond our own comprehension it creates anxiety. Americans are becoming increasingly helpless in providing their own sustenance locally. As a result we are becoming increasingly dependent upon a food system that fails to instill us with confidence in the basic integrity of our food. The modern food system excels at efficiency, but leaves us guessing in terms such as quality, taste, nutrition, and the true ecological, health and human costs behind those calories. If one peach was picked unripe by a hungry laborer in a third world country, sprayed with pesticide, and shipped 2,000 miles, while another peach was grown without pesticides, grown in good soils, picked ripe by a farmer who will receive the full dollar for every food dollar spent, and then turn around and spend that dollar in the community in which you live, which peach would you choose? In recent polls, 71% of Americans said they would be willing to pay more for food grown locally, near where they live, rather than far away.


I recently spent a few days on a small family farm in Eastern Colorado where they grew tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, corn, onions, squash, eggs, and pigs which they had processed into sausage. They also sold fresh fruits grown by a friend of theirs on the western slope of the Rockies. The farm, located just east of Pueblo, is called Country Roots Farm and is one of the only farms in Eastern Colorado that sells direct to consumers. They take some of their produce to a weekend farmers market in Colorado Springs, but the vast majority of their produce is sold or picked up right off their farm at a Saturday morning farm stand. Ryan Morris isn’t what you would call an extrovert, or a salesman, or even a “people person,” but he and his wife Betsy, his mother Virginia, and his son Reed, have amassed a loyal following. As I observed their Satuday morning ritual, it became obvious that a lot more was being exchanged than some simple food for some simple dollars.


Virtually everything being sold had been picked ripe within the last 24 hours. Many of Ryan’s customers would accompany him into the fields or out to the hen house where they could survey his farming practices, pick up the soil and smell it, and ask Ryan questions about this year’s harvest and next year’s plans. There he would explain his late season cover crop of Buckwheat, a succulent plant that brings in pollinators, or how he uses a simple vinegar and citric acid mix to control his weeds. Ryan’s five year old son Reed would play with the visiting children, and show them Roscoe the pig and how he gets to eat all the surplus or damaged zucchinis. “It’s a pretty good diet,” Ryan explains and it cuts his feed costs in half in the summer time.


Ryan’s mother Virginia sent Reed to gather some squash blossoms, contributing something of beauty to complement those items of nourishment sent home with each customer. After filling their bags with tomatoes and melons, most folks would stick around enjoying the sunshine and the companionship. Over the last few months of traveling, meeting people, and studying these things, I’ve begun to see where we derive much of the meaning in our lives and a good share of our happiness. The societal tradition that teaches us that success and happiness come through independence, competition, and self interest has proven insufficient. It contrasts poorly with the benefits of nurturing our relationships with others in our community, with the land, and with our food. It is our interdependence, not our independence that most accurately reflects reality.


So the question remains, “Where does your food come from?” Well the answer is it comes from the soil, from plants, from a patch of land under the sun, from animals, and from people. If you want to know the details about these ingredients, then you have to re-establish a relationship with these things. What better place to begin than in your local community?


If you have comments or suggestions for this article...send 'em on. Also, please encourage other venues for publishing these articles. Many thanks --Justin




Comments

  • 9/9/2006 5:01 PM Anna Erickson wrote:
    Hi Justin,

    I just got back from my first Famrmer's Market here in LA. Before leaving this morning, my roomate gave me a list of things to pick up for her, including mangoes, bananas and lychee fruit.

    Our ignorance is astounding when it comes to many things, but our ignorance about food is more than astounding. It's alarming. How can we be so disconnected from something so central to everything we do? I agree that the anxiety our disconnect produces undermines our health (spiritual, physical, mental, communal) in soooo many ways.

    So I told my roomie that no local farmers produce those things. And I bought her some melons and peaches instead.

    My internship this year is with the United Methodist Urban Foundation. One of our largest grants is a health initiative for poor Latino families at two churches in South LA. The people are so out of the (privileged) "loop" that they don't even know (how) to apply for healthcare for their kids who are, by and large, overweight if not obese.

    It's overwhelming. I want so much to help people, to help us all connect to each other, to what nourishes and sustains us, to the source of our nourishment, to our Source.

    But how do we connect when such connections threaten that which our our society is founded on--the bottom line. Insurance companies wouldn't profit from gastric bypasses if the people who ate a big mac a day all the sudden realized the consequences to the entire web of life produced by the process that gets those stupid beef patties into those stupid greasy yellow wrappers.

    I forget too often--when the alarm and fear and sadness and resignation sink in--to trust the Source.

    But wahoo for people like you, Mitch, Elisabeth and Bryce (and the farmer today who gave me a wink and an extra free cucumber for bringing my own bag) who give me hope and remind me to ENJOY the connections we ARE making!!!!!!

    So the point I meant to make without all this blather: Thank you for such a connective article!

    My only advice is to take out some of the "would"s in those last couple paragraphs. Verbs that aren't prefaced by "would" pack more punch.

    Keep on Keepin' On,
    Anna
    Reply to this
    1. 9/9/2006 6:57 PM Justin Ellis wrote:
      Anna,

      Incredible feedback. I love the story about your new roomate and her grocery list. It's perfect. I'm sure your influence on her will get the gears working again.

      Go United Methodists! I'm sure you had told me that's who you would be working for...but I forgot. This is going to sound silly, but I think the Methodists have got it going on. The church I joined in Athens, St. James, is where I have first begun to probe into the denomination. Then ironically, on this trip I began to notice that the majority of churches that host bikers along the route are Methodist. Now, whenever I can't find a good place to stay, I just call the local Methodist church or better yet, go knock on the door of the parsonage, and they either let me camp in their yard, or more often than not, let me sleep right in the church. So far I've met one Methodist preacher who has sworn not to shop at Wal-Mart because of their support of companies that violate human rights, and just two days ago had a brilliant conversation with a female pastor about my interest in the Chrisian stewardship responsibility for creation. You're on to a good thing there. If you haven't already, study up on John Wesley, then teach me all about him because what little I know inspires me.

      Great advice on the "woulds." Much, much appreciated. And I agree. That's the point of sharing in this way. It helps me craft my message. So keep suggesting improvements. Big help.

      Great to hear from you. It really feels good to know people are out there and that the thoughts I'm generating touch people....especially when they come back and touch me again.

      Can't wait to hear more of your adventures. I'm proud of you for the move you have made.

      God be with you,

      --Justin
      Reply to this

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

T-shirt entry of the Week


This entry was posted on 9/6/2006 6:16 PM and is filed under uncategorized.

I'm so proud of this week's entry. Berea, KY was one of my favorite places on my entire trek. All you have to do is take a look at the two faces pictured below and you'll know why. There's a lot of life in those faces, and in those souls.

I don't know how many of you remember the Woman of Principles way back when, but here she is sporting a pretty suave late summer fashion statement. The clean cut, good looking, kind of guy everyone wants their daughter to meet fella standing to her left is the most hopeful example of a bright future for American farming.

These two taught me a lot, they shared their lives, their dreams, their concerns, their homes, their families, their meals....and of course their farms with me. And now they're my friends. I have shared their stories numerous times with others. And I'll do so numerous times into the future. They are truly unique.



Susana Lein and Bryce Baumann at the Berea Farmers Market. This is Bryce's second attempt at a career in farm modelling. His first attempt required less clothing.

Scenes from Colorado




This entry was posted on 9/6/2006 4:43 PM and is filed under uncategorized.


Good news! Before leaving Colorado I was reinforced with my sister's digital camera as I await just a few days longer before I receive mine back from the Canon Repair Factory. (Yes, my camera broke as well....there's virtually nothing left to break.)

The timing couldn't have been better. I had mourned the fact that I had left Breckenridge without taking any pictures and my little sis's camera awaited at the foot of the mountain at Silverthorne. On the way down the mountain I reailzed that I had left my rain jacket at the hostel in Breckenridge so after a quick night's sleep in Silverthorne it was right back up the mountain in the early morning, this time with a camera in hand, and my heavy loaded trailer patiently awaiting my return. Thus enlightened I had one of the most glorious Labor Day Saturday's anyone could have asked for.



The entire ride back up to Breckenridge was via a bike path. About two minutes into the ride I arrived at Dillon Reservoir.



Colorado is known for their history of gold mining and gold mining can wreck havoc on a river. Here's an example of a 30 foot tall spoil pile adjacent the Blue River, still in place after 120 years.



River restoration projects along the Blue have restored riffle and pool habitats ideal for trout fishing.



As I approached Breckenridge the restoration of the Blue came to resemble a Japanese Water Garden.



Back in Breckenridge I discovered that I was just in time for Rubber Ducky races down the blue river.



Summits 8 and 9 at Breckenridge.



I don't know it's proper name but I like to call this plant Colorado Cotton.



The return trip back down the mountain.

No farms for over a week now, but the scenic vistas more than made up for it. I know you're probably glad to have something other than just a bunch of words for a change.

All my best,

--Justin


Comments




  • 9/19/2006 11:08 AM Rebekah wrote:
    beautiful photos of colorado! now I really want to go there! keep going, you are almost there!