It is somewhat amusing to see the Wall Street Journal cover
this topic.  After all, they are the
paper of Wall Street, which I imagine has a “look down the nose” attitude about
the people who grow food for a living, especially small-scale farmers who don’t
use giant machines or buy inputs from Fortune 500 companies.   Perhaps I need to get over a prejudice?

Check out what this reporter did…and on page A1 to boot:

Green Acres II:
When Neighbors
Become Farmers

Suburban
Arugula Is
Organic and Fresh, but
About That Manure...

By KELLY K. SPORS
April 22, 2008; Page A1

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120882472974233235.html?mod=todays_us_page_one

Not bad!  The people
doing this work are good looking, young, suburbanites.  Probably makes it more palatable to the
readers because they can relate to them. 

The music on the video included at the web site, however, is
kinda hill-billyish.  I enjoy banjos and
blue grass myself, but don’t know any farmers of the generation depicted who
listen to it regularly.  If more young
farmers are needed, it might be better to associate them with rock stars
instead. 

I appreciated the coverage of the SPIN farming method:  http://www.spinfarming.com/

It is great that there is now a marketed entry path to
farming in urban/suburban areas.  I would
like to point out where SPIN differs from what we are advocating in the Energy
Farm Program.  The article explains:

Start-up costs for a
one-eighth-acre farm run about $5,500, says Ms. Christensen of Spin-Farming.
That includes a walk-in cooler to wash and store fresh produce, a rotary tiller
and a farm-stand display. Annual operating expenses, including seeds and
farmers-market stall fees, can add about $2,000. Such a farm can generate
$10,000 to $20,000 in annual sales, she says. That's "an entry point into
farming to see if they have a talent for it," Ms. Christensen says.
"Those that do will eventually be able to expand and increase that income
level quite substantially."

Where we differ is in the use of hand tools instead of
rototillers, and passive cooling techniques instead of walk-in coolers
requiring electricity.  Also, we would
probably be more circumspect about the inputs of manure and other fertilizers
and ask farmers to work on green manure cover cropping and compost making on
site instead.  This is all about the need
to “get off the sauce” of oil, and fossil fuels in general.  Good hand tools are incredibly efficient at
the scale needed for home-scale veggies (http://www.energyfarms.net/node/1509
).

The Wall Street Journal does have some great reporters.  Good going Kelly!  Too bad the editorial pages of the WSJ are
full of garbage about energy and climate issues. 

Brookside Farm provides produce year-round. After all, people eat even when the days are
short and cold and plants go into a hibernation mode. Before supermarkets could place a call to a
vegetable broker and have a truck deliver boxes of tomatoes from anywhere in
the world, humans planned for seasonality by growing during the summer the
kinds of foods that would keep during the winter. Brookside Farm is a bit unique among veggie
CSAs (locally at least) by growing storage crops. As a result, our baskets in January are still
pretty hefty.

These baskets are from January 15^th. Potatoes, onions, shallots, and winter squash
make of the bulk, and are all from storage.
Carrots, beets, parsnips, Jerusalem
artichokes, tree collards and kale are still harvested fresh.

The farm has experienced a cold and wet January, including a
few days of snowfall, but without much accumulation. Snow is not very troublesome, even to the
greens. Much more concerning would be a severe
frost at night (in the low teens) and bright sunny days. The wet soil can expand and contract, harming
root crops in the ground. Above ground
greens can be tissue damaged by extreme lows and fluctuations. A sunny day could light and warm the leaf
surface enough to provoke strong photosynthesis, the need for gas exchange and
the opening of leaf pores, but since the soil is still frozen root activity
could be limited and the leaf could become water stressed.

We don't get a lot of snow in Willits, so its presence is an
exciting novelty and the transformation of the beautiful landscape is
captivating. The picture is from January
31^st, and shows in the foreground a row of kale and cabbage, middle
of the frame are former potato beds in compost crops, and the conifer trees
from the neighboring property dominate the background.

A particularly hardy crop around here is a variety of leek
known as "elephant garlic" (Allium
ampeloprasum). Once established, it
is practically impossible to get rid of because it propagates by sending out
subsidiary bulbs that form new plants the next year. During the summer it goes dormant and can be
harvested for the edible bulbs. Like
regular leeks, you can try eating the immature leaf stalks, though these are
generally tougher than the familiar leek.
Two big advantages to elephant garlic are that the plant requires no
watering around here to produce well, and it is high in calories. Most don't think it tastes as good as true
garlic, but it is milder and so can be eaten in larger quantities--providing
some significant calories if need be. I
think of elephant garlic in the same way as Jerusalem Artichokes-not the best
to eat but oh so easy to grow.

I don't have a lot to do on
the farm this time of year, but work for
the farm is continual. A tree pruning is
scheduled for next week as we expect a break in the weather. Seeds have been ordered and organized. I started some flats of leeks in the
greenhouse. Going to get some folks to
look over the work plan for the coming season and refine as I see fit. Should probably take stock of tools and
equipment, making sure everything is in good repair and blades are sharp;
organize the workshop so it is ready when called upon. And there are relationships to cultivate with
the school system, the after school program, community service clubs and
potential farm volunteers and donors.
Oh, and my wife reminds me to do sit ups and push ups regularly!

Most CSA farms (CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture) distribute to members only during the main growing season. Brookside Farm is a little different because we have chosen to remain active all year long.

One of the main challenges we see of the food system adapting to energy scarcity is the lack of off season storage and processing at the farm, community and household scale. Why worry about canning or drying tomatoes when they can be shipped in fresh from Mexico in January (or flown in from Holland!)? And why should a local farm grow storage potatoes when new potatoes fetch higher prices and the storage kinds can be shipped in from Idaho, and furthermore isn't it a hassle to take care of potatoes during the winter?

Well if everything was a-OK with our global food system we wouldn't be bothering with a year-round CSA. But we see the need to cut out energy dependency in any way possible. By growing crops with storage potential we educate and encourage our CSA member households to keep a place for storage foods in their homes. The infrastructure of the farm needs to be different too--we need thermal mass walls and earth connection for passive cooling and freeze control in some farm building. And when planning our crop selection we are growing in June-September food to be eaten in December-February. This means we can't grow as many summer veggies and increase our membership. We serve fewer people but give them more than other CSAs typically do.

Yesterday was one of our winter pick-ups. Instead of weekly distribution as during the summer, we are now on a once-a-month schedule. From a farmer's perspective that isn't too bad. We still get a bit of a break.

This is the newsletter that goes out to the members, and I've posted a couple of pictures so readers can get an idea of what people get.

---------------------------------------

Tuesday,
December 18, 2007

Greetings
CSA Family and Friends!

The
farm and I are resting physically as winter sets in. There are occasional chores at the site, such
as the harvest of carrots, Jerusalem
artichokes, parsnips and greens that contributed to this month’s basket, but
otherwise the cover crops take care of themselves. On a sunny day in January I will prune the
fruit trees.

Since
baskets are distributed from my home, you may not be aware of the “extreme
makeover” of the orchard, thanks in large part to the time and expertise of Max
and Maria of the Mendocino
Ecological Learning
Center (www.melc.us).
They donated days of labor and the entire farm will benefit. Planted among the fruit trees are assorted
herbs and shrubs that attract pollinators, beneficial insects and birds, bring
nutrients to the soil surface to develop rich mulch, add color, scent and
texture, and may include medicinal or culinary plants.

Though
I am not spending much time at the farm, my mind is busy developing detailed
plans for next year. Plans begin with a
list of crops to sow in the 10,000 sq. ft. annual cultivation zone. I found my mouth watering while coming up
with the following selections:

Basil, Beans (Pole), Beets,
Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Celery, Chard, Corn (Sweet), Corn (Flour),
Cucumbers, Eggplant, Garlic, Kale, Lettuce, Leeks, Melons, Onions, Parsnips,
Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Pumpkins, Radish, Spinach, Summer Squash, Sunflowers,
Tomatillos, Tomatoes, Watermelon, Winter Squash

For
each of these crops I estimate how much people are going to want to eat, which
I then translate into area to plant.
Timing of planting is important also.
For example, I have scheduled 6 plantings of carrots and 8 of lettuce so
that fresh specimens are regularly available.
Other species are sown only once, but the timing of planting is critical
if they have a long growing season and are sensitive to frost. Flour corn, pumpkins and winter squash
should all be in the ground during the last week of May to the first week of
June. Nearly all crops can be either
sown directly into the soil or started in the greenhouse and transplanted and I
have to weigh the tradeoffs and decide which way to go for each of the 31 species. Greenhouse space constraints also come into
play. In the current plan, May is the
busiest month in the greenhouse with about 1544 seedlings initiated, but I
actually get going in January with 245 leeks!
Since it takes time to prepare the ground, I am sorting out a schedule
to make sure we don’t miss a crop’s window.
As expected, April, May and June are the busiest months with 2493, 2470
and 2038 square feet respectively needing preparation.

Have a happy holiday, Jason

The following article
appeared this week in a local paper called the Willits Nickel and Dime. The paper is free to readers and financed
through ads. The author, Mary Zellachild,
has been writing something about local food every week for six months now under
the column heading "A Local Food Web."

A Local
Food Web

Mary Zellachild

Year-Round Produce-In Willits?

Brookside Farm's CSA is year-round.

So what does that mean? It means anyone who's a
subscriber to the Farm's Community Supported Agriculture program receives a
basket of fresh produce year round-January through December. This is different
from most CSAs, which just deliver food May through October, or sometimes into
November.

When I asked Brookside's
farmer, Jason Bradford, how the Farm can continue to deliver fresh food even
during the winter he explained that a high proportion of what's grown the
second half of the year are storage crops: potatoes, onions and winter squash.
There is other produce growing now, although its growth is much slower than the
rest of the year. These crops can tolerate temperatures that get down in the
20s. Baskets from December through March may contain potatoes, onions, winter
squash, carrots, beets, spinach, tree collards, chard and winter greens. Spring
produce starts in April.

In 2007 the CSA was serving nine shareholders. In 2008
they plan on serving twelve. Jason and his partner Chris Hansen will also be
saving space at the Farm to grow produce for the school, in case it works out
financially and logistically to have this food on the school lunch menu. Jason
and Chris have half of the subscribers they need for 2008. A year's worth of
fresh food costs $1,000. It's possible to break that amount into three payments
during the year of $350 each. Although it sounds like a lot of money it's
actually just $84 a month, and will feed from 2 to 4 people. (In 2006 the USDA
reported the average US
expenditure for food per person per year was $3,616.) Jason points out this is
the healthiest and freshest food a person can buy, grown in really good,
pollution-free soil. Since a subscriber appreciates the food and feels
compelled to eat it all, he or she will have improved eating habits.
Subscribers can also come to the Farm to spend time, help out, get fresh air
and exercise, and have good conversations with other people in a beautiful
setting.

Most CSA baskets start out with a small amount of food at
the beginning of the growing season and have a daunting amount mid-season.
Jason states that to avoid having everything coming in at once, he's trying to
become adept at successional planting. Also, because of growing crops for
winter storage, he's experimenting with varieties that mature at the end of the
summer and are eaten months later. The Farm also sends a newsletter with each basket
that gives tips on using the food or, if there's a large amount of something,
suggests food preservation techniques. The Farm will be building two solar food
dehydrators onsite and eventually may be delivering dried food during the
winter such as tomatoes, basil, apples and pears.

Knowing that Jason most recently came from an academic
setting and has a PhD in Biology, I asked him how it seemed to be working in
such a different way. His answer (greatly summarized here) should be
enlightening to anyone who looks on farming as necessary but mind-dulling
drudgery:

The amount of variables you need to juggle would swamp a
group of computers. You have to look ahead, figure the amount of food you're
going to need to satisfy the diet needs of people in a holistic way without
growing too much or too little. We're growing 30 different species of crops
plus different varieties. So you're dealing with the timing of planting, the
area needed. You have to adjust for the unknowns like weather and problems with
pests. You also have to build compost piles to have enough six months later. It
takes five tons of compost an acre for intensive vegetable planting. Every day
is a challenge.

At the end of the interview, Jason asked if I wanted to
see the cabbages that were stored. He dug into a huge pile that I thought was
compost but he said was from the sod they dug off the soil when they first
started the Farm. He proudly lifted out a cabbage and showed me how firm and
healthy it is below a covering of yellowed leaves.

If you are interested in becoming a 2008 member of
Brookside Farm, call Jason at 456-0760.

Unseasonably
dry weather in Kansas, Oklahoma,
and Texas
have farmers concerned about next summer’s yields. Over-winter wheat, sown in
October and November is still awaiting rain before going dormant for the
winter. Common practice is to sow grain and allow autumn rains to germinate the
seed early in hope of establishing a healthy stand before the winter freeze.
However, there are alarming reports that scant November precipitation has seed
lying in the ground un-germinated. With global grain reserves at their lowest
in half a century poor germination is sure to disappoint--likely spelling lower
yields.

A
lower yield from the U.S.
makes many nervous as current demand is outpacing yield and domestic and
international grain reserves continue to decline. When tracking the recent
spike in prices of major agricultural commodities you will find that global
demand for wheat is increasing due to the simple fact that a majority of
nations do not have surplus and must import. Drought, disasters, lack of
domestic production, and the falling value of the U.S. dollar are driving the
demand to import surplus U.S.
grain.

For
instance, Bangladesh
is intent on purchasing 500,000 tons of grain after the recent cyclone
destroyed their stockpiles and crops. Japan,
Taiwan, South Korea, India,
and Pakistan
are also looking to purchase grain this month-and it is no surprise why. These
nations have dense populations that cannot grow enough food within their own
land-base to support the nutritive and energetic demands of their citizens. These
issues are compounded by rising energy prices and shipping cost. Crude oil continues
to flirt with $100 a barrel, and there is little flexibility for importing nations
to avert paying higher prices for ocean freight.

As
this discussion revolves around global food and energy security it appears that
politicians appear focused on their own careers. The tensions between demand
and supply are increasingly influenced by climate uncertainty, advancing
population, and global petroleum dependence.

We
have an opportunity to take these issues seriously by making connections
locally to provide for ourselves in the places we live. This effort is called
Relocalization. Visit the Relocalization
Network to link with groups in your area working to address these issues
and build strong, self-reliant communities.

Also,
check Bloomberg’s report: Wheat
Rises as Drought Hurts Crops in Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma

Soybeans
Rise to 19-Year High as China Plans More Purchases

By William Bi and Madelene Pearson (Nov 15. 2007)-Bloomberg

“Soybean futures for January delivery rose as much as 3.75
cents, or 0.4 percent, to $10.8325 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the
highest since June 1988, and traded at $10.775 at 5:57 p.m. Beijing time. Most-active futures jumped 62
percent in the past year after U.S.
farmers planted the smallest acreage in 12 years to sow more corn.”

``In this market, the risks are that any problem will see
higher prices; those fears will remain as we go into 2008, as there's just too
much demand around.''

This article summarizes the current commodities market of
both soy and wheat. Each crop has seen over a 50% jump in price in recent
months as the world is pressed to expand food production and climate
uncertainty affects crops across the globe. We have seen the price of major agricultural
commodities reach record highs in 2007 due to large portions of U.S. cropland diverted
to corn and because developing countries are coping with increased demand for
better diets. Since many countries around the world find themselves unable to expand
domestic production they are forced to import agricultural commodities from the
U.S.
While global import and export is a quick short term plan to stave off starvation,
it is likely to spell trouble in the coming months and years as crude prices
reach record highs nearing the $100 a barrel, making ocean freight
transportation more expensive and thereby increasing the imbedded cost of food even
further.

Each week we offer our CSA subscribers a newsletter called
What’s Cookin’ at Brookside. These newsletters
relate the on farm events of the week and give suggestions on how to use the
produce.

Click the link below to open the newsletter.

Each week we offer our CSA subscribers a newsletter called
What’s Cookin’ at Brookside. These newsletters
relate the on farm events of the week and give suggestions on how to use the
produce.

Click the link below to open the newsletter.