I Heart Farms

A Visit to Las Lomas: TLC Ranch and Serrano Organic Farm

I heart strawberries. But most of all, I heart golden raspberries. I found both, and more, at beautiful little Serrano Organic Farm, on a recent visit with Rebecca Thisthlethwaite, my friend who blogs at HonestMeat.com.

I'm trying out a new (to me) technology using PictoBrowser, since I had 24 photos of the visit and not nearly that much verbiage. But to see if it works, I have to publish this first, and then edit afterwards. You can see the photos at my Flickr set here, if it doesn't work.

[Note: it does show up, but the actual photos are cropped: you can see them full size at the Flickr set, if you prefer.)

Time's Running Out: Raw Milk ACTION ALERT!

SHORT AND TO THE POINT:

Make 17 phone calls to save raw milk in California, please.

LINK.

These are some of Jean and Bob's cows out in Watsonville at the very beautiful Deep Roots Ranch.

Whole Lotta Somethin' Goin' On

 These Orange-Red apricots are delicious, and beautiful, and Farmer Al at Frog Hollow Farm was kind enough to give me a couple to bring home from the Santa Cruz farmers market yesterday. Drippy almost down the chin, they were.

Orange-Red: today's theme, in a certain way. At least the theme of the hot and smoky afternoon in Santa Cruz, where yesterday I ventured from the vast distance of six miles away. Thirteen if you count the trip to the Community on the Hill, as UCSC is known: that is where I went to retrieve my beautiful daughter for a visit to the market.

How to Spend a Perfect Birthday

A call for help from outgoing president of the Board of Directors for the Friends of the UCSC Farm & Garden, Jeffrey Caspary, come to my in-box last week. He needed people on Wednesday to help cook for the class of student apprentices that had arrived in late April at the farm. So I thought, "That can't be a bad way to spend part of my birthday."

I had promised a 2:00-6:00 shift, but when I checked in yesterday at 11:00 in the morning, I found that I was needed sooner than later. So I loaded up my Indian spices, my new mortar and pestle*, and several ingredients of promise, into the car, and arrived at the farm at noon.

Walking to the kitchen was a joy: a hillside of bright orange California poppies were blooming under fruit trees, surrounded by tall red clover, also in bloom. (No pictures except one, below: I was too busy and time was tight.)

"Many hands, light work." Is that a Shaker or a Quaker saying? I don't know, but it's one of my favorites, and Jeffrey himself said it as we started to shell some of the seventeen thousand pounds of fava beans he ambitiously had blanched. He then busied himself with other tasks as Edna, also on the board, tried to master the art of shelling favas. She admitted defeat early on, saying, "Never has a vegetable gotten the best of me so quickly," which left me to shell them for the next two hours, until my neck and shoulders could take no more.

* Both Jeffrey and Edna wanted to order one after working with this wonderful kitchen tool.

Love Apple Farm: Seedling Sale & Joy, Joy, Joy; Plus "Your Comments"

Pictured here: hundreds of tomato seedlings at Love Apple Farm.

I used to write about my girlfriend, "The Tomato Curator" (as I think of  her), Cynthia Sandberg, and her beautiful Love Apple Farm in the Santa Cruz Mountains. That was before I introduced her to Manresa restaurant (matchmaker!), and she forged a partnership with the chef, David Kinch, turning her once-organic farm into a biodynamic enterprise. And then Cynthia entered the stratosphere of celebrity—if farmers can be celebrities, that is. (I wish more of them were, instead of the lot of  anorexic, plastic headcases that are plastered all over the internet. I keep saying: "Farms Are the New Black." Maybe I should make a bumpersticker.)

Now the people writing about Cynthia's beautiful little Eden are big media and publicists, as the farm provides Manresa with the most exquisite vegetables that human care and love can produce. People all over the world are becoming aware of biodynamic farming, and it helps that Cynthia makes it look so darned pretty, and that Chef David Kinch is so respected. (Is there a stronger word than "respected," when it comes to talent and genius? I dunno.)

But outside of that lofty realm, mere mortals like myself can avail themselves of a touch of Cynthia's magic by attending the wildly popular tomato seedling sales at the farm.

Free Milk!! (Seriously: Come to Sacramento to FREE RAW MILK, and receive free, raw milk!)

An update on Wednesday's rally in Sacramento: I am publishing this that I received from Jean Harrah at Deep Roots Ranch. It contains more information about the rally on Wednesday at our state capitol, in support of raw milk.

RAW MILK GETS ITS DAY

Assembly Woman Nicole Parra announces Ag Committee hearings on AB 1735 raw milk issue.

You must attend! Raw milk needs every one of you!

ASSEMBLY HEARING FOR EMERGENCY AG. BILL TO BE HELD WED. JAN 16. AT STATE CAPITOL

Raw Milk Supporters Urged to Attend and Speak Out

Congratulations to all of our customers and supporters! Your hard work writing letters and making calls has paid off! NOW IS THE OPPORTUNITY OF YOUR LIFETIME TO PROTECT RAW MILK IN CALIFORNIA. There is a meeting by the Assembly Agriculture Committee on Wednesday, January 16th. The Committee is currently scheduled to hear three bills. Pending approval by the State Assembly on Monday, a fourth bill will be added to this list. This bill will propose technical corrections to AB1735, which took effect on January 1st. If these corrections become law, our raw milk will continue to be available.

IT IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL THAT YOU BE THERE! We need the impact of a multitude upon these legislators, who will be hearing our side of the story for the first time. This is the most important thing you will do to insure your supply of raw milk for the future. Do whatever is necessary to be there. Take off work, school, reschedule appointments, make it a field trip for your kids.

You will be making history. Otherwise, raw milk may be history.

WHERE: California State Capitol Bldg. Room 4202

WHEN: WED. JAN 16, 2008 - 12 Noon - Meeting begins at 1:30

WHAT TO BRING: Your infants, toddlers, tweens and teens: healthy children speak volumes! Letters you've written over the course of our campaign. (Bring copies to leave there.) A 30-second testimonial -  How Raw Milk has Changed My Life Your favorite raw milk t shirt (available for sale on site - $10)

NOTE: For security reasons, do not bring anything you would not bring on an airplane. We will provide banners and signs for you.

YOU WILL RECEIVE: Free quarts of Organic Pastures raw milk
"I Love Raw Milk" buttons to signal your support
Security-cleared rally signs
Satisfaction in mobilizing with the California "living foods" community!

OTHER PREPARATION: Before the hearing - Call the office of each member of the California State Assembly Committee on Agriculture and express key message points. Go to http://www.organicpastures.com/ag-assembly-info.htm for information on making calls

PLEASE RSVP at [email protected] if you plan to attend.

REMEMBER TO CALL EACH ASSEMBLY MEMBER PRIOR TO THE HEARING. Go to http://www.organicpastures.com/ag-assembly-info.htm  for contact info and message points.

• • • • • • • • • • •

If you are interested in carpooling from the Santa Cruz area, please contact me [tanabutler at gmail.com] and I will pass your name along to a group who's going.

Thanks!

Raw Milk Imperiled: California and New York

Pictured here: one of the sweet Jersey cows at Claravale Farm, one of California's two raw milk dairies.

CALIFORNIA
Others have written eloquent and informed pieces about AB (Agricultural Bill) 1735, a sneaky "Trojan horse" piece of legislation as has ever been passed. Amanda Rose wrote about it back in October at The Ethicurean. She says, "Coliform bacteria are a mixed lot. Some are beneficial, some are pathogenic. This legislation makes no distinction between the two." [Emphasis mine.]

And:

"Raw milk has coliforms. That is simply its nature. That is why it sours in my refrigerator. The beneficial strains of coliforms, the other beneficial bacteria, and the immunoglobulins are why I pay more for raw milk.

"I know that folks at the statehouse think I’m crazy and uninformed. They visit dairies regularly and know that it is increasingly common to find E. coli 0157:H7 in their cows. I am playing “Russian roulette,” they claim.

"But there is something that humans and cows have in common. When we are living on a diet that God intended for us, our intestines are less likely to be a breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria. When our gut is full of beneficial bacteria, it can fight back when we come into contact with pathogenic bacteria."

(I recommend reading the whole piece, which is intelligent and sensible, something you won't likely find inside Governor Schwarzeneger's office walls.)

There is also David Gumpert's piece at TheCompletePatient.com: "The reality, though, is that it is difficult to educate people about the true nature of coliform bacteria at varying levels. It’s also difficult to change legislation immediately after it's been passed. It’s especially difficult if the legislation was put into effect to accomplish a very serious long-term goal—namely, to deprive as many Americans as possible of the opportunity to obtain raw milk."

I have little more to add to the outcry beyond what I have already said here, but would like to direct your attention to something VERY IMPORTANT: Bonnie Powell, aka "Dairy Queen" at The Ethicurean, and deputy editor of Edible San Francisco, got a call from Collette Cassidy at Claravale Farm (one of the only raw dairies in California), alerting everyone to attend a rally on Wednesday in Sacramento. Assemblywoman Nicole Parra will hold a hearing on AB 1735, and your attendance could make a difference. Read Bonnie's talking points, please.

And if you can carpool and get to Sacramento, you might be part of making history. Failure to overturn this bill will effectively kill raw milk in California.

NEW YORK
Michael Ruhlman alerted me to Meadowsweet Farm in Lodi, New York, about an hour and a half southeast of Rochester. Meadowsweet Farm, owned by Steve and Barbara Smith, no longer sells raw milk products to the public, but to members of its LLC, a form of community supported agriculture that allows them to bypass the bureaucracy and mindless, uninformed restrictions that the state of New York would impose on them if they were doing business with the public.

The Smiths write: "Since March 2007, the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets has been trying to pressure us and Meadowsweet Dairy LLC out of business. For example, they have conducted numerous inspections, seized products, ordered the destruction of 260 pounds of raw dairy products, attempted to search our house, issued letters threatening fines and penalties, and have now issued an order requiring us and Meadowsweet Dairy LLC to show cause why the Department of Agriculture and Markets should not shut down the operation and levy fines. That show-cause order is now set for a hearing and a show down looms over whether the State’s police power extends to a group of private citizens who produce and consume their own food of their own choice."

There are two hearings coming up, and the Smiths would love your attendance at those:

January 17, 11 AM
Department of Agriculture and Markets
10B Airline Drive
Albany, NY
(Right next to the airport)

January 22, 1:30 PM
Seneca County Court
48 West Williams Street
Waterloo, NY

Please go to the link above and read what they have to say.

• • • • • • • • • • •

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "Never confuse movement with action." — Ernest Hemingway

I am really really really busy with work, and the weather's been horrid...but it's getting better and I hope to get out to a real farm real soon.

 

Thanks for visiting. Go rattle some bars in a government office: it'll feel good.

Not a Delicious Treat: Homeless Garden Project Twice an Arson Target

Pictured here, a Christmas fairy, which is the creation of a young woman named Roisin, a ten-year-old artist living in Pescadero. Roisin's Christmas fairies were the hit of the holiday fair at Harley Farms Goat Dairy: she sold every last one of her unique creations. I'm the happy owner of one myself: it's on our Christmas tree with a blue lightbulb up its skirt.

I'm going to take a break from the Delicious Treats student memoirs to bring a bit of news about the Santa Cruz Homeless Garden Project. Being a coastal city with a mild climated, Santa Cruz has a fairly large homeless population. In 1990, the Citizens Committee for the Homeless here in Santa Cruz started a small quarter-acre garden on the west side of town, providing "job-training and meaningful work in a therapeutic environment." (That's from their website.) It's a fine, fine organization which has changed the lives of many people—both homeless people who received the benefit of the education and work, as well as the myriad volunteers, staff, and now the families who are the recipients of the weekly CSA baskets.

I was reading the Santa Cruz Sentinel (affectionately or irritatedly called "The Senile" in these parts) last week and read with a sinking heart that the Homeless Garden Project has twice been the victim of arson. The fires, lit exactly one month apart, destroyed a storage shed containing all their hand tools and most of their seed, and on Sunday night, their kitchen.

Every Tuesday through Friday, the kitchen provided two hot meals for anyone who volunteered or worked that day: imagine its destruction. I am horrified, especially because the implication is that the fires were deliberate, targeted, and filled with malice. At Christmas time.

To make a long story short, I donated five boxes (250) of my farmers market calendars to their store in Depot Park, over near the Boardwalk. If you are in the area and want to make a difference, and get a beautiful calendar (or beeswax candles, preserves, knitted goods, or dozens of other items—very high quality stuff), please visit the Homeless Garden Project store as soon as you can. They're organic, and they're committed to providing the best service and products possible to our community.

Thanks for caring. (And for the record, I won't receive any tax benefit from the donation, as I'm self-employed. I had too many calendars as it was.)

That's all for now: I'll return tomorrow with another memoir from "The Meaning of Food" writing class.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: "Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be." — Clementine Paddleford

Thanks for visiting. And thanks for visiting the Homeless Garden Project's store, located near Depot Park. I'd call them for directions, as it's easier than trying to find it on a map:  831.426.3609.

Treats

Pictured here, Route One Farm's basket of winter squash, taken yesterday at the bongo-banging market on an otherwise lovely wintry day.

Also, these beautiful painting-like red leaf lettuce, grown by Joe Schirmer of Dirty Girl Produce. (Don't you think it should be "Dirty Girls Produce"? Without the possessive apostrophe, of course: "produce" being a verb.)

It's really good to see Joe back at the market, in a new spot on the first row.

Freewheelin' Farm's Fall Art Show: Saturday, November 4

Pictured here, some of the lovely sculpture of Cate Shelly, who is the partner of Ronald Donkervoort of Windmill Farms here in Santa Cruz. Cate is part of a group of artists who'll combine their talents at a Fall Art Show tomorrow up at Freewheelin' Farm, just a few miles up the coast from the west side farmers market.

This is Cate: ain't she great?

This little piece is my favorite, but I never had a chance to buy it. It reminds me of Jem and Scout Finch.

So the art show is tomorrow from 1:0-6:00 PM.

From the E-Vite: