Food System

According to the National Farmers Union, farmers and ranchers receive only 14.6 cents of every dollar consumers spend on food in the US. The rest of that dollar goes to marketing, processing, wholesaling, distribution and retailing. With so little money going back to the farmer, they have to produce more and more to make a living. So instead of producing a hundred pigs in a year they are producing 10,000. This also contributes to why only 2% of the population are farmers and why one farmer can feed 155 people. It's out of necessity. They have to produce a lot to stay in business.

With that knowledge, I knew we wouldn't be able to survive farming the conventional way. We couldn't afford the infrastructure and being at the mercy of the markets. Our farm business model is based on personal food production. We know we can't compete with the efficiency of the corporation farm models. However, we can compete at being effective. We are the marketers, retailers, and distributors.

Our farm has been the home for our black and white pigs for about a month. Six of them are rooting up grass while dodging rain and snow in their movable pig tractor. The runt of the litter is all white with a black head. Her little body and happy wagging tail remind me of my late rat terrier, Annie. So much so, that I named her Annie. I know that Annie is destined for the dinner table. She will feed many families. I have always explained to our four kids that we treat them the best that we can and in return they gift us with their meat.

Raising our kids to have that kind of relationship with the food system has always been a goal, so it breaks my heart to see the global food system broken. Milk being dumped because the DFA doesn't have any businesses to take it. Vegetables being plowed under for the same reason. Hundreds of pigs being euthanized because processors are shutting down. This problem comes from relying on the “King” corporations for our food. The food system relies so heavily on 5 main corporations that when one aspect of a corporation fails, it's devastating. This will trickle down and impact every town in America. Many people are quick to condemn the farmer for not finding other ways to market their commodity. We have even gotten questions about why farmers can't just hold the pigs until they can be processed. The world sees it as so much waste when people are starving. Not many people are thinking about the farmer. That farmer that has to dump his hard work down the drain. That farmer that has to spend more time and money destroying what he spent months nurturing. That farmer that has to kill an animal that would have fed people. These farmers are controlled by the corporations which are dictating the market right now in response to the pandemic. These corporations that are so big, that if even one of them has a hiccup, it will affect the entire food system.

In the last six weeks, our farm has seen increased sales in our meat products. Most businesses that sell farm products direct to consumers has experienced growth. I feel like consumers are finally seeing more clearly how their food gets to their table, and it's not the green pastures they thought it was. I want consumers to stop turning a blind eye to the food system. I want all consumers to be completely aware of how that food got to their table. I also want consumers to find local farmers and purchase their food from them. Farmer's markets are opening up in the next week, at least here in Iowa. I can't tell you what a difference buying local will do for the community. Keep your money local.

As always, stay safe and healthy. 

Homesteading

A friend of mine asked me what homesteading was. I was a little shocked that she was unfamiliar with the term, especially now. I gave her my definition, which is being self sufficient. A person working towards self sufficiency grows their own food and makes their own things. This could be done anywhere.

During this historical time of the pandemic, I have busied myself more intensely with homesteading. Being self sufficient has always been a goal for us, now the lifestyle has sucked me in completely.

These are our homesteading adventures during this time:

Homeschooling: One Sunday night, the governor announced her recommendation for schools to be postponed for at least 4 weeks. The following Monday morning, I had a schedule for my first and second graders that coincided with my schedule that was already in place for my preschooler and 2 year old. I know that I thrive in schedules and so do my kids. That was something that I could control when everything else felt uncertain. School is also something that gives me comfort, so it seemed natural to homeschool.

Bread Making: I have a bread machine where I can dump all the ingredients in. That is my kind of bread making. My husband also introduced me to beer bread. It's quick and we like to experiment with adding things to it like cheese.

Soap Making: With so many pigs being processed, we have a lot of lard. I tried using lard for pie crusts and cooking, but I still couldn't go through a 5lb block. When I tried soap, it was a great experience. It just takes lard, lye, and water. I add lavender essential oil to make it smell nice. Now it's all the soap we use.

Gardening: I love to grow things. Planting a seed is the ultimate hopeful act. A seed is a baby plant waiting to be born and grow up. I have been planting my garden by covering the raised beds with corrugated plastic sheets. With the soil temperature warm enough, I plant the seeds. I will keep the beds covered until May 5 which is roughly the last day of frost. I have also been planting in the greenhouse. We just harvested our microgreens, which can easily be grown in a south facing window in the house.

Chicken Wrangling: The laying hens wander around our farm. I like to train them with kitchen scraps. Really, I like to carry a bucket around the yard and have them follow me. The broilers, meat chickens, are still in the brooder that is in the corner of the greenhouse. We have their chicken tractor next to the greenhouse waiting for them. I'm tracking the weather to decide when they will move.

Fences and Tractors: We have been reconfiguring our layout of the pig's and chicken's pasture to make better use of our land. So the permanent pens that we inherited will be made into our sweet corn patch while the pig and chicken tractors are improved.

Hoarding vs Larder: I grew up with my parents preserving food through canning or freezing. Their larder was usually full. Our larder isn't full; however, we are still enjoying our homemade applesauce, crushed tomatoes, salsa, bone broth, and maple syrup from 2019. I despise going to the grocery store, which has given me motivation to preserve our own food. Now that the rhubarb is starting to pop, I'm researching jam recipes.

Being a homesteader is a passion for my husband and I. We love this lifestyle. I think the world needs more homesteading.

I hope this finds you all safe and healthy.