CSA Day is here! Today has been deemed national CSA Day because on a national level it is the most popular day of the year to sign up for CSA shares. It's the time of year as winter starts drawing to a close but usually here in CNY is also when it rears it's bitter cold snowy head. It's also the time of year that most of the fresh produce at the markets and grocery stores are being shipped in from Florida, California and Mexico, and we start longing for that fresh snap pea, and those juicy ripe heirloom tomatoes.
We have rolled out the heat mats and started seeding our onions and transplants for spring shares, and will be diving headlong into filling the mats with seedlings for the season in the coming weeks.
Now for some serious stuff and some reasons to consider joining a CSA on National CSA day.
This mild winter has been a strange one indeed, and Climate Change comes to the forefront when abnormal weather patterns occur. Agriculture has been deemed one of the most influential factors contributing to man made climate change. Many of the factors cited however, have much more to do with our national agricultural standards, and small local food producers in our region for bear the heavy weight of proof to show there is a better way, and that we can reverse the some of the damages done. Some of the major factors in studies linking farming to climate change are greenhouse gasses- CO2 and methane, deforestation, loss of topsoil/ erosion, degrading biodiversity, antibiotic resistance, and environmental pollution from pesticide use and fertilizer run off. Our farm as well as many other organic farms in our region work very hard to reverse that trend by sequestering carbon and methane by pasturing animals and composting, by leaving natural forested areas for wildlife diversity and health, by building soils with cover crops and organic matter, and preventing runoff to our waterways, and utilizing the magnificent biology of the soils to give plant life the best defense against pests and disease without the use of harmful pesticides. And we also toil with the weeds, weeding both by hand and mechanically, mulching and cover cropping rather than using carcinogenic herbicides. Our carbon emissions are also greatly reduced by marketing as locally as possible reducing our fossil fuel use.
That's where you come in. Many of us have looked at the destructive food system in our country and have been appalled; you most likely wouldn't be here reading this if you weren't somewhat concerned. And we wonder, "what can I do?" While I have gardened most of my life (which is a great place to start) I also started going to the farmer's markets, meeting the farmers and getting to know them and their practices. (another great place to start) Now a farmer myself, having that chance to meet customers and talk gardening, policy, and get to know families, seeing kids grow up loving their fresh peas and carrots, has really put into perspective how much the local food movement has grown over the past 8 years I've been farming. But is it enough?
Many of the smaller scale sustainable/organic farmers we converse with are barely getting by or supplementing their farms with outside income. Many require public assistance to get by. (There's something inherently wrong with the fact that many of the people who grow the food we eat need food stamps to feed their own families) Some have even thrown in the towel and are shutting down. Many people have fallen in love with the trade but are saddled with enormous college debt at a young age, that starting a farm is out of the question. With more restrictions on produce growers to come into to play over the next 4 years, the increasing age of the average U.S. farmer, without the numbers in the next generation to fill their void as they retire, and the expansion of international trade, we may stand to see more farms shutting down.
Not to sound like martyrs, because we are truly just making a living doing what we love, but we really are in a David and Goliath like situation it feels sometimes. Even as more and more people are seeking out locally, sustainably raised foods, the industrial food system has been trying very hard to hold their ground, and increase policy to protect themselves. This comes in the form of the Dark Act, the right to farm laws in NY which protects CAFOS in a big way, Food Safety and Modernization Act, and TPP and of course the ever present need to feed the world (and make a filthy buck). You can click on any of these highlighted links to learn more about these legislations.
To take a closer look at the food we eat and the systems that produce it, we need to only to understand what's wrong with our national food system, but what is right with it. What can be done differently, how we can affect change?
By deciding to support a farm through a small farm CSA you help guarantee their existence and longevity. You close the loop a little tighter so that farms don't have to ship their crops out of the region. You vote with your wallet to say "this is the sort of food system I want for my family and community." without having to write your legislators, or become an activist. You can take solace in knowing that not only you're providing fresh healthy food for your family, but also helping keep that food on the plates of others by investing your food dollars in a farm and not a Wegmans or other grocery store which often pay below the cost of production to farmers when buying wholesale, and require perfect specimens, increasing instances of food wastes. You also get the adventure of trying new foods you may not have even known you liked by eating seasonally.
Today is the last day to take advantage of our CSA Day sign up special offer. Get $25 credit to be used during the growing season at our Farmer's Markets stands or on our online store when you sign up for either a small or regular Summer share. Add a little extra to your share throughout the season, or buy in bulk for preserving; use it however you decide. Take a closer look at your food, get to know your farmers and enjoy the bounty of the season with us. Our motto is "Growing for a healthy future" so let's grow together! (...and look closer at the food we eat.)
We have rolled out the heat mats and started seeding our onions and transplants for spring shares, and will be diving headlong into filling the mats with seedlings for the season in the coming weeks.
Now for some serious stuff and some reasons to consider joining a CSA on National CSA day.
This mild winter has been a strange one indeed, and Climate Change comes to the forefront when abnormal weather patterns occur. Agriculture has been deemed one of the most influential factors contributing to man made climate change. Many of the factors cited however, have much more to do with our national agricultural standards, and small local food producers in our region for bear the heavy weight of proof to show there is a better way, and that we can reverse the some of the damages done. Some of the major factors in studies linking farming to climate change are greenhouse gasses- CO2 and methane, deforestation, loss of topsoil/ erosion, degrading biodiversity, antibiotic resistance, and environmental pollution from pesticide use and fertilizer run off. Our farm as well as many other organic farms in our region work very hard to reverse that trend by sequestering carbon and methane by pasturing animals and composting, by leaving natural forested areas for wildlife diversity and health, by building soils with cover crops and organic matter, and preventing runoff to our waterways, and utilizing the magnificent biology of the soils to give plant life the best defense against pests and disease without the use of harmful pesticides. And we also toil with the weeds, weeding both by hand and mechanically, mulching and cover cropping rather than using carcinogenic herbicides. Our carbon emissions are also greatly reduced by marketing as locally as possible reducing our fossil fuel use.
That's where you come in. Many of us have looked at the destructive food system in our country and have been appalled; you most likely wouldn't be here reading this if you weren't somewhat concerned. And we wonder, "what can I do?" While I have gardened most of my life (which is a great place to start) I also started going to the farmer's markets, meeting the farmers and getting to know them and their practices. (another great place to start) Now a farmer myself, having that chance to meet customers and talk gardening, policy, and get to know families, seeing kids grow up loving their fresh peas and carrots, has really put into perspective how much the local food movement has grown over the past 8 years I've been farming. But is it enough?
Many of the smaller scale sustainable/organic farmers we converse with are barely getting by or supplementing their farms with outside income. Many require public assistance to get by. (There's something inherently wrong with the fact that many of the people who grow the food we eat need food stamps to feed their own families) Some have even thrown in the towel and are shutting down. Many people have fallen in love with the trade but are saddled with enormous college debt at a young age, that starting a farm is out of the question. With more restrictions on produce growers to come into to play over the next 4 years, the increasing age of the average U.S. farmer, without the numbers in the next generation to fill their void as they retire, and the expansion of international trade, we may stand to see more farms shutting down.
Not to sound like martyrs, because we are truly just making a living doing what we love, but we really are in a David and Goliath like situation it feels sometimes. Even as more and more people are seeking out locally, sustainably raised foods, the industrial food system has been trying very hard to hold their ground, and increase policy to protect themselves. This comes in the form of the Dark Act, the right to farm laws in NY which protects CAFOS in a big way, Food Safety and Modernization Act, and TPP and of course the ever present need to feed the world (and make a filthy buck). You can click on any of these highlighted links to learn more about these legislations.
To take a closer look at the food we eat and the systems that produce it, we need to only to understand what's wrong with our national food system, but what is right with it. What can be done differently, how we can affect change?
By deciding to support a farm through a small farm CSA you help guarantee their existence and longevity. You close the loop a little tighter so that farms don't have to ship their crops out of the region. You vote with your wallet to say "this is the sort of food system I want for my family and community." without having to write your legislators, or become an activist. You can take solace in knowing that not only you're providing fresh healthy food for your family, but also helping keep that food on the plates of others by investing your food dollars in a farm and not a Wegmans or other grocery store which often pay below the cost of production to farmers when buying wholesale, and require perfect specimens, increasing instances of food wastes. You also get the adventure of trying new foods you may not have even known you liked by eating seasonally.
Today is the last day to take advantage of our CSA Day sign up special offer. Get $25 credit to be used during the growing season at our Farmer's Markets stands or on our online store when you sign up for either a small or regular Summer share. Add a little extra to your share throughout the season, or buy in bulk for preserving; use it however you decide. Take a closer look at your food, get to know your farmers and enjoy the bounty of the season with us. Our motto is "Growing for a healthy future" so let's grow together! (...and look closer at the food we eat.)
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