Back to Basics Conference

Today I went to a day-long conference organized by Happy Dancing Turtle called "Back to Basics for the Next 7 Generations." It was held in Pine River, MN -- about a two and a half hour drive from my home in Fergus Falls. It was well worth the trip.

Winona LaDuke was the featured keynote speaker. She gave approximately the same talk she gave to my Sociology of Agriculture class last week, but it was much more dramatic and touching the second time around. She emphasized the importance of food sovereignty -- the right to grow one's own food in a sustainable, ecologically and socially responsible way. She also underscored the value of "plugging the leaks" in our economy and resource usage, by reducing waste, keeping money local (i.e. patronizing local businesses), and decreasing our reliance on "job growth" by increasing our abilities to meet our own needs on a local, community level. Finally, she reminded us that a nation's GDP has no correlation to its citizens' happiness or well-being. "What can be measured doesn't count, and what counts can't be measured."

I attended sessions on how to make hooked rugs, how to grow mushrooms, how to raise animals for food, and how to leverage the medicinal value of herbs. All were fabulous, but the one that was most significant for me today was the session on raising animals for food.

I have been struggling with trying to decide what type of farm enterprises I'd like to have -- once I've graduated from the program and gained a little experience. We're supposed to be writing a business plan in my Farm Management class, and when writing a business plan, it's helpful to have particular products in mind. Well, deciding what to produce on a farm is not easy! I've been researching everything from cashmere goats to meat rabbits to wine to cider to grass-fed beef to bees and berries. It gets overwhelming. There are so many options!

The session on raising animals for food was very helpful in helping me refine my vision. I learned that chickens and turkeys tend to die easily, and that ducks are much easier to raise. I learned that yaks drink much less water than cattle, need less space, and tend to have good personalities. I also learned that rabbits are the most efficient converters of vegetation to meat. But the main value of the session was that the obvious finally started to sink in: don't raise animals you don't like, and don't grow food you don't like, regardless of the potential for economic profit.

I had been considering pastured broilers, because the demand for chicken is very high and the profit margin is decent. But I don't like broilers -- either as animals on a farm or as food on my plate. So scratch that.

What I always thought I would never want to do -- grow vegetables -- is now looking like a really good option. I like to eat vegetables, and growing them would reduce my produce bill. Also, I could use ducks to weed and add fertility, and I could raise some Angora rabbits on grass and unmarketable produce. Add some Shiitake mushrooms on oak logs, and it turns into a pretty viable operation for me.

So I have my first realistic vision: a veggie farm with ducks, rabbits, and mushrooms. Now if I could just have Cashmere goats as draft animals to do the tillage...

Grazing Cattle

Today in my grass-based livestock class, we learned how to calculate the size of paddocks for specific herds. We also watched videos of cattle in different grazing situations.

I realized just how much I've learned this year when I could identify Jerseys and Holsteins in the herd. These are common, easily-identifiable breeds to be sure -- no farmer would be impressed that I could identify them. But for a city girl who one year ago didn't know what a heifer was, I think it's an accomplishment.

It's amazing to me how much knowledge I've gained in the Sustainable Food Production program -- knowledge that many rural folks take for granted and that most city dwellers don't know exists.

For example, figuring out how to feed cattle (in a grass-based system) is tremendously complex. If they are being rotationally grazed, you have to factor in the weight of the cattle, their nutritional requirements ("dry cows" don't have as many needs as lactating cows), the forage species on your pastures, and the state of growth of your pasture's species.

A herd of 25 stocker calves, we figured out, might need about 2/3 of an acre of pasture per day in June, while in August, they might need two times that amount of space, depending on how tall the grass is.

In addition, before you can "re-graze" a paddock, you have to allow for adequate rest. How long of a rest period is needed? Well, that depends on the species you have, the time of year, the weather, the health of your soil, etc.

Calculating how much pasture a herd of cattle need (and where to put up the temporary fences) reminded me of math problems on the GRE and SAT. (Good math skills are critical for a grass-based livestock farmer!) I can't imagine doing these types of calculations every day, not knowing what the variables will be tomorrow or next week.

Take-home lesson: managing a herd of cattle on pasture is far more difficult than most people can imagine. Now I understand why the farmers we've visited said it takes about 3-5 years to learn how to graze successfully!