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...