Newsletter

From the Farmer’s Journal – Spring ‘08

This year we begin our 4th full year of our restaurant and 26th year of the farm. During 2007 a record number of people (over 15,000) visited the farm or restaurant, and most of them either consumed or took home a sample of produce or meat that came from our land. Many also came to the farm to participate in gardening or cooking classes or with a school or university group to tour the farm and get an idea of our farming philosophy. You might think that a few hours on the farm is hardly enough time to understand how we farm, but not so. It’s simple in theory and practice… We feed our soil with lush plant matter . The rich living soil feeds our plants which feed us and our pastured animals. No fertilizer, pesticides or herbicides necessary. It is called sustainable farming, and is in sharp contrast to the factory “farms” and confined animal feeding operations (CAFO’s) that produce most of what we eat. These factories use huge quantities of petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical inputs to maximize production efficiency. The outputs from these factories are finally being recognized for what they are; food substitutes.

2007 was a year of revelation in how bad our food system has become. Record numbers of produce and meat recalls, USDA’s intention to change the long standing food nutrient tables downward, and news videos of mistreated factory farm animals all tell the same story. Perhaps most revealing is the popularity of the new best sellers such as “The Omnivore's Dilemma”.

In 2008 we will do whatever we can to support the re-birth of a local sustainable food system. We will increase the number of books in our lending library, hold more “kitchen garden” workshops and school programs on sustainable agriculture. We thank you for the support you provide for this effort by visiting our farm.

The Lego’s