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Wood
Prairie Farm Seed Piece Newsletter
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July
2006
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Special:
FREE BREAD MIX and a Salute to Family-Scale Farms
SPECIAL OFFER - Mid-Summer Special! FREE organic Breakfast Raisin Bread
Mix ($5.95 value) for all purchases over $25. Orders must be placed by
Monday, July 17 and must ship by July 27. Please refer to Code XXXXX.
* * * * *
We've had hail the size of nickels and thunderstorms that have dumped
piles of rain in minutes. Despite the un-typical summer weather for us,
the crops are growing well and the fields are now awash with potato
blossoms. Where you once heard "I'm all done." after the prolonged
spring plantings, now that the summer fields show bounty, those words
are forgotten by those who uttered them. Read how that phrase relates
to northern Maine farmers in our 'Maine Speak' section at the end of
this newsletter.
For our 'Conversations With...' section of this month's newsletter, we
speak with Don Bixby, Research and Technical Programs Manager of the
American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, an organization that works for
the conservation and promotion of endangered breeds of livestock. Read
what work the ALBC is doing now and their stand on the controversial
National Animal Identification System that is now before Congress.
We salute the work of the ALBC because here at Wood Prairie Farm we
believe in the importance of diversity and that family-scale organic
farming should be synomynous with sustainable farming; using crop
rotations, planting a diversity of crops and building organic matter in
the soil. With that in mind, read about the Wal-Mart announcement of
getting into "organics" in this month's 'Potato Bin' and how that will
have an affect on the sustainable philosophy.
To the right is a photo of a literal definition of "family-scale"
farming. Our daughter Sarah (7) helps us on the potato planter. - Jim
and Megan
CLICK HERE TO GO TO WOOD PRAIRIE FARM'S HOME PAGE
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Q&A - Hilling Potatoes
Q: I am a first time potato grower and received my Reddale and Yukon
Gold seed potatoes from your company. I am very impressed with the
quality of your potatoes and they are growing amazingly well inside
garbage can containers in my basement. I have a greenhouse set up down
there with a 1000w growing light.
My question is on hilling. As the plants grow I am adding dirt, but I
understand you are not supposed to cover the leaves. Does this refer
only to the top leaves? Most of the plants have small leaves far down
the stalk. - KC, Las Vegas, NV
A: This is a very common question. It is fine to cover a few leaves, up
to 25% of them. You want to allow the plant to photosynthesize with as
many leaves as possible. - Jim
FOR MORE SEED RELATED QUESTIONS, CLICK HERE
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The Potato Bin
*HOW DOES WAL-MART VIEW THE SUSTAINABILITY BENEFITS OF ORGANIC FARMING?
According to Bruce Peterson, head of perishable food at Wal-Mart, "this
is like any other merchandising scheme we have". In The New York Times
May 12 article, Mr. Peterson also stated his view that organic
agriculture is just another method of agriculture - "not better, not
worse". The company's intention to sell organic products for just 10
percent more than their conventional equivalent will have far-reaching
consequences. Author Michael Pollan describes those non-sustainable
consequences in an article in The New York Times Magazine June 4th. He
writes that Wal-Mart is bound to hasten the globalization of organic
food in countries such as Mexico and China or wherever in the world it
can be produced most cheaply. Mr. Pollan also writes about Wal-Mart's
intention of pricing organic food just 10% higher than conventional
food. "To do so would virtually guarantee that Wal-Mart's version of
cheap organic food is not sustainable, at least not in any meaningful
sense of that word. To index the price of organic to the price of
conventional is to give up, right from the start, on the idea, once
enshrined in the organic movement, that food should be priced not high
or low but responsibly." To read the May 12 article in full, search at
nytimes.com (requires fee for archived article viewing) or to read
Michael Pollan's article, go to
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/04/magazine/04wwln_lede.html
* * * * *
*WHEAT BREEDER RECEIVES GRANT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF WHEAT VARIETIES
You may recall reading our September 'Conversations With...' interview
with Dr. Stephen Jones, a Washington State University wheat breeder. He
has received a grant of $680,000 from the US Department of Agriculture
to develop wheat varieties in the nation's only certified organic wheat
breeding program. For the last five years, Jones and his students have
worked on crossing modern wheat varieties with 163 wheats grown in the
Pacific Northwest from the 1840's to the 1950's, a time before the
heavy use of chemicals and synthetic nitrogen fertilizers. With this
research, Jones hopes to develop varieties with good end-use qualities,
compete successfully with weeds, efficiently use nitrogen and other
nutrients in the soil, be nutritious to humans and yield well with
low-input and organic agricultural systems. Dr. Jones hopes to release
the first organic wheat varieties from his program in the next five
years.
* * * * *
*UPDATE ON POTATO CYST NEMATODE FIND IN IDAHO
Last month we reported on the discovery of two potato cyst nematode
(PCN) organisms in tare dirt samples from a field in eastern Idaho.
Since then, Canada, Mexico, Japan and South Korea have closed their
borders to US fresh potato shipments. Only two PCN specimens were found
in 10,000 soil samples collected during the past three years which
resulted in the quarantine of 500 acres. Out of those acres, more than
2,500 samples have been tested, with 19 positive samples traced to one
45 acre field since the initial discovery. Source: Potato Grower, May,
2006 and North American Potato Market News, June 14, 2006
* * * * *
*HEALTHY EATING = HEALTHY ECONOMY
A new report from the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture
addresses the economic impact of people in the State of Iowa eating
five servings of fruit and vegetables every day - with 25% percent of
those fruits and vegetables being Iowa-grown. The potential result? An
additional $302 million in sales and more than 4,000 jobs added to the
Iowa economy. One of the reasons the impact on the state would be high
is because much of the produce currently eaten in Iowa comes from
outside the state. For a full report, go to
www.leopold.iastate.edu/pubs/staff/files/health_0606.pdf
* * * * *
*WHEN IN WASHINGTON DC DINE AT AGRARIA RESTAURANT
Innovative members of the North Dakota Farmers Union recently opened an
upscale restaurant in Washington Harbor. With 90% of the restaurant's
investors farmers from North Dakota and beyond, Agraria has cut out the
middleman and will source its ingredients directly from family farmers
in 25 states. The NFU hopes to fulfill two objectives with this
project: boost farmer profits and subtly educate diners about the lives
of family farmers and ranchers.
* * * * *
*WOOD PRAIRIE FARM TOUR AND SWIM
Traveling in Maine this weekend? For those of you wanting to experience
a northern Maine summer afternoon, come join us for the annual Wood
Prairie Farm Tour Day July 16, 2006. Starting at 2:30pm, we'll have a
hayride tour of our farm with a Slow Food potluck and swimming in the
pond after.
CLICK HERE FOR THE WOOD PRAIRIE FARM WEBSITE
The
Potato Bin
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Recipe: Field-Baked Potatoes
On our last day of planting potatoes we had the boys build a fire in
the field and bake some potatoes for our lunch. They had a lot of fun
doing it and it worked great. For those of you feeling adventurous,
here's how we did it.
1 medium-sized potato, good for baking
mud
wood for fire
butter
Build a small fire. Cover the potato in mud 1/2 inch thick and place
"mudball" in wood fire. Cook for approximately 45 minutes to one hour
(the time it took us to make a round trip on the potato planter). Brush
off mud, slice open the potato, add some butter and enjoy!
FOR MORE RECIPES, CLICK HERE
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Conversations With... Don Bixby
Don Bixby is Research and Technical Programs Manager at the American
Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) in Pittsboro, North Carolina, and
was formerly Executive Director for 14 years. He received a B.S. and
D.V.M. from Michigan State University. He has been involved in breed
conservation and livestock and poultry genetic conservation for over 20
years. Bixby organized the first North American rare breeds show and
sale in 1986 and went on to develop of the first national gene bank for
rare breeds of livestock. He represented ALBC as a founding member of
Rare Breeds International and has collaborated with other international
conservation groups with first-hand experience in South Africa, Brazil,
Hungary, The Czech Republic, Switzerland, Germany, and the United
Kingdom.
Wood Prairie Farm: The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC)
protects domestic animals in opposite ways than when a person thinks of
a wild endangered animal being protected under federal law. Can you
explain? How does this fit into the ALBC mission?
Don Bixby: While federal law does not regulate breed conservation, it
is very similar to wildlife conservation in that restoration of habitat
is essential to conservation of both domestic and wild creatures. Most
people do not think of a farm as a habitat because farming has been
changed from a biological system to an industrial system, with the
animals being mere cogs in the wheel instead of partners for survival.
The mission of ALBC is the conservation and promotion of endangered
breeds of livestock. Communication and transportation advances have
posed a threat to breeds and their integrity. This threat has usually
arrived from a gradual homogenization of regional and international
cultures so that unique products and the animals that provide them are
much less valued than once they were. Consolidation of the production
and marketing of agricultural products dictates that producers must
follow the mandates of this consolidation to be successful.
Globalization is the final stage of this process, and if unchecked can
result in a severe diminishment of breeds globally for the production
of unique, satisfying, healthy, and interesting local products.
Increasingly the cultural environment for breeds has also changed.
Breeds which were once valued as essential ingredients to local and
regional agricultural production and cultural identity have become
trivialized as lifestyle endeavors for those wealthy enough to indulge
themselves in this activity. Breeds, while saved, have moved from
essential partners in production to a nonessential pet or hobby status.
This cultural shift changes the selection environment, and can only
result in genetic changes as well. Breed genetics can easily drift, so
selection within the traditional production environment is necessary to
maintain the characteristics of the breed.
The future is looking brighter, however, as both producers and
consumers are realizing that a sustainable and local agricultural
system has great advantages for people, animals and the environment.
The growth of this view of agriculture will help to provide traditional
breeds a secure future as the connection of breed, place, and
production system becomes recognized and appreciated by larger numbers
of people. The Renewing America¹s Food Traditions (RAFT)
collaboration, explained more fully below, is evidence of this
realization.
WPF: The ALBC collaborates with many other organizations in the
promotion of rare and endangered livestock breeds such as Renewing
America's Food Traditions (RAFT), Slow Food USA, and the Chef's
Collaborative. In 2006, how important are these collaborations and how
has the work of the ALBC benefited from such partners?
DB: It is important to remember that generations of breeders have given
us the breeds that we enjoy and use today. The future hope of breeds
and their conservation lies with breeders as stewards. While ALBC works
directly with farmers, ALBC has always tried to be a collaborative
organization, understanding that breed conservation will not be
successful as a centralized endeavor. ALBC works with over 200 breed
associations, species groups such as American Poultry Association
(APA), Society for the Preservation of Poultry Antiquities (SPPA), and
American Rabbit Breeders Association (ARBA), hatcheries, a host of
sustainable agriculture groups such as American Grassfed Association
(AGA), education programs at zoos, nature centers, and historic sites,
animal welfare programs, and environmental advocates.
The understanding of endangered breeds as important players in the
production of sustainable food has been a great boost to breed
conservation. The original ALBC collaboration with Slow Food in
heritage turkey promotion has snatched nearly all of the turkey
varieties back from the brink of extinction. When ALBC conducted a
turkey census in 2000, there were fewer that 1,400 breeder birds of all
Standard varieties combined. A current census indicates that there are
now over 8,000 breeder birds. Renewing America's Food Traditions (RAFT)
is a collaboration of seven non-profit agencies including ALBC, Seed
Savers Exchange, Native Seed/SEARCH, Slow Food USA, Chefs
Collaborative, The Cultural Conservancy, and the Center for Sustainable
Environment at Northern Arizona University. www.slowfoodusa.org/raft
These organizations have recognized the commonalities of their missions
and the integral roles of farmers, ranchers, livestock breeds, chefs,
and people who care about what they eat and how it is raised.
WPF: When building your conservation lists, who do you work with to
determine what heritage breeds to promote? Do you work directly with
farmers around the country to re-establish those breeds?
DB: The ALBC Conservation Priority List is a dynamic report published
annually to focus conservation attention on the most endangered breeds
and to highlight conservation successes (or failures). This is a
working document for ALBC and for all who care about breed
conservation. ALBC continually collects population data throughout the
year. These data come from breed registries, hatchery reports, ALBC
census work, and individual breeders.
ALBC outreach is directed to current and future breed stewards.
Characterizing breeds and helping to find an appropriate production
niche and market (restoring the habitat) is part of effective
conservation. In addition to unique animal products from rare breeds,
ALBC also promotes animal services, (such as pest control, grassland
management, recreation, wildfire fuel management, among others), the
traditional advantages of multi-species grazing and the integration of
livestock and poultry into other on-farm endeavors.
WPF: What is the ALBC's stand on the National Animal Identification
System (NAIS)? How do you see this affecting those family-scale farmers
who depend on raising a diverse livestock?
DB: The ALBC has accepted the invitation from the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and others to provide input on the proposed National Animal
Identification System (NAIS).
Many of our country¹s rare breeds of livestock and poultry are
stewarded and maintained on small, independent farms and ranches.
Onerous or cumbersome regulations, policies or procedures will
discourage a significant number of those farmers and ranchers from
breeding or raising such animals. The NAIS program, therefore, could
have serious, unintended, and unanticipated effects on the diversity
and long-term viability of our nation¹s livestock industry.
ALBC appreciates that some benefits can accrue from the development of
a carefully considered national system of animal identification.
However, as the leading national organization concerned with the
conservation of our nation¹s endangered livestock and poultry,
we
urge all NAIS decision and policy makers to be aware of the importance
of conserving our national livestock genetic legacy and to be mindful
that regulations and procedures designed specifically for agribusiness
and large-scale production systems may have a disproportionate impact
on those currently maintaining these genetic resources.
Policies, procedures, and regulations that inappropriately or
unnecessarily discourage farmers and ranchers from considering or
continuing to steward rare and threatened breeds could lead to the
extinction or functional loss of the genetic resource these animals
represent. Such a loss would diminish our country¹s genetic
legacy, significantly reduce the capacity of present and future animal
breeders to respond to new challenges and opportunities, and
potentially compromise our nation¹s food security.
The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy did not rush to judgment on
the National Animal Identification System. Instead, ALBC followed
established policy governing the taking of a public position on federal
legislation of national significance that called for extensive research
and analysis of the facts related to the proposed legislation and its
draft implementation plan and the meeting of two key tests of merit:
1. The proposed legislation will have a substantial impact on ALBC's
ability to accomplish its mission, and
2. ALBC's participation in the legislative process will make a
difference in the outcome.
WPF: Lastly, since its inception in 1977, what has surprised you most
in your work with the ALBC?
DB: I have only been involved with ALBC and breed conservation since
1983, but the issues of genetic diversity and breed conservation are
quite different today. In the early days, breed conservation was
dismissed as mere nostalgia. After all, was the agriculture industry in
the U.S. the model of efficiencies and low cost that the entire world
envied? In the intervening years some of the costs of that efficiency
have become more evident:
1. Environmental degradation of farmland, ground water, and lakes
rivers and streams - even a dead spot in the Gulf of Mexico
2. Social issues related to decreasing numbers of farmers, decline in
rural services, agricultural workers health and well being, animal
welfare
3. Economic issues forcing farmers off the land in favor of
consolidated agribusiness
4. Health issues related to antibiotic resistant organisms, genetically
modified foods, growth promoting chemicals, and declining levels of
nutrition in industrial food
5. The loss of genetic diversity within breeds (leading to health and
production issues) and among breeds leading to breed extinction.
Today the issues of genetic diversity and breed conservation are widely
recognized as crucial to the health of our society. While ALBC has been
the pioneer organization in breed conservation since 1977, there are
now increasing partners in efforts to remedy the loss of this critical
resource.
For more information on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy,
click here
Conversations
PARTING WORDS: MAINE SPEAK - I'm All Done
Often heard late in the day with a tone of exasperation
I'm All Done: When the subject is "I'm done" it means "I quit"
Example 1. "I've had just about all the fun I can stand. Much more of
this and I'll be getting done."
Translation: "I've had enough and I'm ready to quit."
Example 2. "Guess this is my 60th crop of potatoes. I'm gonna git done."
Translation: "Won't be long before I quit."
Please be sure to include Wood Prairie Farm to your contact list of
people to accept email from to ensure that our newsletters reach you.
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send us an email with "unsubscribe" on the subject line.
(c) Jim and Megan Gerritsen, Wood Prairie Farm, 49 Kinney Road,
Bridgewater, Maine 04735
ORDER TOLL FREE 1-800-829-9765
24 Hours a Day / 7 Days a Week
www.woodprairie.com or CLICK HERE TO ORDER ONLINE
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