F.A. Farm

As I write this, crude oil is up over $117 a barrel and the stock market is reeling. Gas pump prices are approaching $4.00 a gallon and people are clearly worried. Although the Libyan crisis is driving the short-term price swings, there is a fundamental problem in world markets, unnoticed by most media. This problem is the coming downturn in the supply of cereal grains.

Flooding in Australia, drought in China, drought last year in Russia, reneging on export contracts by Russia and India, political pressure to reduce exports in Argentina, diversion of corn to ethanol in the US, poor harvests elsewhere in the world and the overall lack of sufficient grain reserves, all contribute to a vexing scenario. Sometime this summer, it is likely we will be seeing some gaps in supermarket shelves right here in the US. Although there will still be food, it will become more and more expensive, so people will have to actually think about eating local. Up to now, eating local has been more about "cachet" than an urgent driver in householder economics. That is likely to change dramatically, as rising transportation costs drive up the price of food in the supermarket. Here is a sample of what the informed consumer can eat locally, right here in NW Washington state and right now at the end of winter - typically the time of fewer sources of fresh local food.

Let's take a tour of our house and I will list the choices I have to eat today, sorted by the major food groups of fruit, vegetables, grain & beans, and animal products. Unless noted otherwise, these were all grown and processed by either Toni or I.

FRUIT:
1)Apples - our Spartans are a little soft but quite good after storage in a refrigerator bin for the last 3 months and stored in the cellar for 2 months before that – up until Christmas we also had Jonagolds and Golden Delicious
2) Frozenblueberries,strawberries,raspberriesandblackberries - the blueberries and strawberries I bought locally and then froze
3) Dried prunes, apples and pears - some apples from previous years
4) Canned pears and prunes
5) Gooseberry, currant and medlar preserves

VEGETABLES in storage:
1) Onions, garlic and shallots
2) Potatoes
3) Sunchokes
4) Squash, including Delicatas
5) Pumpkins
6) Celery
7) Canned tomatoes and chutney
8) Pickled beets and peppers
9) Beets in a refrigerator from last fall
10) Sauerkraut in a refrigerator from last fall (non-pasteurized to preserve the raw enzymes)
11) Frozen broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, green beans, leek tops (for soup), squash and pumpkin
12) Peppers dried and frozen

Vegetables stored in the field:
1) Potatoes – just about done now
2) Beets
3) Carrots
4) Leeks
5) Shallots
6) Parsnips
7) Kale – good nearly all winter
8) Chard – freezes out in December but will come back from the roots this month

Grains and dry beans:
1) Wheat – both spring and winter wheat
2) Barley
3) Spelt
4) Kidney, cannelini, navy and other dry beans
5) Favas
6) Bread in freezer made from our own grain

Animal products:
1) Beef in freezer bought by the quarter from a local farmer
2) Milk – bought at the supermarket but available locally
3) Eggs from a neighbor – several sources within a mile or two

Herbs:
1) Rosemary, dried and fresh in a pot
2) Thyme, marjoram, oregano, coriander, celery seed and tops – all dried

There you have it. There is an abundance of local food available, even now at the end of winter.