06 Mar Tue 2018
Thoughts from the Farm
We want to let you know that we, your farmers, immensely appreciate You, our farm community, customers, members, participants, and all our farm friends, more than you can ever know! Over the years we have tried to reinvent Treasured Haven Farm to create a unique version of a family farm to ensure its success well into the future in a very turbulent time in history for agriculture.
Any thoughts here are intended to open a window into the current world of agriculture from a farmer's prospective and I apologize if it in any way offends or destroys anyone's idealistic quaint portrait of life on a farm. Living on a farm is a wonderful opportunity, but there is a looming crisis in agriculture, but one which when you are aware, you realize YOU are indeed empowered to make a huge difference in shaping our common future!
The year is starting off on the farm with field plans made, seeds purchased, and plants being started. Farming continues year-round, not just when there are crops in the field. New baby chicks that will grow into laying hens arrived in late January and are growing so fast. Maple tree taps were placed and the sap was starting to trickle, and when this hopefully final brutal blast of Winter passes, the warmth should be greeted with bags full of sap to be collected and cooked down into tasty maple syrup. The guys still hand collect the sap and we use the outdoor wood cooker like it was all done in generations past. Layouts of new trails are being created to access additional portions of the woodlands, with hope for some to be used for a few of our races this year. Zach and Ike have their yearling cattle growing well and should have beef to sell by Fall. Plans are made for additional new pens for the pastured broiler chickens. So much to always do before the weather warms and we can get into the fields.
It is a very optimistic and anticipatory time on the farm that is awaiting all the vibrant new growth and lush fields of crops. My mouth waters at the thought of that fresh yellow watermelon, corn eaten right off the cob in the field, and the smell and taste of all of summers bounty. But there's another side to being a farmer that casts a shadow when you read yet another news article of the suicide rate of farmers, pleas on Facebook of farmers praying for rain, controversy of differing views of technology, the complicated uncertainty in agriculture, and then see and hear of another farm auction or foreclosure, especially since we were once at that ominous precipice ourselves. A precipice years ago that gave birth to Treasured Haven Farm CSA. Those first CSA members literally saved this family farm! Your dollars do matter where you spend them! When you invest in farm products, or any products, direct from the producer, you have the greatest impact on supporting what you believe in.
Over the years, many rural areas and farms have endured enormous economic stress to survive thru way too many tough times. Farms have had to adapt continually to the changing marketplace, but are being lost in record numbers. There have long been discussions about specialization versus diversification and which is the correct management strategy with no concrete answer as every farm is as unique as its operator. No one has the benefit of a crystal ball and so many things are changing around us faster than any time in history, and prices of land, equipment, and inputs are constantly increasing while the cost of what the farmer sells has been stagnant or decreasing over the last few decades. Something must change. The idea of cheap food is a misnomer, someone is always paying the price for it.
Because of the structure of our current economy, farms are one of the few businesses where most of the inputs are purchased at a retail price point but most farm products are then sold at wholesale. That is why so many farms are forging into direct farm sales in record numbers as often a middle-man makes much more than the actual grower and producer of a farm product. For many farmers this is a new territory as many love a life of solace with the land. If a farm does not do contract sales of commodities, they often do not know the price they will get for their farm product until their product is ready to be sold, or many times in the case of dairy farmers, until the check comes a month after their product was picked up. With the strong controls and manipulation of the markets, farmers usually do not have the luxury of setting their own prices. The yield a farmer gets for the year is not certain until harvested, so total income is always an optimistically speculative process. We have heard some people say that all farmers do is complain and are so negative, when in reality farmers are continual optimists. They have to be or they could never even plant a seed.
Even farms that have done everything so-called "right', have gone out of business due to circumstances that were unpredicted or out of their control as almost happened to us during the financial crisis with a balloon payment due and no bank wanting to take on ag loans. It is a sad sight to see as farming becomes the occupation currently with the highest rate of suicide of any, even veterans. Farmers are literally dying for their farms and family, some in order to save it, others because the shame of failure due to circumstance is way too great to bare. While all farmers are affected, dairy farmers are currently being hitting harder than most. Farmland continues to be lost to housing developments at an alarming rate, or gobbled up by increasingly larger corporate farms. The price of farmland is a barrier for many to start, and the deck is stacked against the next generation on a family farm with programs that favor new farmers over keeping a family farm going to the next generation. There are so many variables and potential pitfalls that many may wonder why anyone would want to be a farmer. But farmers were indeed born to farm with a passion that fills their soul with the breath of life and everyone needs farmers for more than we realize in our day to days lives, and it is not just for our food.
Treasured Haven Farm opted to add a CSA a decade ago as a way to guarantee a stable and predictable income for the farm. The last couple years have seen even this time tested avenue prove not reliable for an increasing number of farms around the country who have been offering CSAs much longer than us. When we started we did extensive surveys to understand what members wanted in their farm and we have seen the desires change and have tried to accommodate as best we can. Many CSAs have scrambled to change what they offer to survive, but the pressure from commercial interests is mounting as it looked like such a windfall that many false CSAs have infiltrated the marketplace.
The pressure of the so-called "local and direct" meal box kits is also hitting farms who direct market right in the wallet. In reality, virtually every major meal box plan is indeed a middle-man which is a team of people who can produce the shiny binders and have teams of chefs on staff. Every person within those companies has a job to do, whereas with a CSA it is usually only a couple farm family members who run the whole show and wear multiple different hats every day and have dozens of job descriptions over the course of a year. Expectations of being "more professional" are hitting CSA farms hard as there is no way a small farm who focuses on growing healthy organic food can compete to create a similar glam product delivered direct to every doorstep. Few farms know of any other growers who actually are providing the fresh produce "locally" for these meal box companies funded by venture capital and investors.
But we have tried to offer what all those programs cannot - a connection to the farm. We may not be glitzy, or create a showplace facade. But through all the things we do on the farm, we want to help bridge that gap to be a connection between our simple family farm and those who want to connect with their farmer, or to a farm like their grandparents or past generations enjoyed. To offer a humble way to connect with a real life farm and a connection to the earth. We embrace the natural world we live and work in every day and it gives us great joy to have others enjoy that bounty, beauty, and open space as well. After a race or farm event, we may be completely exhausted and have so much of our regular farm work still to do, but you leave us renewed, grateful, and validated that we are following the right path.
Farmers are simple folks who were born to farm, as were we. It flows through our bodies and soul. Some days though it honestly feels more than overwhelming as so many in all professions can experience, as the to-do list is never completely crossed off. Stress is a constant companion as nothing is certain or guaranteed when one partners with the wild attitudes of nature and the increasingly unpredictable and manipulated marketplace. But that is farming - we don't punch a time-clock, but the reality is we can never really clock out. Farming is something you eat, sleep, breathe, and some days give every ounce of energy you have to attempt to get that job done before an approaching storm or unforgiving frost. But it gives us deep joy to know the work we do is appreciated, even though at times the bank account may say otherwise. Some income comes in forms far beyond dollars and cents. When a child comes running to give a hug as they are ready to leave the farm after their farm visit and says "Thank You for being my farmer", the eyes get a little moist for sure. What wonderful memories they are making.
Our family is not one to ask for help, farmers are like that you know. Farmers have long considered themselves a proud and self-sustaining bunch. But we have a goal to make this a year to cement Treasured Haven Farm on a path of certainty for our next and future generations. So we ask that you help share info about the farm, encourage others to participate in farm events, or join as a CSA member. We know many like that the races here are more low key and not huge crowds, and that is awesome, but we need every race be economically viable as well. Environmentally the trails can handle a few more runners, and we placed our runs this year at least two months apart so that each race can handle more participants. Peg is also expanding to do more of her engraving and is starting Treasured Haven FarmHouse to create an income stream separate from the actual farm income so that more compensation commiserate with their level of participation can be available for the next generation here, Zach and Ike, to continue with farming being an option for their future. These harsh economic realities are why so many of the next generations have had to leave farms. We do not want that to happen here and you are directly empowered to have a positive impact directly on this one family farm.
For years farmers have been alone out there on the farm and pretty much kept to themselves, but now, more than ever, their ultimate success and the future face of agriculture lies in the hands, and wallets, of the end consumer like you. We will work hard to provide our members, customers, and participants with something unique and of value and cannot express enough gratitude for everyone we have been blessed to meet and get to know throughout the past few years. Together as a team, you with your farmers, we can make this corner of the earth a haven, as is its namesake, for generations to come.
Blessings to All!
The Johnson Family at Treasured Haven Farm
Peg
02:35 PM CST