Auntie Annie's Fields, LLC

Our fields smell sweet from blooming clover, and like the grass growing thick and tall, our meat birds are growing strong and marvelous. They’re the slower growing breed, and their red feathers and confident attitude just make them looks majestic – except when they run. All majesty goes out the window then. Chickens are not generally graceful runners, but one young rooster looks as though he hasn’t quite grown into his big feet. As I came toward him carrying a bucket of feed the other night, he hurried away from me, extending and stretching each long yellow toe before he took a step. It wasn’t easy to do this quickly, and he rocked from side to side, flinging out yellow chicken feet in front of him with great flourish. The mother hen who hid in the grass and then came back with 11 tiny chicks still has all her babies. She’s a fabulous mother, clucking and fluffing herself up. We keep them in a pen by themselves so they won’t get lost or harassed by the bigger birds. I pluck a few weeds toss them some “salad” each day, and mama hen gets so excited. She says “Look! Look! Look!” and starts scratching vigorously in the greens, plucking off mouthfuls of leaf and throwing them to the ground for her chicks. In her enthusiasm, she forgets to eat some herself. Our neighbor Tom came over to cut hay in our fields. He parked his red tractor by the house when he was done and chatted about how thick the grass was. With his arms crossed over his chest, he admired our hens, which were plucking strands of clover from his pull-behind mower. He pointed out a grey hen strutting across the driveway and when we said she lays green eggs, he was so amazed we had to give him some. He accepted them with the great heartiness and warmth that he brings to every conversation. I always look forward to the days when the hay needs cutting, both because we get to see Tom and because I am reminded of how much land we’ve planted perennial pasture. Those pasture plants stop erosion, build richness in the soil, make the soil less vulnerable to drought and floods, and sequester carbon (which helps counteract climate change). They’re also keeping the agricultural sprays farther from our home because we don’t spray any of the land we care for. That’s a big deal to me. I’ve read that a team of doctors is asking that some of the new spray combinations be prohibited 1000 feet from schools because of health concerns for growing kids. Our house is close to many conventional fields. When you buy organic, you’re not just investing in your health and the environment – you’re investing in the health of kids you’ll never meet. Buying chicken at our home may be trickier for a while because they’ll start working on our road June 22, but call ahead and we’ll tell you what route to take. We’ll still be at the farmers markets in Minneapolis, too: Fulton every Saturday and Midtown every other week with June 27 and July 11 being our next days there. Hope to see you at the market.