The LocalHarvest Blog

Welcome back to the LocalHarvest newsletter.

Tonight will be the longest night of the year. For many, this time of deepened darkness offers a welcome counterbalance to the stresses of the holiday season. The long evenings make us want to curl up in bed with a book, immersed in quiet. This year the darkness offers another kind of retreat, a space to grieve the sorrows we carry as a nation. It is a time to turn inward. When we do, many of us find that we hunger for that which is simple and meaningful and real. We long for life's essentials.

In the world of agriculture, one of these essentials is the land itself. We who love good food often focus on the fruits of the land, but that natural abundance is only possible when soil is cared for over time. Protecting farmland is vital to strong local food economies. The common good requires farmland that is safeguarded from erosion and toxic chemicals, and public policies that recognize the value of well-tended land and help preserve it from development. Organic farmers nourish the soil that we all may be fed.

Subjects like farmland protection can be dry and abstract until we are touched by a story. I recently read a book that brought this issue to life. It is called, Turn Here, Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works. I recommend it. It is a good read and a powerful book. Beyond making a strong case for the soil, it is also a love story, a description of one couple's "growing up" into successful organic farmers, and a sometimes astonishing illustration of the intimate connections between people, plants and animals. And, it is a story of land lost once and then fought hard for. In the latter struggle, the farm was threatened by a proposed crude oil pipeline which would have destroyed the integrity of the soil, and thus the entire business. For those of you who like a good David and Goliath tale, this one will not disappoint.

This book reminded me how hard so many farmers work to stay on their land – working two or three jobs, working all hours of the day and night, sacrificing all sorts of comforts and security to keep on farming. In this season of counting our blessings, I am filled with gratitude for their labor, and for the commitment of all those who support them.

Until next time, take good care and eat well.
Erin

Erin Barnett
Director
LocalHarvest