Any Farmers Out There?

[joseph]

I have no expectations nor desires to make money off of the farm. I view it more as necessary means to attaining self-sufficiency.

I believe that is the right attitude. It's hard work...and it not going to get done by itself. So get going!

[tmac]

Threepercentite, I'll look forward to your PM.

And I just want to clarify one thing. Bigger and bigger size and quantity is not the only way to make a living in agriculture or farming. Pembano is right, by choosing narrow market niches, and focusing on unique quality and doing one or two things very well, some people can do remarkably well. As a general rule, they need to have a knack for marketing. When it comes to making money in agriculture (or a lot of other things), marketing seems to be a much bigger challenge than production.

So, how about an LDSFF Farmers Market. Who's in?

[buffalo_girl]

Been gone a couple of days dealing with the flooding, lambs, and goat kids.

When I talk about a woman running the farm, though, I'm not talking about running some kind of major, commercial, money-making operation (whatever that is). I'm talking about a subsistence farm.

I'm probably too old and too crippled from horse and car wrecks to be any kind of example of 'a woman running the farm'. Tmac is right though; if your place is set up properly so that animals are where they can be managed and fed efficiently it doesn't take much energy and strength to take care of them. I favor 'small' bales simply because they are managable, are better hay, and there is less waste than the big round things. You also don't need the big equipment to put up hay. You can also put up loose hay. For that you only need a way to cut it and turn it so it dries properly before you stack it.

I'm not able to 'till the garden space in the spring, but I do the rest of it. Sometimes the weeds get ahead of me over the entire garden area, but I manage to keep them back where I have my rows or hills of fruit and vegetables. I use a Kentucky single wheel cultivator to keep the space between rows clear. I don't have any children to help. With a few good workers you can have a spectacular show-place garden.

Your garden area should be convenient to the house, a water source, and protected against rabbits, deer, ground squirrels, etc. I had a huge crop of green beans last summer. The 'flicker tail' prairie dogs in this region had a picnic eating just the very tip ends of the longest beans. Too many of those little guys can do a lot of damage.

There is a lot of work putting up your produce. It sure helps to have extra help with the picking, preparation, and preserving of your fruit & vegetables. I dry a lot of my produce, both fruits and vegetables. Large quantities can be dried in an old hatchback vehicle with the seat laid flat to lay screens on which to dry your produce. I dried apricots that way when I lived in Utah. You save on energy.

If a family keeps up with the day to day care of your animals and gardens it isn't that much work. If you let things get behind then it takes a much greater effort and more help to put things right again.

I have no expectations nor desires to make money off of the farm. I view it more as necessary means to attaining self-sufficiency.

I agree with you on that - especially with the federal government's intrusion on every aspect of what they term 'food production'. There are even USDA 'controls' on animal food production now.

Too bad federal agencies aren't as concerned about what is being imported by corporate food industries and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Therein lies the danger to our health and safety.

[buffalo_girl]

Just received information in regard to Utah's passage of legislation allowing livestock owners the freedom to refuse Premise Registration and NAIS! This is wonderful news for Utah farmers and ranchers.

I'm hoping the latest bills in Congress will not override state sovereignty on this issue.

http://ag.utah.gov/news/legrecapo9.html

HB 183 – National Animal Identification System -- This bill enacts a provision relating to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food's participation in a national animal identification system. It authorizes the department to participate in a national animal identification system; prohibits the department or a political subdivision from requiring a person to participate in a national animal identification system; authorizes the department to adopt rules; authorizes a person to withdraw from a national animal identification system; and provides a severability clause. – Passed.

[reidbump]

Good for Utah!. Every once in a while Utah surprises me.

[pritchet1]

Excellent presentation and the presenter (Shelly Roach) is easy on the eyes. She also runs PlentiCulture.

The End of Small Farms? What you should know about HR 875, HR 759, NAIS and Monsanto (YouTube video)

[believer]

Organic farming threatened by Congress?
Congress is considering two bills to change the face of American farming and your food. HR 759, the FDA Globalization Act, and HR 875, the Food Safety Modernization Act.

HR 875 was introduced by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, whose husband, Stanley Greenburg, works for Monsanto.

The bill provides for:

Outlawing heirloom seeds (natural, not genetically modified seeds),
Prison terms and devastating fines for farmers,
24 hour tracking of farm animals for small and huge farms,
warrantless government entry to farms,
imposition of industrial agri-business standards to small, independent farms, which will force them out of business.
It also:

Effectively criminalizes organic farming, but doesn't actually use the word "organic."
Affects anyone growing food even if they are not selling it, but just consuming it.
Affects anyone producing meat of any kind including the processing wild game for personal consumption.
This legislation is so broad based that every aspect of growing or producing food can be made illegal. There are no specifics which is bizarre considering how many pages the legislation is.

Section 103 will allow officials from factory farming corporations and lobbyists to be classified as experts to determine and interpret the legislation. Who do you think they will favor?

Section 206 defines a food production facility so generally that a backyard gardener could be fined or worse.

Section 207 legally binds state agriculture departments to enforce federal guidelines effectively making them food police for the federal government.

President Obama is talking about appointing Michael Taylor, Monsanto employee, as food safety commissioner in the White House. Taylor pushed artificial genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (unlabeled, and without warning) as food safety advisor to Bill Clinton in the 90s. HR 875 would give him immense power over what is done on every single farm in the country and massive police state power and punishments over farmers and anyone who grows food whether for sale to another or not!

Please send messages to our government officials to stop this nonsense before Congress is urged to pass this legislation without reading it.

1: Click here to email the President about this.
(http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/56 ... _KEY=26941)

2: Call the White House (202-456-1414) and the comment center (202-456-1111).

3: Click here to email your congressional representatives.
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/56 ... _KEY=26714

[buffalo_girl]

Thank you, believer, for itemizing what this bill will do to our 'right' to eat what we choose to eat.

We have been fighting USDA for three years over the animal id issue. Every time we think we have overcome this global push to control ALL food production the powers behind Congress come at it from a different angle. It is an exhausting struggle. I do hope others on this Forum will take up the fight and contact their representatives in Congress.

The Amish of Wisconsin are moving to Venezuela over the animal id issue. (PLEASE, those of you who feel to bad mouth Hugo Chavez, we already know how you feel about him - that is not the issue here.)

We need to retain local control over these issues. The federal government has no constitutional authority to mandate any policy in regard to locally grown and produced food.

Unfortunately, when individual states take federal money - as in the current 'bail out' funding to states - that state has sold itself to the devil and become 'FEDERALIZED' as an agent of the United States Government thereby eliminating the sovereignty of that state. I'm afraid our state representatives and governors are well conditioned - and just too happy - to be the idiot children of Big Daddy Government.

Regardless of which label you choose to call it - we are rapidly being drawn into totalitarianism.

[ChelC]

we are rapidly being drawn into totalitarianism.

That's the truth. The thing is that they set the precedent in ways that never offend the majority at any given time. Once the precedent is set things can be done more privately and people don't notice it happening.

They attack, for example, homeschoolers. They make it difficult, they lay claim on your kids. They do the same with vaccinations, or any type of refusal of medical care. They attack farmers. Point is that what they are doing is setting it up so that they have control over every aspect of your life and survival. They have your kids, they have your food, they have your employment. It happens incrementally and the attack is always pointed at a minority group so as not to ruffle too many feathers.

The fox in the hen house.

[believer]

You are welcome Buffalo Girl.

How are you doing with all of the flooding and everything?


Believer

[buffalo_girl]

You are welcome Buffalo Girl.

How are you doing with all of the flooding and everything?

Believer

We were able to get into town Saturday & Sunday to help friends whose house was flooded last week. We really have nothing to complain about. Our friends are in their 80's and have lived in that home for 55 years, raised their children there. The force of the flooding destroyed the foundation of the house and flooded the entire first floor.

We brought home all of their family records and photographs - four generations worth. We are trying to clean and dry them so that these documents can be preserved. It is so sad to see all those records covered in mud and absolutely soaked.

Everyone of us needs to be sure family history and photographs are put where they are easily carried along should we need to evacuate or at least protected against the elements if we need to leave them until it's safe to return home.

Sunday night the second blizzard hit. We are snowed in now. The drifts are amazing and the wind has blown so hard icicles on the roof line of our grain bin formed at about a 45 degree angle! It hasn't been terribly cold, just a lot of heavy snow.

Our ewes are lambing in the midst of it all and our workhorse mare is expecting a foal any day. Hope things settle down for all the mothers and babies.

[ChelC]

Oh, I bet you're excited about the foal! I would love to witness that, even though I don't know the first thing about horses.