Snow Musings

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A number of my more geekish friends often ask me why I live so far out in the country. Why don’t I move closer to the city, where they have real amenities, like electricity and plumbing. (Ah, they kid because they love… Of course we have electricity and plumbing. We even have TV out here. Sheesh! The only thing we don’t have is decent internet access.)

Tonight, as I was taking the baby dog out for his last perambulation before retiring, it started to snow. Everything was quiet and dark, except for the little patch of light we were standing in. The snowflakes emerged from the dark sky and landed on my face, ever so gently. It was beautiful, watching them sparkle as they drifted down. I can’t tell you how many moments like this I have experienced out here in the country: deer walking into the pasture for a twilight snack, eagles down at the river arguing over a catch, onions growing huge in my little garden, the horses rolling in the summer grass and shaking their great blonde manes once they are upright. During our last cold spell, I would go out at night and stare at the spectacular Milky Way across a vast black sky. No one in the city can do that. It can’t bee seen from there.

It’s worth the long commutes and the expensive, almost inadequate access to the internet just to experience moments like these. Even though I’m certifiably nerdy, I know that sometimes reality on the farm is better than all the video games and high tech tools in the world.

Census of Agriculture – 2007

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The USDA conducts a census of agriculture every five years, detailing the current state of food production at a national level. The latest is from 2007. Some of the statistics are surprising, even eye-opening. I find some of the charts especially intriguing.

The chart of Average Age of Pricipal Farm Operators shows that there are few farmers under the age of 55. This means that within the next 10 to 15 years, a large majority of farmers will reach retirement age or will get to the point in their lives where they’ll not be able to farm full time. What happens to their farms when that happens?

Young farmers (or farmer wannabees) can’t afford to buy or even lease enough land to make a living. They end up working at a job they don’t want to do in order to eventually have enough money to do what they want, namely, farming. Then they must continue working in order to maintain their health insurance and other benefits, while farming. Their best, most productive years, the 20s, 30s and 40s, are spent not farming. It’s unfortunate.

Two of the charts: Percent of Farms Operated by Family or Individual and Percent of Farms with High-Speed Internet Access, have almost an exact inverse correlation. It’s uncanny. If the land is primarily dedicated to small farms, there is no access to VoIP, online video training, or a whole host of tools that can really promote farms and make them more successful. This correlation does not hold true for large, corporate-held farms, however.

If you want to see more charts, go here.

Can’d write wit a code…

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Really, I take a few days off and get a cold. Swell. The unfortunate part of that is the writer’s block that a cold causes. Seriously, why can’t my brain function when the sinuses go into overdrive? It’s sad but true.

The one thing I will say is that no one, even those who promised it would be here by the end of the year, has been able to provide broadband to my section of the county. No one. Lots of promises; no reality.

Lord, I hate having a cold…

Floods and Swans

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On Sunday, the Stillaguamish valley flooded. Fortunately, the preparations, sandbags, and temporary berms mitigated much of the damage that could have happened. The aftermath, though, was pretty amazing. The river picked up just everything and threw it around. I had to dodge the odd refrigerator as I drove down a newly unswamped road on my way to work. It was surreal.

There was one amazing site, though. The tundra swans who annually migrate here took advantage of the flooded fields to go for a luxurious swim. Whole flocks of these huge, white birds were floating around the wide, water-logged fields. I felt like I was driving through a massive lake without end, surround by swans.

O Canada

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Yes, I’ve been bad about keeping up with the blog, but I’ve been doing a bit of vacationing over Thanksgiving. I traveled to Vancouver, B.C., and enjoyed the congenial ambience of Canadian hospitality. Seriously, I adore Canadians.

British Columbia is experiencing the same food revolution we are having in northwest Washington. There are more local, organic, artisanal farmers springing up all over and folks are gaining a greater appreciation for real food. I saw that everywhere I went in Vancouver. (What a great town! Everyone should visit there, if only to see how proper governance creates better living. But I digress…)

Anyway, I will try to write more, time allowing.

Small Farmers and Social Media

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I’ve heard from a number of small farmers and small farm advocates that there isn’t a place for high tech in a community-based agricultural endeavor. I say that there is. In fact, I believe that the latest internet tools can enhance a small farming community and can lead to a greater connection with those who appreciate locally-grown, organic foods.

Just as email has become a replacement for a great deal of paper sent through USPS, social media can facilitate conversations with customers when time or distance is a problem. Social Media can also act as an amazingly immediate news service, uniquely geared towards an individual’s needs. Let me explain.

In Los Angeles a couple of years ago, there were a number of very fine chefs who could not afford to open any kind of eating establishment because the cost of real estate was exhorbitantly high. (Ah yes, the good old days…) They were past the apprenticeship stage of their careers but couldn’t get to the next level for lack of capital. These enterprising gourmands could, however, afford taco vans. Essentially, they took some kitchens-on-wheels and renovated them enough to accomodate their culinary specialities. They could park, cook, serve, and go. The biggest problem they had was that they couldn’t park in the same place everytime. So, how did they let their local customers know where they were serving?

They signed up for free accounts on Twitter, or Facebook, or the social medium of their choice, and posted their information on the sides of their vans. Interested customers friended or followed them either online or on their cell phones. They knew exactly where they could get their garlic vegetable soup, or allspice cupcakes, or chicken cordon bleu. The customers were waiting when the van pulled up each day.

It was a low-cost, inventive, quick business model that worked, getting fresh, gourmet foods to customers without all the hassle. (No wait staff to have to pay, either.) They could even drive out to the farms to pick up their fresh produce each day, eliminating the wait for deliveries. Lots of chefs in lots of cities are now following this model and doing quite well.

So, how can this translate to a non-movable small farm business? Let’s take a look at a couple of scenarios:

  • You run a CSA, providing baskets of fresh, organic, heirloom produce delivered to customers. Some of your customers have never seen Cherokee Purple tomatos, or Hokkaido pumpkins, or Collard greens and really don’t know how to cook them. A Facebook account is a great way to provide a listing, including pictures, of what you have included in the baskets that week, and links to recipes you’ve found online. You’re providing important information to your customers so that they can enjoy your produce even more.
  • You have a large section of U-pick crops on your land. You’d like to let people know when your fruits and vegetables are ready for harvesting. You need an immediate notification service to reach those who would be interested. A Twitter account might be just the ticket. Each entry may be only 140 characters in length but you can tell people an awful lot in that space. You can even provide links for more information.
  • You run an artisanal dairy, making unique cheeses. You’re larder is just jam-packed with a well-aged assortment of tasty comestibles and you need to move some stock. Any social media outlet will let you remind folks to meet you at the farmer’s market, ready, with cash in hand, to stock up on your fine cheeses.

Social media can give you direct access to your customers, without an outlay of money. It also eliminates the need to maintain contact lists. Customers have the ability to follow you at their discretion and to forward your information to others who would likewise be interested. Social media accounts, unlike websites, are free. Yep, free. What they do take is a bit of time. Unlike posting static information on a website, you create a conversation with your customers and, sometimes, even customers you don’t yet have.

How do you get your customers to follow you on a social media site? How did they become customers in the first place? Wherever you post information for people to see is where you can add your Facebook or Twitter information. Easy-peasy, pudding and pie…

Incidentally, my twitter account is @ruraltechgeek. If you want to know more about uses for social media, look me up there.

Newsbits 10-21-2010 and one more link…

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Yes, I forgot an important link: the American Farmland Trust. You can’t have farmers if there’s no land to farm. Rather important, I’d say.

Okay, on to some interesting, intriguing, and almost urban news to report:

  • The Stranger, a decidely citified publication, ran a fabulous article on The Greenhorns, which is an association of young farmers. They have a site and a new documentary coming out soon. 
  • The USDA has a Beginning Farmer and Rancher program. This year’s grants are closed but bookmark this site for 2011. 
  • They also have information on grants for Farmer’s Markets. There are grants and all kinds of good information.
  • My geek-o-meter is hitting the red zone because this weekend is the opening of the Battlestar Galactica exhibit at the Science Fiction Museum in Seattle. If I didn’t have a concert on Saturday, I’d be making noseprints on all their shiney new glass cases that day. Blast! I’ll just have to go later.
  • My ability to grow sweet potatoes has, once again, completely tanked this year. So, I’m actively seeking techniques for improving my success at raising my favorite tuber. I’m dying to make some fries. There’s just something about sweet potato fries…mmmmm…

Okay, that’s all for now. I’ll try to use actual paragraphs in my next missive…unless I can create some really cool bullets, that is. (I wouldn’t hold my breath, however.)