It has been a busy week on the farm. Our vegetable field is finally put to bed for the winter. An indescribably lovely feeling. Shane scythed the acre down, raked the surface vegetation into piles, and we pitched them into the back of our trusty old Dodge, creating quite the monumental haystack.
With the help of Pam and Ken, and Shirehorses Indy and Dance we did a little Fall tilling. The hens had a feast day, lunching on earthworms and the plow turn the soil over...
"It is my contention that the feds don't want us to know, let alone dwell on the fact, that for two years running there have been in excess of 70 million food-borne illnesses in the U.S. That's 70+ million per year! And far and away the vast majority of those have come from factory farms and food processing plants NOT from the small farmers.
With the help of Pam and Ken, and Shirehorses Indy and Dance we did a little Fall tilling. The hens had a feast day, lunching on earthworms and the plow turn the soil over...
And neighbor Aaron came by to help us put in Vetch and Winter Rye. Next year's stand will be used as mulch for our vegetable rows, and also more feed for the sheep and goats. The last of the cabbages have been processed...and we are rapidly approaching breeding time for the ewes and goats.
"It is my contention that the feds don't want us to know, let alone dwell on the fact, that for two years running there have been in excess of 70 million food-borne illnesses in the U.S. That's 70+ million per year! And far and away the vast majority of those have come from factory farms and food processing plants NOT from the small farmers.
Obvious conclusion? Our food and Drug Administration's testing and monitoring programs have broken down and drastically so. Why are'nt we worried? Why aren't we angry? Why do we put up with this? What to do? Get to know your local farmers and trust them because you can.
You will never get to know all the people and machines that are involved in industrial farming;processing meats, grains, and miscellaneous food products. Too many cogs in that wheel. Too many places for things to go terribly wrong. The best reason in the world to 'cultivate' your local food supply is not for economics, or cost, or taste, or freshness, it's for safety.
And, if we are serious about returning to a truly safe food supply we need to reinstitute Home Economics training to teach folks once again how to store, refrigerate, cook and evaluate food stuffs. One of the more prevalent human characteristics that corporate greed feeds on is ignorance. And ignorance we can address."
-Lynn R. Miller
Editor/Publisher of the Small Farmer's Journal
Editor/Publisher of the Small Farmer's Journal
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