healthy food - Farmer Friday - Lay Z Ducks Farms - SIBEJO

GardenShare summer intern, Amanda, reflects on another farm visit this week...

When I went grocery shopping at Price Chopper with my parents this week, I couldn�t help but notice distinct differences in our shopping habits now that I buy food for myself. My mom reached for a head of lettuce, leaving me to sigh loudly as an expression of my disapproval because I knew Dulli from Birdsfoot Farm offers a great salad green mix with signature fresh dill. Watching her pick between the six shelves of jams and jellies, I again shook my head knowing Mary-Ellen from Circle G cans the best strawberry-rhubarb jelly in St. Lawrence County. Then, I stopped myself. Was I becoming a food snob?

�Voting with your forks,� as Michael Pollan says, or changing the consumers' shopping habits seems to be the only way we can alter the American style of eating. After all, large-scale farmers produce what the government subsidizes (corn rather than broccoli, soy rather than kale). When one goes to the supermarket, the consumer is essentially foraging for energy. So naturally when one buys to keep essentially alive, stretching food dollars is top priority. For example, one dollar spent in the processed section of the grocery store can offer 1200 calories. Conversely, spending that same dollar in the produce perimeter will get a shopper 250 calories worth of carrots. As a mother, feeding children snack packs after soccer practice then is much cheaper compared to a bag of carrots with a scoop of (organic) peanut butter. The decision is a no-brainer.

I thought back to my visit to Lay-Z Ducks farms, owned by Wendy and Phil. Tragically, a lot of kids in St. Lawrence County don�t understand what real fruits and vegetables are as an upshot of opportunity expenditures.  Not too long ago, Wendy brought carrots to her grandson�s sporting event. She offered the snack to other children, but they declined, claiming her carrots didn�t taste as good as the orange Cheez-its or fruit snacks they are typically accustomed to for a snack. Wendy and Phil have reared their grandson as a locavore. Every Friday, Wendy takes him to the Canton Farmers market. He always makes a pit stop to see Jean Tupper for her famous homemade doughnuts, and he gets excited to pick their produce for the week. His taste buds salivate for a fresh vegetable. �Unless you have been raised to appreciate fruits and vegetables, you just don�t know,� Wendy commented.

This knowledge is something Wendy and Phil practice on their farm. Wendy�s husband, Phil, came home 18 years ago with ducks in an attempt to begin a duck farm. Wendy�s ducks were horrible; they wouldn�t mother their young. �They were just lazy!� exclaimed Wendy, which is how the farm got its name. Fast forward to present day and one can find ducks, heritage breed turkeys, several varieties of chickens, and Overhasli goats. From the goats, Wendy makes three types of cheeses: chevre, mozzarella, and ricotta. The two mothers are milked by hand once a day. In the future Wendy wishes to increase her herd to meet the growing demand for goat cheese. However, Wendy claimed finding fellow goat farmers are difficult; there are only two other locations in St. Lawrence County. Goats aside, Wendy raises approximately fifty Cornish hens for pre-order meat sales each year. Just recently, Phil butchered thirty twelve-week old hens. Wendy is passionate about eating locavore, a term used to express diets largely sourced from local food. All of her animals are fed organic or natural feed. She does not use chemicals on her property.

 For now, Wendy�s profits generate mainly from home base, but she is open to selling at both Canton and Massena Farmers Market. She has found just from her house sales the difference in demographics. Some areas of St. Lawrence County are willing to pay the added value of her labor, even though Wal-Mart or Aldi�s is a cheaper option. Currently, the chickens sell for either $4.50/lb. for pieces or $3/lb. for a whole. Wendy said she tries to present the data on growth hormones, economic development, human treatment, but has found �financial restrictions� prevent many customers from purchasing her products. For Wendy, her bottom line of healthy food outweighs a few extra pennies. �I would rather pay full price and eat half a pound of high quality food (fruits and vegetables), than three pounds of the nutritionally lacking counterpart.� This made me think of �food elitist,� a term used to describe someone who strongly advocates for a return to the healthy basics of buying fresh, local food. The lifestyle can be expensive and largely unrealistic for many, a group that once included myself. So how can we support the local movement without putting up a wall between the public and their choices for healthier living?

This made me wonder the possibility of changing a child�s eating habits if they aren�t the ones footing the bill. Of the families receiving SNAP, approximately 50% are children. If a working mom chooses the less expensive snacks for her children, they will surely learn to prefer that over the healthier alternative. Wendy wishes at school events there was more representation of good quality food. The classic hot dogs, hamburgers, potato chips and Coca-Cola may be tasty, but Wendy desires an apples or orange. �I believe if you are raised out of a box, you stay in a box. I refuse to let our grandson live that way. We actively take him to different markets and the Potsdam Co-Op.� This I recognize is a form of privilege in the form of purchasing capability. However, it is this very privilege GardenShare tries to eliminate through our CSA program and our Double Up program and the Farmers Market. By providing families with an incentive to shop locally, we hope to encourage them to change their eating habits.

healthy food - Farmer Friday: J & W Orchards - SIBEJO

The beauty of fruit trees in pristinely mowed rows struck me as I pulled into the driveway of J & W Orchards in Norfolk. Escorting me to the front door was a stone path lined with immaculate perennial gardens, completely weed free and in full blossom. Angie Conger opened the door to freshly mopped floors, but she immediately discredited her hard-work as she encouraged me to enter her home with shoes still tied to my feet. Here I met Fred, her husband, who also works as a full-time mechanic.

Up until last August, this dream plot of eight acres belonged to the late Walter Shine. The 800 fruit trees behind the house were the result of his life-long dream to cultivate 1000 trees- a feat Walt achieved over the course of forty years. When he passed away, the land was turned over to his daughter, Angie, who has helped on the orchard for many years now. �Helping compared to fully operating are two extremely different things�my father could name an apple tree by sight, but I�m just beginning to learn,� Angie said, expressing how difficult the turnover has been in the past year.

This is now Angie and Fred�s second year tending the plums, apples, pears, grapes, and raspberries. Last year, a hard late frost damaged a large portion of the crops. This year they are seeing the remaining repercussions of the late freeze coupled with this summer�s drought; the foliage on the trees thirsts for water, evident by yellowing edges, and the fruits themselves are below average size for this time of year.

While orchards are a great way to conserve farmland for future generations, a fact mentioned in David Rice�s profile, they certainly require constant attention, effort and a backup savings account. How much work is poured into each tree is a point Fred stressed. If a tree isn�t bearing fruit, then it also isn�t yielding profit. As we walked through the orchard, Fred pointed out which trees he planned to pull this season and replace this season. Each tree roughly cost $25, depending on the variety. Typically, an apple tree produces 3-4 bushels per season. At $20 a bushel for a �fresh� apple, which roughly figures into $60-80 a tree, the net revenue is approximately $35-55, not allowing for other costs.

To keep the tress producing, Fred sprays either Captain 15 or Boron every 10-14 days with a 100-gallon sprayer that attaches to his tractor. The two pesticides combat insects and other pests in ways that Fred simply does not have the manpower to do himself. Already he paints the base of his trees with white latex paint, which deters deer and vermin from girding the tree trunks. Fred would use more effective methods of pest control that would permit him to reduce the application frequency, but to do so requires a license. He hopes in the future to secure one. Future plans for the orchard also includes installing an irrigation system, which will help Fred and Angie meet their goal of 1,000 fruit trees.

Walking with the couple, I could see how much devotion both invest into the land. They share a mutual love for Walt�s dream, which they have amassed into their own, and are determined to make the orchard a success. This season, they are opening the orchard for a U-Pick, an option many farmers resort to because it cuts down on the labor cost. �Our orchard is a year-round job,� Angie said. �Farmers, whether fruit or vegetable, don�t really get a vacation.�

Angie�s point raised another in my mind: how hunger occurs daily for many in St. Lawrence County. The issue extends beyond the rumble in stomachs if one examines having access to processed v. fresh food. The latter is considered a luxury. When I asked Fred for his thoughts on the matter, he replied, �Hunger means you�re hungry.� His simplistic response reminded me having access to fresh, healthy and local food is not a matter that can afford a vacation. Like a farming, hunger is a year-round manifestation. Our bodies need nutritious meals to fuel our body. In order to ensure this access, we must support our local farmers in their vision and mission to feed our communities. This is a feat Angie and Fred are accomplishing as they continue Angie�s father�s vision of an orchard.

healthy food - Farmer Friday - Sawyer Creek Farm - SIBEJO

When people give directions in a small town, the instructions usually go like this:

�Okay, so you�re going to go straight through town past the old Agway. Keep headed down that way until you hit the four-corners with the old dairy farm on the left. When you�ve pass a fallen silo, you�ve reached our place.�

�or something like that.

My visit to Sawyer Creek Farm was a similar experience. Owner Sheila Warden told me to look for her blue house with a red barn, the first one after a right turn. She knew my GPS would certainly fail me once I hit back roads. I pulled into her driveway, disbelieving later that her home was once unlivable in the fall of 1997 when she first moved to the area with her family.

I followed Sheila to the greenhouse she rebuilt last spring after a snowstorm ruined their previous one. Like most farm visits, Sheila doesn�t stop her work just because I am there. This is an act I have come to appreciate because I find the farmers are more in their element. Sheila expressed her hopes to add heat to the greenhouse in the winter as she watered her vegetables because the farm is a zone 3 growing region, unlike the rest of the zone 4 Gouverneur area.

In 2006 after putting their home through a HGTV worthy makeover (I didn�t believe her until she showed me pictures of the transformation), Sheila�s husband brought home a few ewes that needed a rescue home. This was the second time he did this; the first time was over 35 years ago when he got her a ewe for mother�s day in NJ. That ewe was on the plump side, but Sheila assumed the mass of wool covering the presumably nimble frame was the reason. A few days later, the ewe dropped a lamb. Some might say Sheila had the wool pulled over her eyes! Fast forward, to Sawyer Creek Farm in NY and Sheila has been raising sheep ever since. She got back into raising sheep. Starting with the Hampshire rescued ewes, then Dorset�s, then Katahadin hair sheep and finally her favorite, Finnsheep! She has had Finnsheep for 4 years and loves them!!

Sheep jokes aside, Sheila also raises meat/egg chickens, turkeys and pigs. Like many of the farms I�ve visited (Fuller and Smith), the chickens began as a way to save money. Soon friends and family via word of mouth began contacting Sheila for a few chickens and eggs. As she puts it, �As people want[ed] more, I expanded.�

When Sheila first began her meat operation, she knew she didn�t want to have a middleman. Sheila genuinely cares about the product she delivers- ensuring customers get what they pay for without the added markup price stores typically add. As a solution, Sheila does most of the gopher work. In the spring, she calls her regular customers to pre-order an exact amount of chickens/turkeys/pigs/lamb needed (about 150 chickens/season to give an idea). Then, she picks up the animals, raises them to maturation, and personally brings them to a Mennonite butcher who does the processing. From there, she delivers meat directly to customers. The pork and lamb are butchered by USDA certified Red Barn Meats in Croghan. This is repeated three times before October; Sheila understands the want for both fresh meat and freezer space�doing so also divides the labor for her. Sheila charges $3.50/lb. for whole and $4.00/lb. for cut chickens, with the weight ranging from 4 to 9 lbs., although customers can request sizes. Unlike many butchers, Sheila charges by the pound instead of the hanging weight. Again, this practice is for the customers� benefit.

One point Sheila stressed is how Sawyer Creek Farm came to its 95-acre glory. She is proud of what her family has accomplished in such a short amount of time�a feat she attributes to the amount of sweat equity poured into each crevice of the land. Farming aside, Sheila also works as a full-time bus driver during the school year. After working a full workweek, remembering to weed the summer squash or move the portable fence for rotational grazing can be a nuisance. Sheila does it all, but looks forward to the summer when she can focus solely on her animals and plants.

Like Smith Chicken Farm, Sheila strengthens the local food system. The cost to buy, mature, and deliver the small-scale meat does make her prices higher than WalMart or Aldi�s. However, this calls into question of how a local farmer can make a livelihood when they are constantly outcompeted by larger markets. At GardenShare, we stress the importance of buying locally by promoting farmers markets and CSA programs. For every $10 spent at the farmers market, ~$6.20 goes back into the local economy and ~$9.90 out of $10 stays in the state. Contrasting, ~$2.50 remains regional when that same $10 is spent at the aforementioned grocery stores. The need for healthy, accessible food applies to farmers too as they try to create a standard of living while supporting the local community. This is one statement GardenShare seeks to underscore.

Come visit Sheila at the Canton Farmer�s market most Tuesdays and Fridays. There you can buy everything wool in many forms from a raw fleece, yarn, knit items and processed lamb pelts. Also, homemade soap from pork lard and seasonal vegetables. Meat orders taken, but due to food safety the meat will be set up for a scheduled pickup so it will remain cold as long as possible.

healthy food - Farmer Friday - Sweetcore Farm - SIBEJO

It's Farmer Friday again and this time, intern Amanda profiled Dave Rice of Sweetcore Farm.  Dave has a long association with Garden Share, having served three years on the Board of Directors, and still serving on our Fund Development Committee.

As a young adult, I am told the world is at my feet. My career options are endless; I need only to pick a direction of and interest and pursue the path. At times the possibilities are overwhelming, but I find comfort in the garden.  One garden I particularly found solace was on a visit to David and Kathy Rice who live what I aspire to one day do. Stories like David�s, however, are what reassures me when I wonder how I will achieve the same end result.

Dave and Kathy working in the field

David Rice grew up on an eight-acre orchard in New Hampshire with a family vegetable garden and pigs. David�s first job was at Friendly�s, although he helped press cider, work retail, and pack as well as deliver orders on the farm. Because there wasn�t much to learn, David distinguished himself by attending New Hampshire University to major in horticulture with a focus on fruit science. In 1989, David began work-study where he met Kathy. When Dave decided there wasn�t room for expanding, he moved with Kathy to work on a 100-acre farm. Dave was the supervisor to the farm, which profited $24,000 in sales and employed nine full-time employees.

Moving on to the next stage in their life, Dave and Kathy relocated to Madbury, New Hampshire after Dave boldly sent a letter asking for paid employment and housing. The farm had 30 tilled acres: 1,200 apple trees, 2000 blueberry bushes, 1 acre of peaches, 1 acre of pears - for a fruit lover like David this place was a sticky sweet deal. Dave had been offered to pay the farm owner for lease at a percent of the sales and equipment after two years. Meanwhile, Kathy worked in childcare to help make ends meet. As farmers, we know farming is a seasonal job in terms of income; like Dave, most farmers work July-Sept seven days a week. Kathy�s income supplemented the small family during the winter/spring months.

Fast-forward four years. David (now age 35) and Kathy are ready for a change once more. David didn�t like the quantity of pesticides used; economically, the management practice cost him around $3000 a year. What is more, Dave questioned how healthy personal exposure to pesticides actually was as he pulled on a full-body suit every day to spray the fruits. �It�s more of a risk to the applicator than to the consumer�I was always worried,� he commented to me. For a short while, David and Kathy agreed to help a couple operate an eighty-acre farm. He grew wholesale pumpkins (his favorite vegetable to cultivate). He also ran a CSA program, which grew to support 50 families. Yet, the David and Kathy could not see raising a family or living their life there, despite their success. David�s dream of homesteading could not be squandered.

At this point some may call Dave picky. Why not just pick a strip of land, cultivate the soil and raise a family? Farming is simple, right? He clearly had the experience, knowledge, mindset and work ethic to make his vision reality. I respect David and Kathy for not settling; they were unstoppable in their quest for the right location, home and community.

2005 marked the year Dave and Kathy committed to the North Country. Dave and Kathy Rice had bought twelve aces adjacent to a long-time 200-acre dairy farm. Six acres were open for tillage, the other six deemed as unusable wetlands. Their custom built home was cleverly designed not only to comfortably fit a family of four, but also to efficiently burn only 8 cords of wood a NoCo winter. The former owner, Rich Douglass, used the land for pasture, leaving the area extremely fertile and chemical free with very minimal compaction. �I noticed the silt clay loam makes for better fall crops,� Dave said as he knelt down to give the cracked soil a poke. To boost the fertility of his soil further, Dave relies heavily on cover cropping. While many farmers worry about over-tilling the land, which eventually creates a hardpan, Dave believes his organic practices ensure the health of the soil. In fact, he once had Cornell Cooperative Extension survey the soil for compaction, but they thought the meter was broken because no compaction was measured!

Student interns help Dave get the produce
ready for the farmers market

By July they bought a rototiller and were selling at the farmers market. Kathy worked part-time at Birdsfoot Farm. In 2006, Dave became certified organic and a member of the Finger Lakes Organic Co-Op. One year later, he was the biggest producer for North Country Grown Cooperative and served as the vice president. Marketing wise, Dave sells at the farmers market, the former Blackbird Caf�, the 1844 House as well as his new farm stand, which had just been delivered when I arrived for a visit.

Basil, thyme, parsley, dill, chives and storage cilantro, cabbage, broccoli, bok choy, cauliflower, spring kale, zucchini, pot turro pie pumpkins, Adirondack red potatoes, blue potatoes, delacotta, squash, cucumbers, and red onions are just a few herbs and vegetables cultivated with a single walking tractor on Sweetcore farm.

Some of the apple trees

These annual crops, however, leave no legacy for future generations save on the land they grow. The average age of a farmer is 65, and that statistic isn�t getting any younger. Recognizing this national problem, David planted apple orchards. "Liberty, Freedoms, Honey crisp, Gala, Crimson Crisp, Duchess Oldenburg, Macintosh, Cortland, Mantet, Nova Spies, Red-fry:��David rattled off names of apples like mothers do children. His personal relationship with the apples mirrors his connection to the land. I was amazed by how much he knew about each tree.

After giving me a tour, the most extensive one I have been on yet, David invited me into his home for a drink of water. He pays $400 for fuel a year, which accounts for 100 gallons of propane required to heat the water. They use a wood fire oven in winter months. The solar panel, with eight batteries, is their main source of electricity. In hindsight, Dave said he has not saved money using solar energy. In fact, the solar setup was a quarter of the cost to build his house.

Looking at David�s current lifestyle, I was curious. This man has solar energy, a composting toilet system, and minimal waste; He is practically self-sufficient. What does sustainability mean to Sweetcore? David�s answer seemed like not one at all, �We are participating in the food system, we all go to the grocery store.� Even Dave and Kathy, who personify my future goals, admit to feeding into the system of consumerism. I then wanted to know how sustainable he believes GardenShare to be. Is our vision of  �Healthy Food. Healthy Farms. Everybody Eats.� really attainable? In short, yes. David replied, �In order to survive we have to get food to people- healthy and local food.� Dave caters to all customers by �not trying to limit access�. He offers a wide range of products and prices. Growing and selling vegetables is one way he �beats� the food system.

healthy food - Farmer Friday - Circle G Farm - SIBEJO

This week, intern Amanda visits Circle G Farm.  Located in Hammond, the farm sells at both the Hammond and the Canton Farmers Markets.  This time she shot some video to accompany her report.

To say I feel nervous every time I step out of my car onto a new farm is an understatement. Here I am, a college intern, being nosey about a person�s livelihood. Not just any person, but a farmer whose occupation revolves around the very precious daylight hours that I am taking. Raised on a farm myself, I understand what that is like. I�m honestly surprised I haven�t been declined yet!

Nerves aside, when I got out of my car at Circle G Farm in Hammond, I had the same feeling of comfort that I experience when I return home from college. Mary-Ellen Blatchley, co-owner, brushed dirt off her hands from weeding her aesthetically pleasing rows of greens, greeted me, and then introduced me to her husband, George. Together, they grow about thirty different vegetables, and they do so because they simply love to garden. George exclaimed, �Sometimes I like to grow them [the vegetables] more than I like to eat them!�

Shortly after retiring in 2012, George and Mary-Ellen built a sugar house where they invite local community groups, like the 4-H club, to help with the sugaring of 35-40 gallons of syrup a year. George is an active member of the St. Lawrence County Maple Producers Association. Outside of the sticky saccharine season, the sugar house is a hub for garden activity.

Their garden began one-eighth of the current size above their house. As with the Fuller Farm, somehow gardens began sprouting up wherever there was room. The gardens used to be NOFA Certified Organic; however, the extensive paperwork, time and cost made the legal process no longer feasible. After both touring the land and listening to the couple talk, I am certain George and Mary-Ellen are firm activists in organic practices. They are against the use of pesticides and fertilizers, and are committed to the NOFA Farmer�s Pledge. 2016 marks the fourth year marketing their surplus garden at the farmers markets. I say surplus because George and Mary-Ellen�s bottom line isn�t profit; rather, the couple promotes the dogma of healthy affordable food.

George and Mary-Ellen, after giving a tour of their land, invited me into their home. Again, I felt like I knew them both for years by the way they put me at ease. George mentioned how over coffee that morning he disturbingly discovered �40% of food is wasted in America alone, yet 35% of Americans are considered obese.� Mary-Ellen was equally troubled: �One-third of children [in the US] are hungry, and I find that appalling. We find programs like WIC and SNAP help alleviate this.� Both George and Mary-Ellen have undergone WIC training. What is more, they accept SNAP/EBT at their farmers market stand. Yet, George and Mary-Ellen take the issue of hunger in the North Country one step closer.

Often �organic� translates in the consumer�s mind (and wallet) not to the farming practices involved, but rather to a higher price. Mary-Ellen and George recognize many consumers opt for the cheaper conventional head of lettuce instead of their six-ounce spring mix as an upshot. To bridge this gap, Mary-Ellen regularly visits grocery stores like Wal-Mart to match her prices with shelf prices. Doing so encourages all shoppers to purchase from the market instead of from the corporate counterpart.

Jeff Bridge, head of Food for Children, recently stated how people are choosing, �easy food instead of smart food.�  Offering organic food at commodity prices is another way Circle G Farm attempts to alter that mindset, similar to GardenShare�s mission. Families aside, George said the elderly are too often forgotten about when discussing food security. Using nutrition assistance programs at markets is often difficult for the elderly; not many markets sell small quantities of fresh produce- an important factor when one lives alone, has a small appetite, or doesn�t want to eat an ear of corn every night for dinner. Mary and George understand many markets sell items like sweet corn either by the half or full dozen. �If they want one ear of corn, we sell them one ear. Our WIC/SNAP people get their money�s worth in checks and tokens, but we always slip in a little more.�

The side comments like that last line above were what drew me to Circle G Farm. The humble honesty and willingness to help the community stuck out as mains principals. Before I left (with three jars of Mary-Ellen�s famous jam no less), George looked me in the eyes and said, �We are lucky to be educated. We aren�t struggling. We do this because we like to garden, we like to grow [our food]. We are fortunate to not be hand to mouth. Growing food is the right thing to do, but you can only can/freeze so much.� And thus their surplus is sold to the market with their beliefs and care in tow.