We're in the transportation business

The more we complete tasks on the farm, the more it seems we actually don't do much of the work that actually makes the food we eat grow. The earth, plants, and animals really take care of most of it, we just transport particular things at a particular time. Think about it...the growing of both flora and fauna happen on their own. Their waste feeds each other, and their reproduction of seed and babe happen independent of human hands. Most of the work we do is to transport seed to soil, manure to bed, cow to new pasture, egg to counter, weeds to mulch, animal to slaughterhouse, harvest to table. It is important work; increasing production of plants and organizing them in a way that eliminates foraging makes our human survival more possible. It is humbling to realize, however, that that is in fact all we are doing - moving and organizing. The work of creating sustenance for our bodies is really the gift of the earth. I think we often forget this relationship, believing instead that we have somehow created and grown the food on our dinner table - when in fact all we're doing is orchestrating and gathering to grow our own bodies.

The cow is a good example of how nutrients get transported from the earth into our bodies. Cows eat grass, one plant that we don't digest so well. They are able to survive solely on this green because they have an extra stomach called the rumen, which breaks down the grass and converts the plant into protein. That protein becomes the muscle and fat of meat that we in turn are able to digest.

Some of you have asked for more pictures and details about what we're doing here. So here they are!

We started our week by helping plant the tomato beds. They are still dinky lil' things, but will eventually be several varieties of yummy heirloom tomatoes! They have cutworms here which come an take one bite of the stem (they don't eat the plant otherwise), but their one bite will cut the plant from it's roots. So we learned to wrap the stems in aluminum foil before planting the seedlings in the beds. A few of these rows are also eggplant, peppers, and the back will eventually be summer squash.

We've also been working on some fencing to prepare new pasture for the cattle to chow down. The cows actually help manage the growth of the grass, and the ideal rotation will happen so that the cows go through the pasture and take one bite on the grass, and then the herd gets moved before the second bite is taken so that the grass can recover and continue to be a diverse and healthy pasture the cows will come back to. So fencing and herding is where most of the work happens for the farmer who does rotational grazing (or management intensive grazing). And as Paul said, when working with the cows, you must be on cattle time. One of the harder tasks was separating the yearlings from the rest of the herd (more specifically the bull) because they should not be bred in their first year. Since we've separated them they have been talking (loudly) to one another across the pasture! Momma misses her baby.

I'll continue another post after this...I'm at the max for pictures here!