Here`s - April Joy Farm

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Nourishing Bites
The Gus & Co., LLC. CSA Newsletter
Seeking The Wrong Goal
Anna Jones-Crabtree, P.E., Ph.D. is a Sustainability Coordinator for the
Federal Government. She and her husband Doug, have started Vilicus
Farms, a 1280 acre grain, legume and oilseed farm in north central Montana
to grow food as well as a new crop of farmers.
“One of the most powerful ways to influence the behavior of a system is
through it’s purpose or goal. That’s because the goal is the direction
setter of the system, the definer of discrepancies that require action, the
indicator of compliance, failure or success toward which the balancing
feedback loops work. If the goal is defined badly, if it doesn’t measure
what it’s supposed to measure, if it doesn’t reflect the real welfare of the
system, then the system can’t possibly
produce a desirable result. Systems, like
the three wishes in the traditional fairy
tale have a terrible tendency to produce
exactly and only what you ask them to
produce. Be careful what you ask them
to produce.” (Donella Meadows
Thinking In Systems, pg 13.8)
Sunday Nov 8th 3:00 pm.
Doug and I have both crawled up
into the end of ‘Ernie’ our
combine to clean out the flax
straw that seems to be packed
solid in the beater grates. The
quarters are tight, and Doug’s a
bit grumpy because us weekend
farmers never get the full list checked off. Wee
really ought to be driving towards home right now since we both
have big things to do on Monday. It’s a rough time, so I’ve been
working really hard at reframing our situation lately…at least we
are out of that incessant wind for a bit and it’s not freezing cold I
say. We should be celebrating. (cont’d on pg 2)
What’s In the Bag?
Storage Onions
Galeux D’eysines Squash
Daikon Radishes
Dragon Langerie
Dry Beans
Vilicus Farms Flax
Lacinato Kale
Brussels Sprouts or
Crinkle Savoy
Cabbage
GUS & CO., LLC.
NOURISHING BITES NEWSLETTER
We’ll only have a few more weekends at the farm before winter hibernation. After all the hard
work this year, all that is left is cleaning up equipment and the shop, and hauling the wheat to market.
We deserve to be a bit more celebratory. But we really aren’t.
Behind the scenes lurks the reality of our situation. We’ve both hinted at but not really found the
time to dump the pieces on the table, rearrange them, and hold them up to the light and look at them
holistically. We started farming based on prices allowing albeit a small, but positive, cash flow in year
two. Well guess what, the recession came. Prices crashed. Add that to the reality of severely reduced
crop yields from our already conservative estimates due to only 3+ inches of rain since June. By all
traditional means our first year farming didn’t break the bank or meet any of the traditional indicators of
success of high crop yields. And frankly we when we think about the ideas and dreams about what our
farming enterprise right now instead of being inspired and energized we both feel a bit more worn out.
But what really is success? Yes, we actually had a crop. In retrospect the only goal of our
farming adventure isn’t just $$$’s. And it never was just $$$’s. That’s the challenge we have with so
many of our current systems…. Collectively our only goal is to make money in the short term. Therein
is the huge challenge. Our personal farming goals where we are striving towards diversity, resilience,
ecological symbiosis and fun along with financial stability don’t measure up well with the larger food
(oh, I mean commodity) production system where the only goal really is just to make a buck. Think
about all the actions that happen just because we seek the dollar… What if as
Sandra Steingraber has written instead of all the economic
bailouts we actually tried to figure out what constituted an
ecological bailout? I’d bet our 10-year rotation and organic
production methods might measure up better. Darn the
system who’s only measure is successful economics.
So we’ll have a chat with our loan officer. We’ll
grin and bear the conversation about how we didn’t
measure up based on traditional measures. Maybe we’ll get
a loan deferment. Maybe we’ll ask for more support from
our already giving tree family. They understand that the
numbers aren’t always what are important. So often we set
the
goals of our systems to go after what we can quantify not
what our inner
knowing tells us is important just because we can’t measure it. I know deep down that we’ll be able to
make it work one more year. We both have off farm salaries with health insurance. Most people would
be satisfied with just that life.
We signed up as beginning farmers right before both of us turned 40. We got to spend a lot of
time outside, watching the raptors hunt mice after our tillage. We both lost weight. We found a great
vet after the 2 young terriers each took an end of a porcupine in the middle of barley harvest. We saw
full fields of peas and flax in bloom. We learned you must chain down the disc drill when using the
transport. We discovered the collective support of lots of others in the world who share a vision of
agriculture being part of and not separate from a fully functioning ecological system. And we learned
we have a lot more to learn.
One of my younger sisters told me her favorite yoga teacher had taught her to question the
inherent value of the saying “this too shall pass.” Why? Because that speaks to the idea of just getting
by… and is that really our goal? Just get through it.. hmmm. It certainly doesn’t capture Donella
Meadows advice of participating flat out. A different and more thoughtful mantra is “this too shall be
included.” I like that… so while pulling out flax straw a gloved handful at a time I say to Doug. Maybe
next year we need to find a way to collect this stuff as it’d be great cobb building material for the farm
cabin. He laughs and says my brain is hilarious - it’s always thinking.
2009 was filled with the thrill of a new long term adventure and a plethora of new additions to
our life’s story. What’s not to love about that as a system goal?
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GUS & CO., LLC.
NOURISHING BITES NEWSLETTER
Meet Your Food
spherical, oblong and cylindrical. Most of the
commonly available Chinese radishes are white,
but some are yellowish, green or black.
WINTER SQUASH – ROUND EIGHT
GALEUX D’EYSINE
Here’s what the Territioral Seed Catalog has to
say about Galeux D’eysines: “An elegant
French heirloom with an appropriately elegant
sounding name. Magnifique! This stunning
squash has beautiful salmon-peach colored skin
covered with peanut shell-like warts caused by
sugar in the skin. Traditionally used in France
for soups and sauces, when cooked, the sweet,
orange flesh is as smooth as velvet. Definitely a
show stopper in the garden or on the table.”
Storage - Chinese radishes will keep well in the
refrigerator if they are placed in a sealed
container or plastic bag in order to maintain
high humidity.
Preparation - This is an extremely versatile
vegetable that can be eaten raw in salads or cut
into strips or chips for relish trays. It also can be
stir-fried, grilled, baked, boiled or broiled. Use
the daikon as you would a radish. It may be
served raw in salads or grated for use as a
condiment (if you don't have a Japanese-style
grater, use a cheese grater and grate just before
serving), pickled, or simmered in a soup.
Daikon is also preserved by salting as in making
sauerkraut. Daikon can be used in soups and
simmered dishes. To prepare, peel skin as you
would a carrot and cut for whatever style your
recipe idea calls for. Not only is the root eaten,
but the leaves also are rich in vitamin C, beta
carotene, calcium, and iron, so they are worth
using instead of discarding. A Japanese secret
to cooking daikon is to use water in which rice
has been washed or a bit of rice bran added (this
keeps the daikon white and eliminates bitterness
and sharpness}. For Chips, Relish Tray Sticks
or Stir Fries - simply peel daikon with a peeler
and cut crossways for thin chips. Dip thin chips
in ice water and they will crisp and curl for a
daikon chip platter with your favorite sour
cream or yogurt dip. Cut into julienne strips for
relish trays, salads or stir-frys.”
DAIKON RADISHES
Courtesy of the whatscookingamaerica.net
website: “The word Daikon actually comes
from two Japanese words: dai (meaning large)
and kon (meaning root). Daikon is is root
vegetable said to have originated in the
Mediterranean and brought to China for
cultivation around 500 B.C. Roots are large,
often 2 to 4 inches in diameter and 6 to 20
inches long. There are three distinct shapes -
Asian Slaw Dressing
This dressing is great for fall and winter salads, since it
pairs well with cabbage, spinach kale and tat-soi type
winter greens.
I like to make big bowls of slaw using the ingredients I
have on hand. Usually I include cabbage, grated
carrots, grated daikon radishes, chopped green onions,
or thinly sliced leeks, and thinly sliced kale leaves. I
also love to add nuts and dried cranberries.
An even simpler salad dressing can be made from rice
wine vinegar, grape seed (or other light flavored) oil,
pepper and salt.
6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl.
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GUS & CO., LLC.
NOURISHING BITES NEWSLETTER
Systems in Your World
“Success is not a place at which
one arrives but rather the spirit
with which one undertakes and
continues the journey.”
- Alex Noble
All photos credited to April Jones.
Gus & Co., LLC.
PO Box 973
Ridgefield, WA98642
[Recipient]
Here's to wholesome food, grown and eaten with love.