Diary of a Class: Food Gifts, Friendship–and a Trip to Remember

Post author By Dani Yokhna
Post date February 18, 2009
No Comments on Diary of a Class: Food Gifts, Friendship–and a Trip to Remember

By Holly D. Coleman

Get More Folk School! We’re loving our John C. Campbell experiences. Here’s more of what we’ve learned:

As I packed my bags to head south to the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, N.C., I couldn’t help but be anxious for the trip ahead of me.

I am a homebody; I love my little farm in northeastern Ohio and prefer it to the most luxurious hotel or far-flung bed-and-breakfast the world has to offer.

Traveling for anything, let alone by myself, was ordinarily out of the question.

You know all the little things you have to prepare for: Is there enough grain to get the llamas and the goats through my time away? Are the emergency vet numbers posted clearly? Will my husband recognize if something is wrong with any of the animals? Will the dog die of loneliness without me?

Holly Coleman is pictured here with her Tuscan lemon cake.

Try some of the same recipes!

Without the encouragement of my daughter, Hobby Farms’ managing editor, I never would have made the trip to North Carolina. But I am so glad I did!

As I loaded up the truck, I tried to lay these apprehensions to rest and focus on the fun things I knew awaited me: a week full of cooking, getting to see my daughter and loads of fabulous fare!

As the miles ticked away, I could feel myself relaxing as I took in the beautiful scenery; the hills near Brasstown were very similar to the ones I had loved and played on as a child visiting family in West Virginia.

A Sunday Arrival
I arrived on Sunday, bid adieu to my sisters who had been my road-trip buddies and took a deep breath.

Anything set in a place this spectacular had to be good!

I got a room to myself (which was great as I work nights and tend to be wide awake at 4 a.m.) in a sweet little log cabin with a porch that ran along one side so we could sit and watch the sun set every evening.

When I walked from my lodging to meet my instructor, I was struck by how quaint the School’s buildings were and how breathtaking the mountains were, all covered in vibrant red and yellow-leaved trees.

My instructor, Jan Miles, promised to teach me how to make “Gifts of Food” –there were be five other students in the class with me–two from Georgia, one from Tennessee and one from Massachusetts.

I also learned that there were 15 classes taking place that week covering everything from fly-fishing, stained glass creation, wood working, rug weaving, blacksmithing and music making. I wanted to see if I could get my sisters down there to take a class with me!

That night I toured the History Center, which chronicled the School from conception to present. I also checked out the craft shop as I needed a coat – I forgot how chilly it gets in the mountains when the sun goes down!

The First Day
I participated in the morning walk on Monday and it was wonderful – it was pitch dark when we ambled along, but there was something so soothing about darkness in the country.

I had breakfast in the communal dining room (forgot about good old Southern grits!) and headed off to my first day of class from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

We made ladyfinger cake, chocolate mousse in chocolate cups and chocolate leaves for decorating. I could already tell I was going to gain 10 pounds in just a week!

That evening I attended a slide presentation about fly-fishing in Alaska. I hadn’t ever considered fly-fishing, but it sure looked like fun, especially because it was a catch-and-release trip.

Photos from Class
Here are more photos from the Gift of Food class at John C. Campbell Folk School, courtesy Keather Weideman.

I made a cup of tea, grabbed my flashlight and headed “home.” A shower and time to read a few chapters of my book and it was time to climb into bed. As I drifted off to sleep, I wondered if my tendency to stay on the farm might be waning just a bit …

Chocolate Overload
On Tuesday’s morning walk, we explored a part of the Folk School I hadn’t been to yet: the gazebo made by the framing class and raised garden beds guarded by some really cool scarecrows made by local elementary school children.

Hunt Smith, a musician who plays the mandolin and guitar, as well as sings, provided MorningSong.

In class we churned out dark chocolate chip walnut meringue cookies, cracker cookies (so easy and good!), snowballs (a macaroon with—what else?—chocolate inside) and raisin cookies.

I thought I was going to lapse into a sugar coma! We took samples to the music students and the spinning class next door.

We were quite popular with the other students! Many people who were touring the school stopped in to admire our delicious creations.

After supper, I went to watch the square-, contra- and circle-dancing and even participated in one dizzying dance.

It was so much fun to watch as many of the dancers were from the area and come weekly to assist in teaching the steps to those of us who are inexperienced.

After all the good food and entertainment, it was time to go back and rest up for another (delicious) day!

Happy Halloween!
I began my day with a brisk bird-watching hike, but between the darkness and the cold (it had frosted overnight), very few birds were active.

We did see a heron fishing in the creek, though! Because of the prolonged drought this area had experienced, the water in the creek was hardly moving.

The dry weather also put a damper on camping here—they weren’t permitting campfires for fear of forest fires.

Our walking trip was so lengthy that we missed MorningSong, so I ate a quick breakfast and headed off to class.

Today we made some non-chocolate desserts (thank goodness! Who knew you could get tired of chocolate?) like pumpkin cake, lemon tulles and four-layer espresso cake.

We had not sampled any of our cakes yet, but we did try the pumpkin muffins and cookies. Most were pretty good—but some are not!

Our instructor loved teaching as much as we enjoyed being taught, which made me eager to get back to the farm to make homemade goodies for the holidays!

That evening there was a drum gathering and all of us were encouraged to participate by using a tambourine or similar musical instrument that required only a sense of rhythm.

I politely declined as I had forgotten to pack my rhythm. Instead, I chose a ghost walk to celebrate Halloween.

There also was a chair caning demonstration, but being exhausted, I it so I could go back to the cabin and rest.

Friends in Town
Thursday started bright and early with the Rivercane Walk. This walk included several sculptures to honor the Cherokee Indians.

One that stood out to me was the Eagle Dancer, which was a metal sculpture that portrayed the eagle as a protector with great power.

There was also a Clan Cane Pole, which signified the seven Cherokee clans. This place is truly steeped in history.

MorningSong featured David Brose, who entertained us with ballads and local legends.

A hearty breakfast was followed by a full day of finishing the projects from the previous day. We also made fruitcake without fruit (who knew!), toffee cookies, a Tucson lemon cake and lemon bars.

We briefly forayed into Brasstown to see the gift shops and I fell in love with a lovely bird print that would look just perfect in my kitchen.

After cleaning the kitchen (which was amazing and fully equipped with loads of counter space, a fireplace big enough to walk in and outlets galore—something I wish my kitchen had more of!), my daughter Sarah Coleman and Karen Acevedo, Hobby Farms’ editor in chief, arrived for a visit.

It was so nice to see familiar faces!

I took them on a tour of the gardens where Karen had worked earlier that year during the Fall Gardening class, the blacksmith shop and the gift shop. We all ate dinner and then Sarah and I sat on the porch with cups of tea and watched the activities and meadows below.

Before we headed home, we listened to a pick-up music, which was incredibly enjoyable as it brought back memories of my uncles playing their guitars in West Virginia when I was a child. How quickly time passes.

A Fond Farewell
Today we tied up all the loose ends we had left in the kitchen and got ready for the big Student Exhibit. It was so interesting to see what everyone else at the school had been working on that week.

When my sisters came to pick me up to head back to Ohio, they surprised me with the little bird print I had fallen in love with.

In addition to the plethora of recipes, I now had something else to remember my trip by; I look at that little chickadee every morning and am thankful for my family and friends—and for the John C. Campbell Folk School, which gave me back a piece of my childhood, if only for a few days.

About the Author: Holly D. Coleman is an emergency room nurse who lives on a small farm in Canfield, Ohio. She has a barn full of critters and is going to try to adapt some of her holiday recipes to make them llama-, goat-, dog- and cat-friendly.

Crops & Gardening

Edible Weeds

By Tom Meade

Try an edible autumn olive
© Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources – Forestry Archive, Bugwood.org — autumn olive berries

Among common weeds, autumn olive, Japanese knotweed, and milkweed are some of the most pernicious.

And delicious!

Incredibly invasive, they’re hard to kill. So, if you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em.

Russ Cohen is the rivers advocate for the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, and the author of the book, Wild Plants I Have Known and Eaten, published by the Essex County Greenbelt Association in northeastern Massachusetts.

Autumn Olive Berry … Fruit Leather
He leads foraging walks throughout New England. During an orientation chat before each walk, Cohen generally serves strips of “fruit leather,” made of the dehydrated pulp of autumn olive berries, with no additional sugar or other flavoring.

Russ Cohen has several edible weed recipes
© Tom Meade
Russ Cohen holding a poor man’s pepper plant as he takes a break on a foraging walk.

It tastes fabulous, fruity and sweet with a touch of tartness. And autumn olive berries have 18 times more lycopene than tomatoes.

The powerful antioxidant is believed to help in the prevention of heart disease and prostate cancer.

Though Cohen uses a $60 dehydrator to make his fruit roll-ups, a cookie sheet in a warm oven will also do the trick with autumn-olive pulp puree.

In its liquid form, the puree is a perfect topping for ice cream, pancakes, and johnnycakes.

After the first frost, autumn olives are super-sweet treats, eaten out of hand right off the bush.

The invasive alien’s bright-red berries are flecked with gold, and they are generally found along the road and in abandoned gravel banks.

Japanese Knotwood … Asparagus’ Cousin?
Another invasive alien, Japanese knotweed, is virtually indestructible.

Get Wild!
Wild Plants I Have Known and Eaten by Russ Cohen

Staking The Wild Asparagus and Stalking The Blue-Eyed Scallop by Euell Gibbons

Foraging New England by Tom Seymour

Wild Edible Plants of New England by Joan Richardson

Invasive species recipes from The Invasive Plant Atlas of New England’s (IPANE).

In the spring, its shoots taste like fresh asparagus lightly sprinkled with lemon juice. The shoots are best when their first leaves are still huddled together in the shape of a spear tip, and the shafts are crisp enough to crack off. Steam them for only a minute or so, add a little butter, and have a feast.

During a walk at the Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston, Massachusetts, Cohen said the tender tips of Japanese knotweed also make a tasty pie used instead of rhubarb.

Related to buckwheat, Japanese knotweed is one of the last plants to blossom in late summer – early autumn in New England. Honey bees use its nectar, mixed with goldenrod nectar, to produce a honey as black as motor oil with a strong, distinctive flavor. It’s good for sweetening baked beans and for brewing unusual beers and mead.

Milkweed Meals
During his walk at the botanic garden, Cohen had high praise for milkweed, a plant that offers three opportunities for harvest:

1. when its shoots first emerge in spring
2. when its flowers begin to bud in early summer, and
3. when its seed pods first appear.

Like Japanese knotweed, the shoots of milkweed taste a little like asparagus. The flower buds are nutty and sweet, a little like pesto. Young seed pods taste like intensely flavorful green beans.

The key to cooking any of the milkweed parts, Cohen explained, is to immerse the parts into water that is already boiling. The sudden immersion into boiling water shocks the bitterness out of the plant. Boil them for seven minutes.

After boiling, use the milkweed in omelets, casseroles, soups, or by itself with a sprinkling of butter or good olive oil.

Other yummy weeds:

Barberries in cookies
Beach plums, in preserves and pies
Dandelion leaves in salads, blossoms in wine, roots instead of coffee
Jerusalem artichokes instead of potatoes
Lamb’s quarters, steamed or fresh
Poor man’s pepper leaves in salad, seeds for spice
Sheep sorrel in tangy salads
Stinging nettle in a spring-tonic soup
Wild violet blossoms in salads or atop desserts

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About the Author: Tom Meade is a writer, beekeeper and vegetable gardener in Rhode Island.

Crops & Gardening

Pasture Primer: A Look at Pasture Plants

Post author By Dani Yokhna
Post date February 18, 2009
No Comments on Pasture Primer: A Look at Pasture Plants

Courtesy Jupiterimages/
Bananastock/Thinkstock
The type of animals you graze in your pasture is a factor to consider when deciding which grasses, legumes and forbs to plant.

Of all the plants, the grasses are the most important to man. Grasslands—from improved pastures to natural rangelands—cover more than half of U.S. land area, not only providing forage for livestock and wildlife but also helping to stabilize soils and to reduce erosion.

Within pastures and rangeland, there are three major plant groups:

true grasses
legumes
forbs

These plants are critical for most small farms, yet they’re often overlooked, underappreciated and undervalued by farmers. When you look at the pastures on your farm, you might think of them strictly as grass, but they are so much more. Pastures are complex environments that typically support many species of plants and creatures great and small, ranging from your livestock to microbes, insects, birds and wild animals.

Pasture Grasses
As the curator of the grass collection at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, Paul Peterson, PhD, is one of the world’s leading experts on the taxonomy of grasses. For more than 30 years he has studied the plants that make up the grass, or Poaceae, family. With more than 11,000 species worldwide and more than 2,000 species in North America, grasses can be used on the farm for both agricultural and aesthetic purposes.

“Wheat, corn and rice are some of the most valuable agricultural grasses,” Peterson says. “As for forage, there aren’t any grasses that livestock can’t eat. Some are a little better as far as nutrient levels than others, but livestock can eat any grass and they can survive off of any grass that grows in North America.”

In the horticultural realm, though, more and more people are looking to grasses for their appealing look.

“Thirty years ago, the only horticultural interest in grass was for use in lawns, but now a lot of native grasses are being brought into cultivation because they look nice and people want them in their gardens. They are appreciated just for their beauty.”

Some grasses are annuals, which complete their life cycle in a single growing season; others are perennial plants, which can grow for years. Some are considered cool-season species, which dominate the northern tier of the country; others are warm-season species that can stand up to the heat of summer, particularly in the southern half of the country.

In all but a few extreme southern areas of the country—such as South Florida, the Gulf Coast and parts of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona—farmers are learning to extend their growing seasons by planting both cool-season and warm-season grasses.

True grasses start life as a monocot, or single-leafed seedling. As they grow, grass plants have a main stem, which is solid at each joint (or node) of the plant, and a leaf extending off the stem above each node. The leaves consist of two parts: a sheath, which fits around the stem, and a flat or narrow blade, which extends out from sheath and has parallel veins running vertically from the sheath. Grass plants have very fibrous root systems.

As wind-pollinated plants, grasses’ minute flowers are not brightly colored nor sweet smelling because they do not need to attract birds or insects. Most grasses produce flowers and seed each year on little spikelets. Some perennial grasses can also vegetatively reproduce from horizontal stems, called rhizomes or stolons.

Pasture Legumes
Plants of the Leguminosae family include a number of common perennial pasture and hay plants, such as alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil, clovers and vetches. Other members of the family include all types of beans and peas; peanuts; and some species of herbs, shrubs and trees.

Legumes’ seed-bearing pods characterize the 18,000 species of this family worldwide. Most legume species also have an association with root-borne bacteria (called rhizobia) that are capable of fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere and capturing it in the soil.

There are several significant differences between legumes and grasses:

Legumes are dicots, or plants that emerge with two leaves.
Subsequent leaves are compound, meaning they have multiple leaflets on each leaf (picture a “four-leaf clover,” which is actually a single leaf with four leaflets).
With colorful and fragrant flowers, legumes are nectar plants for bees and other pollinator insects.
Legumes produce seeds and foliage that are rich in protein, making them a highly nutritious feedstuff.

Ken Hoffman, who runs Havenwood Farm and Stables with his wife Nancy in Newton, N.J., particularly likes including legumes—especially “grazing alfalfas”—in his pastures and the ones he renovates for others in his Farmette Services business. The Hoffman’s 84-acre farm includes about 32 acres of pasture that supports a dozen horses and more than 100 laying hens that are part of his commercial pasture-poultry operation. When improving pastures with legumes, he generally uses a no-till drill to interseed the legumes into the existing stand.

“I include legumes in every pasture because they are a great nitrogen source,” he says, “and also because they have long tap roots, so they can really get down and help breakup any hardpan that might develop. Thanks to their taproots, they bring other nutrients up that are buried really deep in the soil.”

Pasture Forbs
From a botanist’s point of view, forbs are all the only herbaceous (or non-woody) flowering plants other than grasses. Although this group includes the legumes, it also includes many other families.

For practical purposes, I think of forbs as all the miscellaneous flowering plants that grow in pastures, including a number of weedy species. Dandelions, for example, are a forb.

Forbs are dicots, many have a taproot, and all have colorful and fragrant flowers that attract insects. They often make good grazing plants, and sheep and goats do particularly well in pastures that have an abundance of forbs.Farmers often plant annual forbs, like kale, rape or turnips, as pasture crops to extend their grazing season because many of these plants can be grazed well into the fall and winter. Although most of the time forbs are planted as an annual forage crop in a field by themselves, Hoffman has experimented with interseeding chicory, a perennial forb, into his pastures with his no-till drill and liked the results.

“Like the legumes, the chicory has a long taproot, which brings up nutrients, and the horses seem to enjoy it,” he says. “Chicory is supposed to have medicinal value. Thomas Jefferson was big into growing chicory for forage and wrote extensively about it.”

How to Improve Your Pasture
Growing up on a farm in Nebraska, Keith Johnson, PhD, professor of agronomy at Purdue University, developed a keen interest in forage crops for pasture and hay that has stuck with him throughout his career.

“My masters’ project was related to getting legumes into tall fescue to improve animal nutrition, and my PhD was looking at fertility influences on tall fescue in hay pastures.” Today, Johnson’s research looks at how paddock numbers and forage types within a farm influence profitability for cow and calf producers.

Based on his experience, Johnson has a great deal of advice about pasture improvement.

“It comes down to looking at your farm as a whole system. You have to decide what you want to do. If you want to have lactating goats, then keep in my mind there probably ought to be a legume component in your pastures; whereas, if you are going to have under-exercised geldings, they will get along nicely with a predominantly grass pasture with a minimal amount of legumes.”

Although grasses, legumes and forbs have a wide range of areas in which they grow successfully, from mountain peaks to desert valleys to coastal areas, Johnson explains that not all species grow well in all areas of the country, nor in all soil conditions. Some require high moisture, others do well in drier areas; some thrive on sandy soils, others perform best on heavier soils. Selecting the right forage species for your area is one of the keys to establishing and to maintaining healthy pastures.

“One of the frustrations I find today is that I get emails from all over the country asking me for advice, but I’m not the best person to advise someone in Colorado, or Georgia, or Oregon,” he says, “I think everybody needs to have a list of professionals within their region that they can count on for solid advice. In the area of livestock and pastures, I’d say a veterinarian, an agronomist, an extension agent and a financial advisor would be on the short list of professionals.”

Hoffman agrees that you need to find people and resources that will help you understand your local circumstances.

“I learned a lot by doing research on the Internet and reading. I subscribe to Hobby Farms, Stockman Grassfarmer and Acres USA, and I’ve accumulated about 50 books on soil fertility, plant management, grazing management and similar topics. I also think you need to talk to people who are actually doing it in your area in addition to the extension office. You can spend a lot of money on seed yet have poor results because there are times of the year to plant and times not to plant; there are soil conditions you need to understand before selecting seed. It’s more involved than just throwing out seed if you want to have a good-quality pasture, so do your homework first.”

Both Johnson and Hoffman agree on the first step: Establish a baseline of what you have now. They recommend having soil tests done and reviewing soil maps (usually available from the Natural Resources Conservation Service). Also, for existing pastures, you need to inventory what is already there.

“It could be that you have some very desirable forages that are just waiting to explode with some tender loving care,” Johnson says.

Tender loving care for an abused pasture often involves developing a fertilization program.

“Get your soil test done and then decide on what route you are going to go—organic or synthetic—for restoring fertility,” Hoffman says. “If you opt to apply a synthetic fertilizer, you will have to give the field rest and keep your animals off it for a while, as synthetic fertilizers can be toxic immediately after application.”

Hoffman also points out that you should select seed that is labeled as a forage variety.

“I can get Kentucky bluegrass or rye in commercial mixes, but I always look for varieties that are labeled for forage,” he says. “The forage varieties may grow taller, stand up better to grazing pressure or be safer for livestock. For example, fescue grasses can have endophytes in them, which can cause toxic reactions in livestock; varieties labeled for forage are endophyte-free, whereas commercial varieties might not be.”

Here are a few more points to consider in planning your perfect pasture:

Species that are generally adapted to your area might not perform well on all parts of your farm, such as on hill slopes or in low, wet areas.
In newly planted pastures, allow seedlings to become well-established before grazing. (Plants having attained at least 6 inches of growth is a good rule of thumb.)
Let the soil be solid enough to take hoof action from grazing animals.

Subdividing your pasture and using managed grazing techniques may be the best fertilizer money can buy. By managing livestock through grazing with multiple paddocks, you have better control of what and when your animals eat; thereby improving forage quantity and quality.

About the Author: Carol Ekarius is a contributing editor to HF and hobby ranches in Colorado. She is the author of Hobby Farm: Living Your Rural Dream for Pleasure and Profit (Hobby Farm Press, 2005).

Beginning Farmers

The Family Feast – Stufflebeam Family Farm

Post author By Dani Yokhna
Post date February 18, 2009
No Comments on The Family Feast – Stufflebeam Family Farm

By Jennifer Nice

When Brad Stufflebeam sits down for dinner every night, he’s surrounded by his family.

Seated at the modest farmhouse table is Jenny, his partner and wife of 14 years, and their daughters, Carina, 10, and Brooke, 8.

The table is laden with food that represents some of Brad’s extended family—his fellow local farmers.

This particular evening, the Stufflebeams’ dinner is comprised of grass-fed bison, artisan cheese and fresh butter from their neighbors up the road.

The Stufflebeams own Home Sweet Farm, their family farm and CSA.

Photo by Jennifer Nice

The Stufflebeams currently farm 12 of their 22 acres. By dividing the cultivated land into four quadrants, they easily fill a 32-week growing season.

Bringing Market to Farm
While farmers’ markets are popular and fun for consumers and can be worthwhile for farmers, they can also be a risky endeavor.

Customers know they must arrive early if they want the best selection.

For farmers, it means getting up before dawn, driving long distances, setting up before the market opens and then driving home again after a long, exhausting day with no guarantee of profit.

The Stufflebeams started selling at farmers’ markets, but stopped for these reasons. Then Brad came up with an idea that would bring the market to the farm, rather than bringing the farm to the market.

Furthermore, his idea would guarantee availability of goods to the customers and sales to the farmers, thus eliminating the uncertainty for both.

They started “Monthly Market Day” at their farm by utilizing their network of fellow local farmers.

Customers pay a one-time fee of $38 to participate, a nominal fee Brad charges simply to raise their commitment level. (The Stufflebeams’ CSA program members are automatically enrolled in Monthly Market Day.)

“Their membership allows them to pre-order food from nine different farms,” explains Brad. “When they drive out here, sometimes 60 miles from Houston, they know the food they want will be here.”

Monthly Market Days are held on the third Sunday of each month during the growing season. Customers pre-order from the Home Sweet Farm website, where they can select local, artisan cow and goat cheeses, yogurt and sour cream; grass-fed beef, lamb and bison; pastured poultry; bread; eggs and honey, as well as a large variety of organic produce.

Brad compiles the orders from each customer, then gives each farmer one order.

“It’s easy for the farmers because they only have to deal with the one order I give them and they come to Monthly Market Day knowing that their product is already sold.”

The Stufflebeams charge the farmers a fee for organizing the market and they usually accept payment in the form of goods.

Monthly Market Days are open to the public.

“We don’t turn anyone away, but the guaranteed availability is for our members,” says Brad.

Page 2: Read more about Home Sweet Farm

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The homemade bread is just hours out of the oven. A neighboring farmer’s wife brought it by when she came to collect fresh eggs from the Stufflebeam girls.

The Stufflebeams’ Home Sweet Farm, in Brenham, Texas, is a family farm, but it’s also a community supported agriculture (CSA) farm and its 100 members comprise the rest of what the Stufflebeams’ consider their extended family.

This family farm is the center of a unique cooperative; it’s the result of the Stufflebeams’ tireless effort to provide for these families.

Their efforts represent the local food movement that’s gaining momentum across the nation. It’s spurred by people’s desire to be connected to their food source; farmers like the Stufflebeams are that source.

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Call Him “Farmer Brad”
Brad Stufflebeam grew up in a Dallas, Texas, suburb. He describes himself as a suburban kid obsessed with sustainable agriculture.

Always self-taught, always striving to learn by doing, Brad immersed himself in books and dirt, wanting to learn everything he could about what would become his life and livelihood.

He got his professional start as a landscape designer, and focused on dry-climate landscaping, native plants and wildlife habitat, and antique roses.

“The choices I’ve made and the things I’ve done have always been toward this objective,” says Brad. “When I got into horticulture, I knew we would have a small, family farm someday.”

The Stufflebeams then started a nursery business in McKinney, Texas. It was one of the first 100 percent organic nurseries in Texas.

One of the nursery’s popular draws was Brad’s demonstration garden, in which he grew herbs and vegetables using entirely organic methods.

This garden was a small-scale representation of what the Stufflebeams hoped to have someday—an organic farm that would provide food for their community.

Luck struck the Stufflebeams twice when an offer to buy their nursery came in at the same time Brad was offered the job of operations director for World Hunger Relief, Inc. (WHRI)

It was an opportunity that would take them south to Elm Mott, Texas, and give Brad tremendous experience, putting him and Jenny closer to their objective.

“I was with WHRI for two and a half years,” says Brad.

“During that time, I ran the CSA and a Grade-A raw goat dairy, and I raised lamb, rabbit and organic pecans. This gave me good insight into community development, as well as world hunger and economic problems.”

Armed with the experience they needed, Brad and Jenny began looking at property on which they could start their own CSA farm. They ultimately chose a 22-acre parcel in Brenham, in south-central Texas.

“Going south would give us a longer growing season and higher-than-average rainfall,” Brad says. “Plus, the proximity to Houston, Austin and San Antonio would be a good market for us. From a historical perspective, this is a great part of Texas to be in. A lot of the state’s history was made here.”

The Stufflebeams closed escrow on their family farm in December 2004. Three months later, they were selling their organic produce at local farmers’ markets. They worked as hard and as quickly as they could to cultivate enough crops to be able to start their CSA and provide their members with an adequate allocation.

It didn’t take long, but initially the going was rough.

“The first two years we had a record-breaking drought and then the next year we had record-breaking floods,” recalls Brad. What saved them was the fact that they had planted a wide variety of crops for their CSA members.

“During the drought, some crops failed, but the dry-weather, heat-loving crops like peppers, tomatoes and okra did great,” Brad says. “The next year, we had 36 consecutive days of rain. We lost our tomato crop and our melons, but that was only a small percentage of what we grew. Our greatest insurance is the variety we grow. There are always going to be some crops that fail, but by growing many different things, [our members] get their produce.”

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Personal Farmers
In extreme situations such as this, the fact that Home Sweet Farm is a CSA farm means that its members share the risk of growing the food. Being a CSA farm gives the farmer security in the form of a fixed income to carry him through the highs and lows of good and poor seasons.

The members are incredibly supportive of the Stufflebeams because they feel a sense of ownership in the farm.

Now in its third year, the Stufflebeams’ CSA program is currently at its cap of 100 members, having doubled in membership each year since its inception.

“We are one of the largest CSA farms in the state and we have a waiting list,” says Brad. “We decided to cap our membership for now so that we could grow our infrastructure. We don’t want to get so big that we can’t give our members personal attention.”

For members like Mandi Barnard of Brenham, Texas, and Angela Austin, of Chappell Hill, Texas, that personal attention is why they joined the Stufflebeams’ CSA.

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About the Author: Jennifer Nice is a writer and editor in the agriculture and equine industry. Based in San Francisco, she divides her time between the city and Napa Valley, where she enjoys her two favorite pastimes: wine and horses.

Farm Management

10 Catering Tips

Photo Courtesy Kate Savage
Kate Savage, a Lexington, Ky., professional caterer and writer, has learned to persist even in difficult circumstances.

By Kate Savage

If starting a home catering business from your hobby farm is your dream, consider these 10 tips from a professional caterer.

1. Be realistic.

Catering is not glamourous!
It’s hard work and long hours.
When others play, you work.

Try these truths on for size before you invest any money, time or effort into an extension of your endeavours. Only the strong survive!

2. Cool as a cucumber.
Above all you must be able to handle stress and never appear flustered.

And that’s not just your stress, but also the “freak-out” levels of stress your client might be experiencing.

Realise what’s at stake for them. Trust and powerlessness can be scary emotions for anyone.

3. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines.
Time is unforgiving in the catering business. Five or ten minutes leeway is acceptable when serving, but half an hour late is not, unless the client has pushed back the clock. Are you reasonably punctual? Examine your ability to deliver in a timely manner.

4. Find your own niche.
Remember there are many categories of catering; from barbeque and beans to pheasant under glass.

Establish your own area of excellence and interest. Something you enjoy, something that makes your product different.

If successful, you’ll be making lots of it!

5. Listen to your client.
Naturally your thoughts and suggestions are what they are looking for, but most clients have some preconceived ideas regards their event. Prize these out. They’ll provide you with guidance and insights. It’s the client you’re trying to please.

6. Never apologise for your price.
Your product will always cost more than the frozen semi-equivalent bought from the warehouse megamarket.

Don’t be brow-beaten or back off your price with a client that wants to negotiate a “discount”, or promises you all their friends’ events. Nobody wins.

7. Start early.
Catering is like Christmas. If you leave it until the last minute, you’ll wish you’d started sooner. Many things can be organized in advance such as rentals and the work force.

Over time, you’ll become familiar with the natural sequence. Until then, make lots of lists.

8. Friendly and flexible.

Ten minutes before serving you’re told to hold dinner – the guest of honour’s flight is late.

Can you slap on a smile and reassure the hostess that you can ratchet down and maintain the meal indefinitely in a holding pattern? Do it anyway!

9. Remember your place.
Probably an old fashioned idea, but it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of an event.

A good rule of thumb for you and especially any extrovert servers you might employ is “if you’re having too much fun, then you’re not working.”

10. Belle of the Ball

Clients love to know they have thrown a social smash. Share some of the comments and compliments that came your way.

Part of the point is to glow in the glorious aftermath of the event – and that goes for you too!

Your First Farm Animal Poll

Post author By Dani Yokhna
Post date February 18, 2009
No Comments on Your First Farm Animal Poll

Thanks to everyone who took our poll asking about your first hobby-farm animal. Here are the results:

What was your first hobby-farm animal?

News

Farm Bill 2007 Update

More About Organics

Farm Bill Links

The U.S. Senate strongly approved a farm bill that includes funding and direction for a number of organic priorities reports the Organic Trade Association (OTA).

According to Caren Wilcox, executive director of the OTA said the current bill offers steps to help strengthen the safety net for organic farming producers and manufacturers.

Some measures being praised in the Senate bill include:

Recognition that increased funding is essential for the National Organic Program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture at the full authorized level;
$5 million for organic farming data collection to help provide better price and yield information for organically-grown crops;
$22 million in new money for certification cost share to aid organic farmers;
USDA barred from charging a premium surcharge on organic farm crop insurance, unless validated by loss history on a crop-by-crop basis; Currently, organic producers must pay a 5% surcharge for crop insurance; yet, in times of loss, the producers receive not the usually higher organic crop price, but the lower conventional price.
Organic production added as an eligible activity in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program;
Soil and Water Conservation Protection Loans added as a priority for those converting to organic farming practices and adds conversion to organic production as an eligible loan purpose;
$80 million over the life of the bill for organic agriculture research and extension.

The OTA encouraged continued support for these types of measures.

News

Sign Up for Goat School

Goat owners! Sign up today for one of Maine’s premiere events for goat owners coming in May.

The Maine Goat School™ offers critical goat-care information on:

hoof trimming
worming
kidding
giving shots

What Else to Expect
Hosted and facilitated by Ken and Janice Spaulding, who have been raising goats for about 20 years, the two-day event also includes:

Presentations by goat experts and information on marketing, nutrition, stocking rates, producing meat and about raising goats, which is becoming an increasingly popular and viable business.
Buffet lunches including dishes made with some type of goat product, meat, milk, cheese, etc.
A copy of book Goat School™ (dubbed “Goats 101” by students). The book is a comprehensive guide on goats written by the Spauldings.

Want more learning opportunities?
Check out these links:

Specialized schools for Hobby Farmers

How to Register

Call: (207) 938-3714

Email: kenjan@tds.net

Dates:

May 10-11, Spring Goat School™

October 11-12, Fall Goat School™

Location:
Stony Knolls Farm in Saint Albans, Maine

Registration fee includes the Goat School™ book and lunch.

At top, a goat checks out some of the students attending class. At right, Ken and Janice Spauling offer a demonstration. View more photos from past goat school events.

News

Survey: Local Livestock Breeds at Risk

Post author By Dani Yokhna
Post date February 18, 2009
No Comments on Survey: Local Livestock Breeds at Risk

© Paulette Johnson
Rare-Breed Renaissance
Sue Weaver reports on the “the rare-breed renaissance” occurring in “Raising Rare Livestock Breeds” and tells us how to get started. Click to continue.

Also, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) recently made some positive changes to its 2007 Conservation Priority List (CPL) noting gains for Belted Galloway cattle, Heritage turkeys, Choctaw Pigs and others. For more about ALBC, click to continue.

Even as many small farmers in North America, Europe and elsewhere are taking an interest in raising traditional and rare livestock breeds (see sidebar “Rare-Breed Renaissance”), many of the developing world’s indigenous livestock breeds are in danger of dying out.

The cause: Commercially marketed animals bred for their high yields and short-term profitability are taking over.

According to the results of a survey spearheaded by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and other research groups, the loss of the animals could mean a loss of genetic resources that help animals overcome disease and drought, particularly in the developing world.

Local breeds–nearly 70 percent of which are found in the developing world–are often better suited to their environments than commercially bred animals.

Survey Results
The survey, which includes mention of about 7,600 breeds of cattle, pigs, sheep, poultry and other animals in 169 countries, reports that:

11% of the investigated breeds are now extinct (some having disappeared many decades ago),

16% are currently at risk,

38% are unthreatened, and

the security of the remaining 35% is unknown.

The Response
In response, policy-makers, breeders and livestock scientists representing 108 eight countries have agreed on an action plan to save endangered livestock breeds. In part, the plan aims to:

Create a global database of livestock breeds and their population levels.
Encourage countries to find ways of maintaining endangered stocks through sustainable use
Set up gene banks “as a backup system” in case breeds disappear, Beate Scherf of FAO’s Animal Genetic Resources Group, one of the main group involved.

The Most-Threatened Animals
Several examples of local livestock loss noted in the survey results:

The drought-hardy African Ankole cow is expected to be fully replaced by black-and-white Holstein-Friesians within the next 50 years. Holstein-Friesian cattle, the stereotypical black-and-white dairy cow, are now found in more than 120 countries throughout the world.
Red Maasai sheep are naturally resistant to intestinal parasites, but the introduction of Dorper sheep from South Africa has caused, in little more than 15 years, pure-bred Red Maasai to almost completely disappear.

Click to continue reading about the breeds involved in the survey at the ILRI website.

Farm Management

Become an Expert

By Rick Gush

About the Author
Rick Gush is a regular Hobby Farms and Hobby Farm Home contributor, freelance writer, designer and small farmer based in Italy.

The joke about the farmer who is outstanding in his field is one of our oldest agricultural giggles.

The more serious reality of the situation is that many farmers could actually benefit by pushing themselves to become “experts.”

Becoming an Expert: Farm Consultant This can range from being a private agricultural consultant to participating in public speaking engagements.

Practical experience can be a great teacher to the student who keeps his eyes open; many a small farmer, after a few years of working their farm, finds that they know about as much concerning their craft as any of the ag counselors at the cooperative extension or grange hall.

Many small farmers are indeed candidates for being in the next wave of experts for their particular area of activity.

In This Article

Why Become an Expert
Steps to Becoming an Expert
Some Experts Require Certification
What to Expect: Working as an Expert
Challenges in the World of “Experts”

Side Bars
Kit Knotts: Example of an Expert
Five Study Habits for New Experts

The awesome collected knowledge of the current crop of experts is impressive and can easily be intimidating to newcomers to the arena.

But ours is an ever-changing world; old experts are constantly retiring and new experts are continually appearing. Becoming an expert is not as rare as it once was; it’s actually a better time than ever before to become an expert because there are more areas of activity: There’s more information available both online and offline, and our general communication capacity is at an historic high.

Being an expert can bring numerous benefits, from increased, respect-driven sales and consultant fees to greater market utilization and general publicity.

In short, small farmers should think about becoming an “expert” as it could improve their business and add considerably to their enjoyment.
Becoming an Expert: Classroom Presenter
Why Become an Expert?
Any consideration as to why one would want to deliberately set out to become an expert must initially be based on personal intellectual curiosity and self pride. Being an expert is essentially the result of being really interested in a subject and the pride of bringing a higher level of craftsmanship to one’s activities is a primary motivation for most agricultural experts.

A close second inspiration is certainly the potential financial benefits available to an active expert. Being an expert can be leveraged to produce a variety of income-producing opportunities, including:

Consulting for insurance companies and legal firms,
Personal consultations with other farmers,
Publishing writings on the subject,
Participation as a judge in group events,
Serving on committees,
Public speaking engagements and
Product endorsements.

Kit Knotts: A Great Example of an Expert
Amateur gardeners that have risen to the level of expert are an inspiration to us all. Kit Knotts is a good example, as she is the ranking world authority on the water lilies with enormous pads, Victoria amazonica.

A great example of a modern expert, Kit, in tandem with her husband Ben, raises and studies tropical water lilies in her Florida garden. She writes and communicates internationally on the subject.
While the university experts tend to focus on the more-economically important subjects, it’s experts like Kit who carry the burden in many specialty areas.
Kit found a niche that appealed to her, searched out all the existing documents and proceeded to start communicating with other experts around the world.
Kit and Ben’s activities are now producing new important information, as they’re harvesting and germinating seeds collected from domesticated plants. Scientists will need expertise like hers in the future, when native waterlily populations are threatened with extinction.
Kit has a lily site at www.victoria-adventure.org

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Experts also often find that their own products are in greater demand, and that their marketing improves with their public visibility and respect. Of course, there are also a great many experts who do not leverage their expertise for financial gain. For some this is due to not marketing themselves and, for others, it can be that the intellectual pursuit is its own reward.

Being considered an expert also opens the doors for greater participation in one’s industry. Known experts receive more invitations of all kinds, and can give and receive more visits to other production facilities, join more industry committees and attend more conventions.

In general, experts can leverage their status to exert more control in their industry and help influence future industry activities. A great many industries regularly experience high levels of uncertainty and assault, and it’s the wise experts in each specialty that help guide their industries through the storms. Becoming an expert may also allow one to sidestep oncoming difficulties more easily in their own activities.

Obviously, experts in the more well-known specialties will find more opportunities and demand for their services than experts in obscure subjects.

An expert in small-farm taxes will certainly find more work than an expert in left-handed gloves.

That having been said, there’s no limit on what subjects are appropriate for future experts to consider; absolutely any subject is potentially possible.

Becoming an Expert: Experience Counts! Experts on edible snails, organic, dried apricots; farm-grown, cut flowers; and efficient manure usage will all find plenty of opportunities for giving expert counsel.

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Steps to Becoming an Expert
To be considered an expert, one doesn’t need to invent something fancy or start a new school of agricultural practice. As an expert, one serves merely as a conduit for the accumulated knowledge in their specialty.

They may also have opinions that others would like to hear, but an expert is first and foremost a person who knows what the other experts know. As a future conduit for the accumulated knowledge in your speciality, a beginning expert’s responsibility is to increase their access to and understanding of all that information.

The first step is to become a junior expert. This step can be taken in an instant and is simply a mental decision, a personal determination to acquire the required knowledge.

The single most important key to becoming an expert is communication. As a junior expert, one must learn how to communicate abundantly and efficiently. Most of us are poor communicators and we need to push ourselves quite a bit to communicate better.

Becoming an Expert: Study is Important, Too Five Study Habits for New Experts
Good study habits should include discipline as well as enjoyable activities. Most experts continue their learning throughout their careers and often continue study habits acquired during their early training. Some suggestions for new students:

Keep a diary. Daily, monthly, whatever. Regular recording of observations and information helps create an invaluable document for future research.
Read anything, not just texts. Textbooks have a limited focus; newspapers and magazines will offer a wider focus on any topic.
Prepare tests for yourself. Surprise yourself with quizzes or have a friend ask questions from a textbook. Testing helps form mental imprints of complicated information.
Collect experts. Meet or communicate with experts related to your area of study and take the time to maintain those relationships.
Study often for short periods. Frequent and regular study habits will yield the best results. A student will learn more with 10 minutes of reading every morning than with 10 hours of intense study once a month.

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Reading a handful of books and becoming a proponent of a particular viewpoint or practice cannot make one an expert, and ivory-tower experts with little practical experience generally make poor field decisions. A good expert makes the extra effort to understand the viewpoints of a wide range of others in their field; that knowledge is available only through communication with others.

Junior experts need to communicate with other already-established experts, with practitioners in their area of speciality, with any friends, relatives, neighbors or acquaintances who will give them the time of day, and finally, with their potential customers and those whom they themselves will educate. Communication occurs in many forms; in person, in telephone conversations, in e-mails, in chat rooms, on online forums and even in handwritten letters.

There’s a great need to study books, as well. A junior expert must study hard, and prepare his own curriculum and study plans. In addition to texts that deal directly with one’s specialty, a junior expert must also cast a wide look at literature in related areas. A junior expert must establish study goals and study without external prompting.

Actually, it’s not so uncommon for a pair of people to become experts together. Two people can encourage each other, share the adventure and bring multiple viewpoints to the study table. Alone or in association with others, a junior expert must establish study and activity goals, and, above all, learn how to communicate effectively with others.

Of course, university schooling is part of the background of many experts and this path of study is highly recommended, but some small farmers may already have graduated with a degree in an unrelated subject or may have no degree at all. These people are also capable of becoming experts in their field, but the road will likely be a bit steeper.

Even within the university system, becoming an expert requires the personal determination and sacrifice that characterizes any intense study. Universities are also often connected with certification processes and to obtain the relevant documents that testify to a person’s expertise, one may need to attend classes at a local university. Even for completely self-taught junior experts, universities can be a rich source of research materials concerning most fields of study. Regardless of any school or other study programs in which a junior expert is enrolled, they should also assume the responsibility of extracurricular studies.

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Some Experts Require Certification
For a great many areas, there are established procedures whereby the expertise and competence of individuals may be documented. Becoming certified is one of the best ways to establish oneself as an expert. Universities, trade associations, local and federal governments, and market organizations all conduct various certification programs.

Just learning what certifications are available for one’s specialty is an important step for a beginning expert. Finally passing through the various levels and possibilities of certification will give a new expert a boost in confidence to jettison their “Junior Expert” appellation and assert their full expertness. But it’s true that the more one learns, the more one realizes the enormity of their own ignorance. A good certified expert usually understands how little is really known about their subject and is humble concerning their own accomplishments.

One must also beware of useless certifications. Mail-order diplomas that have been bought instead of earned are not of much use. Beware also of certification programs that are not respected by true experts in the field.

Extensive documentation may not always be needed to be considered an expert in a particular field. In many cases, one can merely begin functioning as an expert, perhaps by publishing or writing for a specialty journal. Some areas of interest are obviously more well-documented than others. Becoming an expert in cardiovascular surgery is obviously going to involve a great deal more documentation and certification than becoming an expert in left-handed gloves.

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What to Expect: Working as an Expert
One of the most exciting events in the life of a junior expert is when they finally muster the confidence to begin working and giving advice in their field. Online forums make this step easier than ever, but working in person is both more terrifying and correspondingly more rewarding. Once a certain expertise has been obtained, a junior expert should consider volunteering themselves for speaking, consulting, judging and writing assignments. Serving on committees is also a good way to get one’s feet wet.

Being an expert doesn’t mean that one knows everything, but an expert should know how to find the answers for any subject questions. Wise experts are aware of their own shortcomings and are eager to consult other experts.

They know what their weaknesses are and gear their continuing study to fill those gaps as well as to establish an information network that can yield answers beyond their own competence.

They also know what their strengths are and they manage to market themselves in the appropriate directions.

Having the confidence to market themselves is difficult for many experts, which may result in fewer networking opportunities and thus less access to current information in their topic area. Tooting one’s own horn just slightly is good for research purposes, if nothing else.

The trick most experts use is to learn from their acquaintances and customers. The raw, live data that customers and other users and practitioners provide needs to be an important part of an expert’s own learning experience.

One constant in all fields is change; experts may have a remarkable grasp of past events and discoveries, but only through constant first-hand observation of case studies can an expert keep abreast of the changes occurring in their field. A savvy expert knows how to listen more than speak.

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Challenges in the World of “Experts”
Experts inevitably become aware of the effects of human incompetence and greed on their chosen field of study.

Nearly every expert carries with them a series of stories about being aware of a problem early, warning others, being ignored and then watching the problem explode out of control. Experts can expect to be criticized and to make a few embarrassing mistakes: It’s all part of the process. Experts will be ignored, abused and ridiculed, but in the long run they’ll enjoy the personal satisfaction of having mastered a subject, which is the reason one decides to become an expert in the first place.

To become an expert, one must be unusually focused. One must forgo many other activities and pleasurable events in order to concentrate on activities and events related to their junior expertsmanship. Experts are not created overnight. Junior experts might take inspiration from the English poet John Milton, who had such respect for the craft that although he knew at a young age that he wanted to write poetry, he waited and prepared himself for an unusually long time, until he was middle aged, before beginning to actually write poems.

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