What’s my line?

Posted on 31 July 2011 by Bob

At a delightful gathering of young farmers mixer last night, sponsored by Concrete Beet Farmers and The Greenhorns, and hosted by Andy and Betsy at Spring Winds Farm, I got to talk with a number of farmers about my vision for our farm in Sogn. When people asked me about what I’m doing right now, I described my job as doing what I can to make the farm as attractive as possible in order to attract the best possible farmer to the land.

Turns out that for 50 or 60 years the place hasn’t really been a working farm. The tillable acreage has been rented – often for conventional corn and beans – and the rest has been either a dump, escape from the city or just ignored. So my job now is to decide what things need doing to get the place ready to once again be an integrated, working and thriving farm. With only so many hours in the day (and limited brain and muscle power) I need to do a sort of triage to decide how to most effectively spend my time and resources to bring the place to a state that an excellent sustainable farmer will see and say, “I want to be here!”

So far, I’ve got the electricity in, am working on the well, have had tons of rubbish removed, begun organic transition on the tillable acres and begun work on a small farm office, repair of the old barn and creating a creek crossing from the farmyard to the main fields and hillsides. But are these the best choices?

I’d love to hear what others think. What are the most important things to do to prepare this place for successful sustainable agriculture? If you’re a farmer and want to pursue the small-scale, sustainable approach, what would want to see that would make you want to commit to a long-term relationship to this land?

All comments, suggestions and opinions are welcome! Just getting this far I’ve had enormous help from folks at the Land Stewardship Project, the Sustainable Farming Association and many helpful friends. Do you have a thought for me?

BTW, Thanks to the Wild Goose Chase Cloggers for the music, dancing and companionship at the mixer – it was great to have you there!

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Lodging, parsnip and progress

Posted on 26 July 2011 by Bob

Straight line winds and heavy rains have taken their toll: the oats are bent over nearly to the ground and wedged into one another. I believe this is called lodging and you can see it in the photo. Around the edge of the fields, especially near the road, Minnesota’s newly identified invasive pest, wild parsnip has been giving me plenty to do just to keep it in check. You don’t want to mess with this stuff: if you get the juice on your skin and it gets exposed to sunlight you get a nasty burn. Ouch.

But things are coming along: the oats should be ready to harvest in a week or so, there is progress on plans for a farm office and repairs to the old barn and I’ve cleared many of the trees from along the creek where I hope to put a crossing so we don’t have to go the long way round from the barn to the fields.

The whole thing is overwhelming and exhilarating. I’m sure grateful for good friends who are helping in all kinds of ways.

Strong winds and rains have 'lodged' the oats.

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Greece and US Debts

Posted on 29 June 2011 by Bob

I read, the other day, a comment about the situation in Greece that got me thinking. The comment ran something like “The ordinary citizens of Greece are wondering why after going to work and paying their taxes all their lives suddenly they’re being asked to accept brutal ‘austerity’ measures and to sell off national assets in order to qualify for a European ‘bailout’”. That seems a sensible question to me. Is it, perhaps, parallel to the question Americans could be asking along the lines of “After working and paying my taxes all my life, why am I being asked to sacrifice my retirement or healthcare for my parents?” in both cases, it seems to me, there is a disconnect between the demands made of workers/taxpayers and the responsibility for the fiscal problems that prompt those demands.

I suppose one could argue that fiscal problems result from the electoral choices of the voters both in Greece and the USA, that is, that the voters elected the politicians who made the mess. Certainly there are those that would say “Those lousy tax and spend Democrats ran us into debt” (deftly ignoring the Bush Tax Cuts, his two unfunded wars and other inconvenient data). But I wonder if it’s time to go beyond this simple trope.

You can’t have debt without two participants: the borrower and the lender. As the media hypes ‘Greek default’ one is tempted to think of deadbeat borrowers and assume it’s all their fault.

But wait a minute. What about the other side of the transaction? If we agree that mortgage originators in the US who sold liar’s loans to folks who really didn’t qualify were partly responsible for the 2008 crash, and by extension the banks who encouraged them to do so, then the situation in Greece – and the US – may not be so simple.

In this moment when bank profits and bonuses are beyond belief (and greater than before the 2008 crash) the (well-mananged?) perception is of  noble creditors and lousy debtors. I am not so sure the creditors are all that noble. TARP may well have been an institutionalization of moral hazard: why be responsible about making loans when you know the federal government will bail you out no matter what you do?

At this moment, it’s safe to assume that the money in the banker’s personal accounts is well protected: we’re not getting it back – it’s gone down the rabbit hole. It’s also safe to assume that the banksters and their minions in government aren’t going to change things anytime soon. So what’s an ordinary citizen to do?

The most recent news I saw suggested that the Greek Parliament had voted to accept the ‘austerity’ measures demanded by the banks. You can read about them here. I wonder how (if) that will play with ordinary citizens. And I wonder what lessons we might draw if, as Jon Stewart noted, each Greek citizen owes $44,000 but each American owes $45,000.

 

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Oats and Other Progress

Posted on 28 June 2011 by Bob

The oats are up and doing beautifully, electricity is in and the well is working. Progress down on the farm!

With help from neighbors, oats were planted in most of the tillable fields along with alfalfa and mixed grasses. This is a first step towards organic transition: no treated seeds, no GM anything, no prohibited chemicals. They’re doing nicely as you can see in the photo.

All together, there are about 24 acres in oats just now. After the oats and straw are harvested – likely late July or early August – the alfalfa should take off. At least, that’s the hope!

I never imagined I’d get so excited seeing oats grow! I’m thrilled. Go figger. Here’s an image of the oats, up close and personal so you can see the seeds developing.

Maybe I’ll keep a bushel or two and see if I can make oatmeal, rolled oats or skirlie. But that’s for later. At the moment I’ve got more immediate jobs to do: gotta get the red barn solid, cleaned up and re-painted. Got to get a farm office sorted (with a working bathroom, I hope) and lots of thinking about the overall site plan. Where should I put a strawberry patch, raspberries, hops, asparagus or other perennials? What should I do about a crossing over the creek? And what about the gazillion boxelders and tons of buckthorn? So much to ponder.

Good, though.

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Beautiful Canvas Needs Artist

Posted on 5 May 2011 by Bob

The picturesque Sogn Valley near Cannon Falls, Minnesota has seduced me. With no farming experience but a passion for sustainable agriculture we went and bought a 55 acre farm in this lovely area. The farm includes 25-30 acres of rich bottomland with a small creek running through it, the balance is south-facing woodland with old oaks, younger birches and, we’re told, lots of morel mushrooms. The fields have been rented for conventional corn and beans but this year I’m planting oats and alfalfa to begin organic transition. There are two barns but no dwelling at present, though there is one building right with the property.

We bought this land because I think it has enormous potential: the soil is excellent, it is within an hour of a major market, it is near a transport corridor (Highway 52 runs from the Twin Cities to Rochester) and not far from a lively college town, Northfield, the hillside offers excellent solar resource in addition to its historic oak savannah ecology. But how do I realize this potential? I’m not a farmer, I’m a musician and scholar (ethnomusicolgy – go figger . . .). My dream is to find some folks who want to help creating a thriving, sustainable, resilient farm on this land integrating the fields, stream, woods and buildings. I don’t know what the best crop choices will be, but I suspect that a variety of products will yield the best results: some critters grazing, small fruits or berries, wood for heat, small grains, CSA or market vegetables, maybe hops for the burgeoning local brewing scene. I’m expecting some serious trial and error!

We’ve only owned the land a few weeks so I’m overwhelmed with ideas and projects. But in the end I hope this will be home to a farm family of some sort that will thrive and, in time, take ownership of all or part of the enterprise. There are many, many steps between here and there but that’s my dream. I wonder if there is someone out there who’d like to play in this sandbox . . .

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Offer accepted . . .

Posted on 4 March 2011 by Bob

Just heard that our offer for this property has been accepted. 55 acres – 39 tillable – in the Sogn Valley, about an hour south of Minneapolis near Cannon Falls.

Adventures to come!

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A State of Transition

Posted on 14 July 2010 by Bob

At the weekly informal Transition gathering at the Blue Moon Coffee Cafe this morning, prompted by a new and thoughtful presence (welcome, Pierre!), we considered the state of Transition in the Twin Cities. Here is one take . . .

Diffuse. There are pockets of Transition interest and activity in various neighborhoods around town and in various community groups. At present, none of these nodes has coalesced into a formal ‘Transition Initiative’. The Blue Moon gathering continues to provide a safe haven for folks concerned about Peak Oil and Climate Change, but awareness (or willingness to consider) these issues is largely absent from the general public as far as we can see.

This observation prompted discussion of just what Transitioners hope to – and can reasonably – accomplish, given the real world in which we find ourselves. We acknowledged that getting the message out is not among our strengths (we’re clearly not getting that job done – as wonderful as our tiny group is, it’s still tiny). Thus the massive systemic changes that most of us believe are needed are far beyond our reach – at least for now.

Given that, what might be more modest but achievable aims? The consensus this morning was: leading by example. Mostly around food but also energy and community, individuals are increasing their skills (reskilling?). In our collective view, the larger society will come to grips with the issues only when it is forced to do so. When that happens, we’d like to be ready to provide examples of resilience in our lives, homes and communities.

And we want to have fun doing it. Sharing food, music, dancing and the arts is essential as we work together towards our attractive shared vision of a more connected, more human and lower energy world and as we cope with our ‘End of Suburbia’ moments and other challenges.

What is the State of Transition in the Twin Cities? No one has the authority to say, but by example and by trial and error we all hope our individual efforts may serve not just ourselves and our families, but others as and when they decide to join the party.

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How Economies Grow and Peter Schiff

Posted on 7 July 2010 by Bob

Ok as far as it goes . . .

Peter Schiff’s How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes offers a gently amusing introduction to his take on Austrian School economics by allegorically representing the United States as an island with an economy based on fish. While the book effectively presents his views and offers useful insights into the current economic morass, I want to mention two of its significant weaknesses. First are the inherent contradictions of Schiff’s biases and second are the enormous gaps left by realities not measured by economics.

“The Market” is Schiff’s demigod: its magic solves all problems and leads to the highest and best use of all resources. If Government would just get out of the way, The Market would take care of everything. Unfortunately, there are several problems with this view. Most obvious to many folks today is that the present Government is effectively a subsidiary of the businesses that comprise The Market. Look at the astonishing speed with which the Government decided to lend trillions to private banks with effectively zero oversight. Consider the revolving door between business and Government brought to new heights under Bush II and barely touched by Obama. It’s a complicated mess to be sure, but at this point in our history, Government primarily serves rather than hinders business (permits for Deep Water Horizon . . .). The massive debt problems of such great concern to Schiff expanded because The Market persuaded The Government to stop regulating just as Schiff would advocate. Sadly, reality doesn’t match the tidy absolutes of Schiff’s allegory.

But there is a deeper weakness to Schiff’s work and it starts at the beginning of his tale: Schiff’s island has an unlimited supply of fish. Ask a Canadian fisherman about the Grand Banks: resources deplete. Would Deep Water Horizon exist if there was an easier way to get the oil? Resource limits are absent from Schiff’s world, but not ours, alas.

Why an Economy Grows provides a pleasant introduction to aspects of economics, and a valid critique of our unsustainable financial ways, but ultimately, something smells fishy – and I hope some of the reasons are now a bit clearer.

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Welcome

Posted on 6 July 2010 by Nick

Welcome to youngwalser.net, Bob Young Walser’s internet outpost. Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota I hope to chronicle unfolding responses to the challenges of Energy Uncertainty (aka Peak Oil), Climate Change and Economic Change in the heartland of the U.S.A. With an eye to the ideas of Transition being developed in England by Rob Hopkins and others, I wonder what the evolution of life in the Midwest will look like and I hope to celebrate the successes of that process as well as to recognize the challenges. I agree with Chris Martenson when he says that the next 20 years will be nothing like the last 20 years. We shall see . . .

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