Sogn Farm Project
Last Thursday was a corker! Starting at 8:30 the Fabulous Flying Flinks joined the Fantastic Field Family and picked bushels and bushels of sweetcorn. I brought the haul to The Camden Promise in North Minneapolis who took all they could use then visited Waite House and Pillsbury United Communities who also took all they wanted. Next was Groveland Food Shelf and finally Joyce Uptown Foodshelf: one harvest served four food banks!
L-R Jordan Fields (arms only – sorry!), Trenne Fields, Sebastian Lawler, Iris Flink, Freyja Flink, Willa Flink, Carl Flink, Emilie Flink
To provide a bit of perspective, I asked the various food shelves about their work. Every one told me that the need is greater today than it was before the pandemic. At the moment, Camden Promise is open 6 days a week and serves 60-80 families each day. In the Phillips neighborhood Pillsbury United Communities at Waite House serves 80 families per day, 4 days a week. At Groveland Food Shelf Jaye and new executive director Kerry Ann measure things differently serving 265 people per day, 5 days a week. Finally, Matthew Ayres at Joyce Uptown Foodshelf noted that in June they served nearly 1,000 households of which 183 were first time users of the service. As I drive to the farm it breaks my heart to see acres and acres of GMO corn and soy that no human can eat. The soil and climate here is – even with climate change – amazingly productive. That anyone in this state should ever be hungry is an absolute indictment of our food “system”. This should not be.
That said, thank you to (L-R) Jordan Fields (arms only – blame the photographer!), Trenne Fields, Sebastian Lawler, The Fabulous Flying Flinks: Iris, Freyja, Willa, Carl and Emilie.
(Español abajo) Sunday night’s harvest was special: volunteers included the de la Rosa clan who stayed for a parranda (party) with grilled marinated beef and elote (Mexican-style sweet corn on the grill). FYI Dulce is a wonderful cook and her green salsa is delicious! This morning I took the harvest to The Camden Promise once again who took all they could use so it was on to Joyce Uptown Food Shelf with the rest. Big thanks to (L-R) Kevin De La Rosa, Karen Kleinspehn, Oscar Moctezuma, Juan Calixto, Dulce De La Rosa and Mayela De La Rosa.
(L-R) Kevin De La Rosa, Karen Kleinspehn, Oscar Moctezuma, Juan Calixto, Dulce De la Rosa and Mayela De La Rosa
Elote!
Sweet corn at Joyce Uptown Food Shelf
La cosecha del domingo por la noche fue especial: los voluntarios incluyeron al clan de la Rosa que se quedó para una parranda con carne marinada a la parrilla y elote. ¡FYI Dulce es una cocinera maravillosa y su salsa verde es deliciosa! Esta mañana llevé la cosecha a The Camden Promise una vez más, quienes se llevaron todo lo que pudieron usar para que estuviera en Joyce Uptown Food Shelf con el resto. Gracias a (L-R) Kevin De La Rosa, Karen Kleinspehn, Oscar Moctezuma, Juan Calixto, Dulce De La Rosa y Mayela De La Rosa.
First and foremost: Huge thanks to the Kenwood PTA for all hands on deck on short notice! So far, 2023 on the farm has been . . . interesting.
We started with fire
In order to control invasive species in our largest fields, in April we had a controlled burn. It’s amazing to watch experts work with fire and the crew from Zumbro Valley Forestry are experts. Check out these photos:
Planting
Our first succession of corn went in on schedule and things were looking good but in mid-June I learned that our cooperating farmer hadn’t started the rest of the corn or the squash and was too booked up to help us. Uh-oh! I learned this on a Wednesday night and reached out to the crew from Kenwood School who jumped into the breach and came that very weekend to get the crops in the ground. Hooray! You should have seen the crew: I marked the rows with our little tractor then a parent came along and marked each hole followed by a student who placed two pumpkin seeds in each hole and who in turn was followed by a bucket brigade of students carefully putting a cup or two of water in each hole. Meanwhile, another crew got the remaining corn seeded and set up drip lines to jumpstart germination in hopes of getting ahead of the seed corn maggot (which considers corn seed a delicacy). As you can see in the photos below, the corn germinated well and we’re off and running. Thank you Kenwood!!
Near west field, July 2015
What should be the future of our farm? It’s time to make some long term plans so here is are some thoughts about our hopes and dreams for the farm in the coming years. Comments welcome!
The Sogn Sandbox
In 2012 we bought this 55-acre farm in the Sogn Valley about an hour south of the Twin Cities. We bought the farm with three main intentions. First, as a store of value. In light of the economic events of 2008 and a more generalized distrust of the economic system we decided to put retirement funds into real property rather than mutual funds, annuities or other intangible assets. It is our intent to draw on that investment as we age. Second, we bought the farm in part to provide a place to experiment with sustainability and resilience. How can this place be best cared for in the face of climate change and peak oil? Third, we’d like to use this investment to experiment with possible approaches to the challenge of access to land for emerging farmers. These remain the values that we hope will inform the future of the farm.
With 11 years of experience behind us it is now time to develop a long-term plan for the farm which leaves it both improved and in good hands with ownership transferred and resources for our retirement realized. We hope to have time to do the process thoughtfully and well. During this process we would like:
- To work cooperatively with our partner(s) to develop and implement a plan for the farm as a whole and specifically for the management and improvement of the tillable acreage.
- To continue to use organic / regenerative practices.
- To engage with our neighbors as we envision the farm as part of the Sogn/Cannon Falls/Dennison community.
- To consider making investments in the farm such as solar, a pack shed etc. given strategic and/or economic justification.
- To continue to have access to the farm, woodlands and garden
- To maintain use of the farm office building.
At present we are investigating:
- Given current economic and legal conditions, what model, if any, is best for a small farm such as ours? For the last three years we have subsidized growing sweetcorn and winter squash for donation to food banks. This requires fundraising and volunteer coordination in addition to tillage, harvest etc.
This is very much a work-in-progress but we hope the outcome will usefully contribute to conversations about small farm economics, resilience, access to land, community and more. Thoughts, comments or connections to others embracing these challenges are welcome!
End of the season 2022
Last Saturday was sunny and warm so I chopped the cornstalks and got the field ready for winter. This is the field where we grew sweetcorn, winter squash and pumpkins – all tidied up. 2022 was a grand season with over 15,000 lbs of food donated to 8 local and 2 regional food banks plus over 667 pumpkins donated to Kenwood Elementary School (harvested, washed and transported by student and parent volunteers). Many thanks to our army of volunteers and contributors – we couldn’t do this without you! (more after the pumpkin photos)
But hold on! It’s not too late! You can still be part of the project: we need to raise about $6,000 to pay our cooperating organic farmer, Dana Jokela of Sogn Valley Farm for his time, equipment, fuel and staff that helped get our crops in the ground. As of this writing we’re well on our way but please go to this GiveMN page and help put the season to bed (donations are tax-deductible and pass through The Food Group, one of our food bank partners).
Tractor view of chopping corn (click to play)
It’s a joy and a privilege to grow and share good food and it confounds me that in our rich, prosperous and fertile state there is so much need, so much hunger. One of our cooperating food banks, Channel One in Rochester, distributes a million pounds of food every month to food banks in southern Minnesota. A million pounds every month!
As long as this is true there is a need for our contributions. Again, please help out if you can, the need is enormous. You can donate on this GiveMN page.
And thank you.
A perfect harvest day greeted our 21 volunteers (and two dogs) on Saturday. In a bit over 4 hours we harvested nearly 6 tons (!!) of butternut, delicata and acorn squash which was delivered to The Food Group in the Twin Cities and Channel One Regional Food Bank in Rochester. These organizations distribute food to smaller food shelves in the Twin Cities and southeast Minnesota, respectively. Here’s a quick video of the team in action:
And here’s the hearty harvest crew. Huge thanks to (left to right) Julie (and Jenny), Nat Case, Cara M Rodriguez, Greg Soucha, Sarah Purdy, Mike Muehlbach (and Chuck), Isaac, Kim Muehlbach, Sarah York, Ari, Oswaldo Alvarado, Hans Barkei, Theresa Taylor, Sarah Furniss, Sarah McCarthy, Suzanne Rhees, Robin Murie, Jon Freise, Barb Pratt, Rachel FK, Marjorie Kostouros and Quinn McCauley.
Squash Harvest Volunteers, September 24th, 2022
On Monday and Tuesday I had the honor of delivering the squash to our food bank partners. For the record, the delivered weight of squash was: The Food Group delivery #1: 3,814 lbs; Channel One: 3,806 lbs; The Food Group #2: 4,076 for a grand total (so far) of 11,696 lbs! Here is some of the squash at The Food Group’s warehouse:
A portion of our winter squash in The Food Group’s warehouse
I went back to the farm yesterday and filled the pickup with another several hundred pounds of squash and all this is in addition to the estimated two tons of sweet corn we donated this year.
Of course, none of this would be possible without Dana Jokela of Sogn Valley Farm. Dana’s knowledge and counsel have been essential to our success and his equipment: greenhouses for growing baby squash and corn plants, tractors and tools for tillage and transplanting – have been the backbone of this whole endeavor. Please help us raise funds to help pay for Dana’s time, equipment and – significantly – fuel for his work on this project. Please donate on this GiveMN page.
Thank you!
Mohamud, Ibsa and Ganga accepting corn donation at the Brian Coyle Center
The Division of Indian Work in Minneapolis
Last Friday saw a stupendous finish to this year’s corn season: a far bigger harvest than I expected after Tuesday’s fabulous haul. The corn was shared with the Division of Indian Work on Lake Street and the food shelf at the Brian Coyle Center (a new location for us but part of Pillsbury United Communities who a a regular collaborator) who were expecting 400 families over the weekend.
Huge thanks to Dulce de la Rosa for organizing the family work crew including Juan, Dan and José plus sister Mayela with her daughter, another Dulce to keep me confused. Welcome to new volunteer Rosa Morales and thanks yet again to our stalwart, never-miss-a-chance Cara Rodriguez.
L-R: Cara Rodriguez, Rosa Morales, Juan, Dulce de la Rosa, Dulce, Mayela de la Rosa, Dan
It was another great day for huitlacoche which both Dulce and Mayela know how to prepare.
Huitlacoche!
When the work was done Juan fired up the grill and Dulce provided carne asada, tortillas, salad and horchata for everyone. Then there was music and even Jenny (our dog) got to join in the fun! Dulce dancing with Jenny (click to play!)
What a day! A cool, cloudy morning and an abundant harvest then the sun shone on deliveries to two food banks. Our stalwart volunteers started at 9:00 and by 10:30 the truck was loaded and ready to go.
L-R Sarah Purdy, Carol Anne Broad, Theresa Taylor (front) Dug Nicols (rear), Cara Rodriguez and Robin Murie
First I went to North Minneapolis and volunteers at Camden Promise Food Bank took all the corn they thought they could use.
Volunteers at Camden Promise Food Bank
The truck was still half full so I called Ethan at Pillsbury United Communities in the Phillips neighborhood who said, “Come on over!” You should have seen the smiles on the volunteers’ faces as they pitched in to unload the corn. Bystanders were texting their friends to quick come and get fresh sweet corn. I was worried that there might be more than they could use but I was told, “This will be gone by 4:00!” That’s my dream: fresh picked corn on family tables the day it’s picked. Thanks to today’s volunteers: Dug Nichols, Sarah Purdy, Carol Anne Broad, Theresa Taylor and Cara Rodriguez and to the volunteers and staff at Camden Promise and Pillsbury United Communities.
Volunteers at Pillsbury United Communities help unload sweet corn
Volunteers at Pillsbury United Communities help unload sweet corn
Volunteers and staff at Pillsbury United Communities with this year’s first corn delivery
It’s glorious to watch a field transform from this:
Freshly transplanted squash and corn, 15 June, 2022
To this:
Squash plants July 23rd, 2022
The squash is doing well with the recent heat and we have two plantings (10 double rows) of sweetcorn coming along nicely. Looks like the harvest will start in a couple of weeks or so. In short, things are (for now . . .) humming along!
Even though this project is all about sharing food, we’d prefer to share it with food bank patrons as opposed to the critters who live near the farm. This solar electric fence is intended to discourage sampling the corn before it’s ready!
Solar-powered electric fence to protect sweetcorn
And here are a couple more images, just for fun:
Freshly transplanted squash and corn June 15th 2022
Squash plants July 25th, 2022
Transplanting Sweet Corn
The 2022 Foodshelf Project is up and running! We’ve got squash and corn in the ground and here’s a brief video of transplanting corn. Since our farm is organic we don’t use treated seeds. Last year we were hit with seed corn maggot that gobbled up our first planting so we switched to starting plants in a greenhouse then transplanting them as you see here. It’s a lot more work than drilling seed directly into the field, but it’s a way to get a viable crop without resorting to treated seed.