Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Buddies


My border collie, Taff, is my pal. While he would be happy just hanging out with me all day every day, he's happiest on the days he gets to work. He's one of the most loyal canine friends I've ever had.

We've had Taff for almost 2 years. We purchased him through our friend Ellen Skillings, who is an amazing handler and breeder of border collies. While Taff was not a successful sheep dog trial dog, the attributes that contributed to this lack of success have made him a wonderful farm dog. I couldn't imagine managing sheep and cows without him now!

When Taff first came to live with us, he was very stand-offish with the rest of my family. He followed me everywhere, but he wouldn't work for anyone else. As he's realized that he's here to stay, he's bonded with everyone (especially our youngest daughter, Emma). He'll work for other members of our family now, too.

Taff has helped me realize that the "mistakes" he makes are generally mine - I get in a hurry or I'm not clear with my instructions to him. He's helped me become a better stockman. This has also improved my mulemanship skills - I've realized that any breakdown in communication with my animals (canine or equine) is generally my fault.

Taff follows me from room to room when he's in the house. He sleeps inside (when he's clean enough) - always by my side of the bed. When he first came to live here, he'd chew on my shoes if I didn't take him with me everyday.

Some say that owners look like their dogs and vice versa. In our case, I'm not sure the physical resemblance is there. However, Taff often seems unkempt, and he generally smells like he's been working. My family says the same about me!

The Intern Blog - Poop Happens (by Jason da Cunha)

The last time I was involved in an internship, I was 23 years old and about to graduate from college. Back then it was a time for fun, creativity and self-discovery. It seems I have now come full circle.

After successful careers in non-profit event planning and fundraising, wedding and event video production, graphic and web design, and marketing in commercial real estate, I now find myself starting over once again. This time, the focus is on something that is near and dear to both my heart and stomach….FOOD!

I did not know what direction my fascination for the food that I eat and serve my family would take, but I thought the weekly visit to my local farmer’s market was a good place to start. During my visits, I became fascinated with the farmers who grew food for our local community. I wanted to know what it was like to grow what I would eventually eat. More importantly, I hoped to have a hand in growing it. In a happy meeting of desire and need, Dan Macon and I met. Through several conversations, Dan was kind enough to offer me the chance to intern on his farm and learn about farming first-hand.

It has only been two weeks since starting my internship, but in that time, I have helped in herding sheep, built electrical fence, dug post holes, moved portable fences, processed new born lambs, processed sheep through foot baths, attended a vegetable farm workshop, used hoeing equipment powered by two powerful Clydesdale horses and, last but not at all least, stepped in many a form of poop too many times to count.

The experience thus far has been very educational and entertaining. I really look forward to the days I work with Dan, Taff and Moe. I am excited for the chance to work at the farmer’s market in the near future and use my skills in marketing to help in educating our local community about the benefits of supporting local farmers plus spreading the message of the health and environmental benefits of eating locally.

The last memory I have of my first two weeks is of my son Jordan asking what that ungodly smell was in our garage after my first day back from the farm. I pointed to my work boots that I had just taken off and placed on a rack in the garage. He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face and then I said, “I learned a new phrase from Dan today that should answer your question. POOP HAPPENS!”

Sunday, March 29, 2009

The Intern Blog - Sheep's Milk Epiphany (by Courtney McDonald)

As mentioned in Dan’s earlier blog, last week Yola the Friesian ewe came to live at Flying Mule Farm. Since I own half of her, we are splitting the milking duties.

Growing up, one of my chores was to milk the goats every morning. This was largely the family’s sole source of milk. Most of the time it was unpasteurized. To my sister, my brother and I it was just the milk we drank every day.

Since starting my internship with Flying Mule Farm my old milking days have come in handy. It’s like riding a bike…you don’t forget the hand motion. I had always enjoyed my milking duties as a kid, but now I understand a lot more about what the milk is and what can be done with it. It’s a special privilege to have a steady supply of beautiful, raw sheep’s milk at hand. We have been storing the fresh milk in sterilized glass bottles, and the viscosity of the cold milk against the clear glass is pretty amazing.

For making cheese, the yield is much greater than that of both cow’s and goat’s milk because of the higher casein protein content. The first cheese I made was simple ricotta so that we could all taste the pure flavor of the milk in the cheese. Compared to homemade cow’s milk ricotta, which typically has a yield of 25%, Yola’s sheep’s milk ricotta yielded more than 33%. I gave some of the leftover whey to my friend Nathan, and he used it to bake a beautiful loaf of artisan bread. I’ll consider that a second-hand yield of Yola’s milk!

There is much controversy surrounding unpasteurized milk of all kinds, and with good reason. If handled improperly, unpasteurized milk may harbor dangerous pathogens that can cause serious health problems in humans. Proper handling and storage of the milk are extremely important, but when handled properly raw milk has a higher vitamin content and a much richer flavor. It’s also much easier to make cheese and yogurt with because the protein has not begun to break down due to heat treatment.

There is a great article about raw milk cheese making in The New Yorker called “Raw Faith” by Burkhard Bilger, August 19th, 2002. Here’s the link: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/08/19/020819fa_fact_bilger

In the first short week that we have had Yola, I think we are all learning a great deal. Milking an animal is an experience unlike many others, and everyone who has tried it so far with Yola has been pleasantly surprised at the results. Dan’s oldest daughter, Lara, is especially interested in the whole milking process. I bet in another week she’ll be the best milker out of all of us!

Friday, March 27, 2009

Sheep at the White House


Thought you might all enjoy this photo! Sheep grazed on the White House lawn during the Wilson administration. More ammo for my goal to replace all lawn mowers with four-legged grass harvesters!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Smelling the Grass Grow


As the days have warmed up, the grass that we depend on for our livelihood has really started to take off! Pastures that were taking 60 or even 90 days to regrow after we grazed them are now ready to graze again in 20 or 25 days. Where our challenge in January was to find grass, our challenge now is to stay ahead of the grass growth. It's a great problem to have!

I used to say that the grass was so green this time of year that it hurt my eyes to look at it. This year, I've decided that rapidly growing grass has a distinctive scent. It is similar to the smell of a freshly mowed lawn, but fainter. It's clearly one of the many fragrances of spring!

Grazing animals and pasture plants have a symbiotic relationship. I've noticed in the fall that a grazed pasture seems to start growing more rapidly after the first rain than a mowed pasture. This time of year, a grazed pasture seems to regrow more quickly than a mowed pasture. Scientifically, I imagine it has something to do with how the tip of the grass is removed. However, I suspect that there is more going 0n - grasses were meant to be grazed (and have been for millions of years).

I hope we'll have time this spring to stop and watch (or smell) the grass grow! It's happening pretty fast!

Monday, March 23, 2009

Yola the Ewe



Last Friday, a Friesian ewe named Yola came to live at our farm. Friesian sheep come from the region of Friesland (where Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium come together). Friesan sheep (like the Holstein or Friesian cow) are dairy sheep. We purchased her in partnership with one of our interns, Courtney.

Yola gives about 7/8 of a gallon of milk each day. While we weren't sure we needed one more daily chore, so far the milking hasn't been too bad (mostly because Courtney has been doing it!). All joking aside, we're excited to be taking on a new project.

The milk is incredible. We're raising several bottle lambs, so we've used her milk instead of buying milk replacer. Even more exciting, Courtney has started making cheese. We sampled her first batch of sheep's milk ricotta cheese yesterday - it was unbelievably good. We have plans to make ice cream, other types of cheese, and yogurt. We're also anxious to use the milk in it's fluid form - it's amazingly sweet. Sheep's milk is naturally homogenized, meaning the cream and the milk are mixed together (and stay that way). No more need to buy half-and-half for our coffee!

We're learning that a dairy animal is very different from the meat and wool producing sheep we're used to. For one thing, a dairy sheep must be kept on a high plane of nutrition while she's lactating. We do feed her some grain at milking to help satisfy her protein and energy needs. Once she's settled in here, we'll put her on grass with the other sheep we keep at home.

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Intern Blog - Firsts (by Courtney McDonald)

For me, the past month has been filled with firsts. During the first month of my internship with Flying Mule Farm, I milked a sheep who had lost her babies, helped move portable electric fencing in the rain, met a real live mule, got stuck in the mud, learned to use a hydraulic splitter to cut firewood, worked at the Auburn farmers market, and learned how to build a permanent electric fence. I learned more at an agricultural commission meeting than I ever thought was possible - that’s without even understanding three quarters of what was being discussed.

Now in the middle of my fifth week, some of the pieces are starting to fall into place. More and more I have begun to understand how everything I have seen over the weeks relates to everything else. As I repeat certain tasks and hear certain terms over and over again, I have become a little more comfortable with the jargon of farming.

I also feel quite fortunate to have met some extraordinary people so far. For the first time, I have been a witness to everyday interactions between farming peers, their families, and their local advisors. In many ways it has been a study in friendship and genuine goodwill. There seems to be a growing community around us that is now working together for the common good rather than selfish motives. When I briefly spoke to a farmer at the Small Farm Progress Days fencing school last week, he expressed a hope for the future of farming in our area. He has noticed a recent shift of mindset within the farming community towards working together and sharing knowledge to benefit the community, rather than a single family or farm. As an outsider, this is quite inspirational, and it is also something that I have witnessed first-hand during the few weeks of my internship.

Today Dan is going to pick up a milking ewe that we will share. Another example of the above-mentioned strong community sentiment was our trip to meet Earl and Sue Mentze who have a small flock of milking ewes, one of which we will own by this evening. They were so happy to share the information they had gathered over many years of hard work and research! They were more than happy to talk about their systems for milking, their cheese-making process, and all of the details in between. Tonight I will own half of my first milking ewe!

The past month has flown by, and I’m sure this is only the first of many times I will feel this way.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Riverhill Farm CSA

Our friends at Riverhill Farm (Alan and Jo) in Nevada City operate a community-supported agriculture (CSA) farm. This year, they are selling 180 subscriptions. Each week for 20 weeks, beginning in June, their subscribers will receive a box full of fresh vegetables and fruit. They have a spectacular farm and grow some amazing produce. Check them out at http://www.riverhillfarm.com/.

This year, Riverhill Farm is also adding a meat option for their customers. We're excited to be part of this (along with Brad and Alona Fowler, who raise pastured poultry, and Coffee Pot Ranch, who produce pork). We're offering a half of a lamb for a share price of $150. Every three weeks during Riverhill's main CSA season, our subscribers will receive a delivery of our grass-fed lamb. We'll alternate with the Fowlers and with Coffee Pot Ranch.

As local growers who direct market, we have a choice about how we view other local farmers. We can choose to view them as competition, or we can choose to view them as colleagues. I choose the latter - we need to collaborate as much as possible. Alan and Jo are offering us a tremendous opportunity to reach new customers. In turn, we're offering Alan and Jo a chance to expand the range of products available to their customers. It's a pretty good trade!

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Scale


Wendell Berry believes that farms should be of a size that one family can care for the land, the crops and the animals it includes. On Sunday, we met the Mentz family in Sheridan. They raise dairy sheep (just a handful of ewes). Earl Mentz said something that seems more profound the more I consider it - he said, "Don't have more sheep than you can handle - that's a different number for different people, but don't have too many sheep."



Scale of operation is an interesting consideration. For us, I've determined that I need to market between 400 and 500 lambs each year to be an economically sustainable operation. This means we need between 300 and 350 ewes. Based on my experience so far, I think I can care for this many sheep by myself or with the help of my family and my interns. I can also build to this number without a huge capital investment.



The challenge in terms of scale is in part related to the time it will take me to market 4-500 lambs (as I've mentioned before). I need to be more efficient in my marketing time, but I also need to sell as many of those lambs as I can directly to the end user. I find that many of my customers want to buy "from the farmer." If the farmer is spending all of his/her time marketing, how does the farming get done?


Scale also relates to our family dynamics. I love my work, but I also need down time. I want work to be fun, and I want my girls to enjoy the times we work together. If the next generation is to take an interest in today's farms, the farms must be profitable and fun.


I hope others will weigh in on this topic!

Spring-time


Despite what the calendar tells us, spring seems to have arrived! I'm sure we'll get more winter weather (at least I hope we will), but the days are growing longer, and the grass is starting to grow!

As "grass-farmers," we rely on Mother Nature's ability to produce grass and other forages for our livestock. Rather than invest in machinery to harvest this "crop," we also rely on four-legged harvesters (sheep and cows) to convert this crop into meat, wool and milk.

This time of year, we move our animals frequently to keep up with the grass growth. In March and April (provided we've had enough rain), we can regraze our pastures in 25 days or less (this means that the grass will regrow in less than a month). If you mow your lawn, you'll know that your grass grows quicker this time of year!

In a month, we'll start irrigating. In the meantime, we hope that we get enough later winter and early spring rainfall to keep the soil adequately moist. In other words, we want the perfect mix of sunshine and rain. Is that too much to ask?

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Good Fences



We hosted a fencing workshop today as part of the spring series of Sierra Nevada Small Farm Progress Days. Under the leadership of Roger Ingram, our farm advisor, and Brad Fowler from LiveWire Products, we built 1/2 mile of electric fence at the Doty Ravine Preserve in Lincoln. This fence will help us manage the cows and sheep more effectively - improving our pastures and benefiting the animals.

This was the first permanent electric fence I've constructed, and I learned a great deal. It was also a great chance to work together - physical work is always more enjoyable when it's shared.

After the workshop, we (Roger, Courtney and I) moved the ewes and lambs. It's always a kick to see young lambs move into new pasture, especially when there's high terrain. The lambs love to play "king of the hill," which is hilarious to watch.


We have more Small Farm Progress Days workshops scheduled:


  • Vegetable Field Day - March 27 (The Natural Trading Company - Newcastle)

  • Orchard Field Day - April 24 (location TBD)

  • Forestry Field Day - May 8 (Edwards Family Farm - Colfax)

For more information, log on to http://www.smallfarmprogressdays.org/.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Busy!

Once more, we've had an exceptionally busy week - as the days get long, thins seem to grow busier! Here's a sampling:

Sunday - we sorted off 6 finished lambs for processing and treated the feet of the rest of the lambs. We also moved the lambing ewes and sorted off a ram and two ewes that had lost their lambs. We'll take them to the sale next week.

Monday - we took 30 lambs to Dixon for processing Monday morning. On our return trip, we stopped to take care of the lambs that were born overnight. We also moved the feeder lambs and moved the cows in Lincoln. Later that afternoon, we returned to Lincoln to fill water troughs. Monday evening I had an Agricultural Commission meeting.

Tuesday - Following the Roseville Farmer's Market (8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.) I moved the ewes and processed new lambs in Lincoln and then laid out two new fencelines. That evening I had a Foothill Farmer's Market Association board meeting.

Wednesday - Roger Ingram, Courtney McDonald and I worked on postholes for the new fences in Lincoln. Courtney and I also moved the ewes and took care of new lambs. No meetings in the evening - what a treat!

Thursday - After running errands in the morning, I spent several hours on my consulting job with the Sierra Nevada Conservancy. In the afternoon, I hauled water to the sheep and took care of 4 new lambs. Thursday evening, I helped out with a farm business planning class in Auburn.

Friday - Today, I'll be moving sheep, setting fence posts and checking cows. The girls have the day off from school, so I'll get to spend the entire day with them (which is wonderful!). We hope to find some time to work the young border collies today, too.

Saturday - Our friend Megan will staff our stall at the Auburn Farmer's Market. We're putting on a fencing workshop in Lincoln, which should be fun.

As we have more daylight, it seems that I have more work to do. I love my work, but I need to remember to take a day off now and then - for me and for my family.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Cali

I purchased Cali, a sorrel quarter horse, in 1988, while I was still in college at UC Davis - she was not quite 4 years old and green-broke. Sami, my future wife, agreed to date me because I had a horse. Between the two of us, we bumbled through Cali's training - she became much more than a green horse.

After college, I went to work for the California Cattlemen's Association. Through the friends I made in that job, I had the chance to gather cows, brand calves and go on pack trips in the Sierra with Cali. Despite my inexperience in these activities, Cali became an incredibly trustworthy horse. She became my pal.

My Mom had never ridden a horse. When we lived in Penryn, I convinced her to try it. Cali took great care of her!

The last time I rode Cali, my daughter Lara and I rode through our ranch and a neighboring ranch to look for a bull that had disappeared. Even though Cali had developed navicular disease (a degenerative condition in the lower front legs), she loyally carried me in our search. This was about 2 years ago.

Last fall, Cali became severely lame in a rear leg. After treating her and testing her, we determined that she probably had a tumor in her hip. Last Sunday morning, I found her dead in her paddock - she was 24 years old.

Horses and mules live long enough to become part of a family. Despite my inexperience, Cali had allowed me to train her. When we had kids, she was the first horse to carry both of our girls. She was as loyal an animal as I've ever owned. I miss her terribly.

If we choose to "own" animals, I think we're blessed with only a handful of exceptional partners during our lifetimes. Cali was one of those exceptional horses that few people have a chance to ride. Thank you, Cali.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Intern Blog - A New Perspective (by Courtney McDonald)

Coming from the very fast-paced, isolated world of the professional chef, I am enjoying each day of being an intern at Flying Mule Farm. One of my responsibilities as an intern has been to help work the Auburn Farmers Markets on Saturdays. Being on the “other side” of the market stall has certainly broadened my perspective. As chefs, we are separated from most direct contact with our customers. They are a faceless group. It is only every once in a while that someone might peek their head into the kitchen to yell a compliment (or complaint) over the noise of the dishwasher. This is, most of the time, as much as we connect with them. Not because we like it this way, but because it tends to be the nature of the restaurant business.

Being at the market has been a wonderful opportunity to have real dialog with customers. Most of the time they are loyal followers of Flying Mule Farm products who come to the market every week to buy lamb or goat. Sometimes they are customers from the restaurant who were excited to see local farms featured on the restaurant menu and want to tell us about it. Many times these are the same people.

I have never considered myself to be a “people person” (and many people I know would agree with that), but the community spirit of the farmers market is infectious. Besides that, I have experience with the product I am helping represent and I know it is fantastic! I now realize that being a “people person” is a subjective term. I thoroughly enjoy seeing all of the different people who patronize the farmers market, people from all walks of life, who share a common love of seasonal food from local producers…and I like talking to them.

Another thing that I have been struck by while working at the farmers market has been the community spirit between the vendors themselves. Because the Auburn Farmers Market offers such a variety of products for sale, it can truly be a one-stop shopping trip. When customers ask for a recipe to go with the lamb or goat they have just purchased, Dan invariably suggests using local ingredients found at the market. I have heard many of his peers do the same. This kind of camaraderie is inspiring. I look forward to the inspiration that will come each Saturday.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Renewal

Farming, like most avocations, is a culture as well as a job. Each type and scale of farming is a subset of this culture, with certain traditions and "rules" of behavior. Many of these traditions are directly related with the cycles of the year.

Yesterday, we held the first of this spring's 5 Sierra Nevada Small Farm Progress Days. It was a vineyard field day at Vina Castellano in Auburn - a beautiful setting. One of the instructors, Glenn McGourty (who is a farm advisory from Mendocino County), talked about the culture of growing winegrapes. As he was showing us about pruning grapevines, he talked about the annual cycle of production. Most of us who farm are worn out, both mentally and physically, by autumn. Come spring-time, however, we're rejuvenated. He talked about the shared work of pruning being a time of renewal. On the small-scale "peasant" vineyards of Europe, pruning is a time that neighbors work together and look forward to the coming year.

Last night, I thought about how this translates to our farm. By fall, I am also exhausted. A summer of irrigating pastures, moving sheep and going to 3-4 farmer's markets each week takes its toll. By the time the short days and long nights of winter approach, I'm ready for a rest. My friend Dina Moore, who ranches on the north coast, talks of looking forward to winter because the shorter days force her to rest.

Now that the days are growing longer again, I also find myself re-charged. Lambing is certainly a time of renewal for me. Working with interns this spring as added the element of community work this year - I find it wonderful to be able to share the work with others (not just to make my life easier, but to share the sense of renewal). On our farm, the big job that involves many hands (and many friends) is shearing. We'll shear the ewes in late April or early May, which will be an all-day project. It will involve our contract shearer, Derek, as well as a number of friends who will help sort the sheep and store the wool. It will be a long, sweaty day, but it will also be incredibly satisfying!

All of us are so busy with modern life that it's difficult to find time to work together. However, I find shared work to be incredibly enjoyable.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

What a great day!


I love what I do for a living, but I must admit that there are many days where things do go exactly as planned. I think it's part of working with living systems - animals, weather and other factors create lots of variability from one day to the next. Every so often, however, I have a day that goes better than I expected. Yesterday was one of those days!


After so much rain (we've measured more rain in the first 4 days of March that we measured in March and April combined in 2007 and 2008), I enjoyed yesterday's sunshine immensely (as did the sheep). When I arrived at the ranch yesterday morning, I discovered a ewe that was having difficulty lambing - the lamb's head had appeared, but I didn't see either front leg. Reaching inside the ewe, I found one leg, but the other was pulled back, which can create problems for both the lamb and the ewe. However, timing my pull with the ewe's contractions, I was able to deliver the lamb. He took his first breath, and I left his mom to clean him up. A pretty happy ending! As big as the lamb was, I assumed he was a single.


As I walked through the rest of the flock I discovered 2 more new babies - both singles - and another ewe that was just going into labor. The rest of the new lambs were bouncing around in the sunshine. By the time I returned to the ewe I'd assisted had her first lamb cleaned up and was now cleaning a second! A few minutes later, I watched the second laboring ewe deliver twin ewe lambs!


As the morning progressed, I was treated to a flyover by the largest flock of sand hill cranes I've seen so far this year - they seemed to be enjoying the nice weather, too. After days of rain (which we desperately needed) and nights of worrying about the lambs, the two sets of twins, the sunny day and the wildlife displays combined to lift my mood - what a great day!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Farms and Community

When I was a kid, I used to go to town with my Dad on Saturdays. We'd run errands (which usually involved going to the feed store and/or the hardware store), and we'd usually run into someone my Dad knew (Sonora was a small town). I seem to remember that these trips included a number of conversations with friends. Sonora, where I grew up, was still rural and largely agricultural (ranching and timber were the main resource-based economic activities)

Moving forward 35 years, Sonora has changed (as has Auburn, where my family now lives). Life seems much faster paced. I've talked to old-time farm families in both towns who no longer feel connected with the rest of the community. Trips to town don't seem to include nearly so many conversations. The folks they see in town don't share a common interest in farming.

By contrast, I consider myself extremely lucky. As a farmer, I spend every Saturday morning among a community of my peers. I also get to see many of my friends (who also happen to be customers in some cases). In many respects, our farmer's market community is closer to the farming towns of 50 or 75 years ago.

Author Bill McKibbon (Deep Economy) puts it this way (and I paraphrase) - the main difference between shopping at a supermarket and shopping at the farmer's market is that we generally have 10 conversations with other people at the farmer's market, compared to one (at most) in the supermarket. In other words, we're not anonymous at the farmer's market. I observe this every Saturday morning.

The other aspect of this, at least for me, is that we farmers offer our customers a direct connection with the countryside that still surrounds Auburn. Our customers have an interest in keeping this countryside open and intact because they get some (or all) of their food from it. We farmers have an interest in maintaining our connection with town because it's where we make our livelihood. Maybe this is what community really means!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Highs and Lows

This was a day of highs and lows. We started the day by hosting a field trip of farmers and other folks as part of the California Small Farm Conference. Despite the driving rain, we had a great discussion about pasture management, pasture lambing and marketing. Following the stop at the Doty Ravine Preserve (where we have our sheep), we went to Coffee Pot Ranch in Sheridan. While the participants toured the ranch, I cooked our lamb, Coffee Pot's pork and High Sierra Beef's meat - it was a great lunch! The tour was definitely one of the high points of the day!

The low point came in a phone call from Placer County Animal Control. We had moved the sheep to a paddock near Gladding Road. Someone had driven by and called Animal Control to complain that the sheep needed shelter and more feed. While Animal Control was very helpful, I find it frustrating that people with no knowledge of livestock production assume that they know what's best for animals. I realize that folks are well-meaning, but it's upsetting.

My friend Roger and I arrived back at the Lincoln ranch at about 2 p.m. - the sheep were fine. We decided to move them back to another paddock away from the road. The final high point came when our border collie, Taff, was able to help place the sheep back in their paddock. Ewes with lambs are the most difficult animals for a herding dog to move, but Taff did great!

I find that I'm so passionate about what I do that these emotional highs and lows are fairly common. We live in a society that's so detached from farming that most people have no concept of what I do or why I do it. On the other hand, it was wonderful to be amongst a group of people who do understand family-scale farming is all about!

Placer Ag Futures Project



In the fall of 2007, a group of farmers and ranchers gathered in Auburn to discuss their vision for Placer County agriculture in the next 30 years. Out of this meeting, the Placer County Ag Futures Project was born. We developed the following vision for the next 30 years of agriculture in Placer County:


Placer County will have a vibrant and diverse farming community that is fully integrated into the larger community. As demand for local products continues to increase, we will be more self-sufficient in terms of our food and fiber supply and in terms of our agricultural infrastructure. Most importantly, the effort to bring this vision to reality will be led by farmers and ranchers.


To achieve this mission, we have established the following goals:

Outreach and Education
A successful farming community is a profitable and productive farming community. In addition, we need a new generation of farmers to carry Placer County agriculture into the next 30 years. To address these needs, we are creating an internship program designed to train aspiring new farmers while assisting established growers. We are also expanding business planning, production and farm marketing educational offerings designed to help new and established growers alike. Finally, we will be working with local, state and federal agencies to raise awareness about Placer County agriculture and its importance to our communities.

Connecting People with the Land
Real estate values continue to rise beyond the ability of farmers and ranchers to purchase agricultural land. Despite this trend, land is available for farming and ranching. The Placer County Ag Futures Project is working to develop a database of private and public land that can be used for farming and ranching. We will also be developing sample farm leases and other information to help farmers and landowners work together to bring land back into agricultural production.

Expanding Markets
The local food movement is similar to the organic movement 15 years ago. Moving forward, the Placer County Ag Futures Project will develop projects and programs designed to increase opportunities for marketing local food and fiber to local consumers.

Finally, we've also realized that each of these priority areas require us to strengthen the sense of connection within the farming community. Indeed, this sense of community is vital to rebuilding a vibrant small farm sector in Placer County.


For more information about internships and the Placer Ag Futures Project, please contact UC Cooperative Extension at 530/889-7385.