The Mystery in Agriculture

My friend Donald, a pagan witch, oft refers to “the mysterious ones”; in my paradigm, the reference is to the spirits or gods/goddesses that are in nature and daily life. Although I can’t see them, I sense their presences around me. I like the “mysterious” part because that is how I experience various non physical forces/energies.

So what does this have to do with agriculture? When I plant a seed, I have a picture of what the plant will look like – BUT no idea if it will be sickly or vigorous,  whether the return/yield will be zero or a hundredfold. It  depends on weather, genetics, soil fertility, care, etc – and yet, to me, the sum of these factors does not account for the variation in the vigor of plants and their yield. I prefer to ascribe the difference to – the “mysterious ones”.

Example:  our  maple harvest. We have been tapping maple trees at Sandhill for 21 years now. During 2002 – 08, the number of trees we tapped/harvested remained constant and everything that we earthlings did was the same. The return/yield varied from 30 to 115 quarts of syrup. Why the difference? Supposedly, it all depends on the weather:  ideal weather is when the nights are below freezing and the days are above freezing. I have not attempted to correlate the ideal temperature factor with maple yields – but my impression is that there is NOT a direct correlation – leaving certain amount of variation as:  mysterious.

This year’s maple seasson broke all records and most everything I thought I knew.  I grew up on a farm and am used to being surprized at yields – but this one took my breath away. The season began as usual: 2 weeks later, we had 3 days of 60+ temperatures and nights that did not go below freezing. DANG!  I feared the season was finished – before it really began (ok, we had maybe 20 gallons of sap). Then the temperatures went up & down, the sap flowed – but it seemed different;  it was slower to start when it warmed and then ran longer when it stayed warm.  In the end, we had an all time record harvest by far: 168 quarts – almost 50% higher than our previous record! I’m ecstatic – and totally in awe:  how did this happen? How to explain?

The Mysterious Ones strike again. Thank you for keeping me humble…

Blessed Be.

Maple Sugaring open house

We had our first ever maple sugaring/syrup open house on March 7, 2009. The photo on the left with Renay sucking on the tube connected to a tap in the maple tree headlined our invite. You can see 2 blue tubes attached to taps in the maple tree – this was the first stop on our open house tour.

When we mailed out our invitations, we hoped for good weather; a few days before the scheduled open house, the forecast was for 80% chances for rain – bummer! Miraculously, the rain held off.

The photo is of our shitake logs which are close to sugar shack (where we boil the sap) and so on our tour folks see them and want to know all about them. The spots on the logs are where we drilled holes, packed in spawn (shitake spores mixed with sawdust) and then sealed with our own beeswax.

The photo on the left shows the maple sap cooking in the pan in the foreground – see the steam off to the left? The smiling faces are students from Truman University in Kirksville (about 35 miles from us) -who came for the open house. I am the 3rd person from left – trying to blend in with the younger crowd.

Naturally, we had tasting experiences: maple sap, syrup, and 2 experiments of maple candy – shown in the photo on the right (we were worried that if a lot of folks came, there might not be enough candy – hence the sign requesting one per person). The tasting was a great hit – I neglected to include the sap in the photo – it looks like water and tastes like water with a faint hint of maple/sweetness in it. It’s hard to imagine the sap being the only ingredient in the syrup & candy.

The final photo is of one of our guests, Melinda – an enthusiastic sampler of the maple candy. It’s hard to see – but there is a trail of candy (as thin as a spider’s web, or leg?) from the candy in her hand to her mouth. Ah – the look on her face says it all: divine! We had a great time at the maple open house.

Organic Farming conferences

This is the time of year for farming conferences – I go to the organic ones. On Feb 21, I attend the annual Missouri Organic Association’s conference.  I have been the vice president for the past two years and in charge of the trade show(so I had to be there – but I always go anyway). The following weekend, several friends and I went to a 2 day Upper Midwest Organic Farming conference in LaCrosse WI.

The two are typical: there are similarities as well as differences. The primary difference is the size: we had about a hundred folks at the local MOA one while there were over 2600 registered at the LaCrosse one. The local one is cozy – most of us know each other and the feeling is like a gathering of the clan. The larger one feels more like being a part of a movement; most of the year, us organic folx feel like a minority – we are constantly talking about why organic is important, how to source and/or produce organic products, etc. Often we producers are alone or one of a handful of organic producers in our county. At the conference, I am one of 2600 (that’s more than half of the population of my entire county!). The feeling is different – we are significant, we are the movers/shakers in agriculture – rah!rah!rah!

The topics of the workshops are similar: basic soil biology & fertility, organic weed and pest control, livestock production and health, fruit and vegetable production, small grains,  row crops,  organic certification, various marketing strategies – local/niche, web-based, tell your personal story, etc., sustainable practices, biological diversity, funding opportunities in the new farm program, etc.

Again, the difference is scale:  at our local conference, we have two concurrent sessions; at the big one, there are 10 workshops happening simultanously. Which ones do I go to? I look at the descriptions, consult my oracle, and in the end, it does not seem to matter that much – I have been attending these type of conferences for more than 25 years – of course, there is new stuff, but not that much – I have heard most of it before. What keeps me coming back to these conferences are the personal connections:   some folx I see only once a year, others a few times. I go to the larger conference every 2 or 3 years and so I see folx  I haven’t seen in a few years:  it feels balanced to be part of the local scene as well as part of a lager movement.

Cost? Registration at the local conference is about 1/10th of the larger one; and then there is lodging. If you are a speaker/ presenter – your expenses are paid. Most of the time, I am just attending and so lodging is my expense. At the local conference, it is easier – I have friends nearby I can stay with (it’s not as convenient and occasionally, I miss out on other stuff that’s happening) but it’s affordable. This time, even at the large conference, we stay with friends of friends in the area – and, of course, there are benefits – they have a fruit orchard and are VERY hospitable – so I make new friends AND do not pay the friggin franchise hotels in town to put me up.

Winter – another paradox for farmers: we tend to draw inward, be introspective, and recharge our energies – and then we got to conferences, resuscitate our social energy and be reminded of our interconnectedness.