Archives for December 2011

What Is A Farm?

farm (färm). n. 1. A tract of land devoted to agricultural purposes.

No. The land is not the farm. That is so clear. How could a major dictionary have got it so wrong? The land was here long before the farm and long before the people or the business. The land is completely its own. The people and the business need the land. The land does not need either.

A farm is a synthesis of the land, the people, and the business. A blending. A new entity with a personality–that is the farm. No two combinations are the same; each farm is unique, with its own character. The land contributes its climate, topography, soils, precipitation, biological diversity and eco-systems. It is fixed in a location. The people bring their passions, skills and labor, their relationships, creativity, and emotional patterns. The business brings its financial capacities, its reputation and earned good will, the culture and market it operates within. There is no one-size-fits-all. Each farm must develop its own strength and place.

When one aspect is changed all are affected.

Excerpt from Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works

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We live in relationships—

And one more piece of the community fabric in Dakota County, MN. has just been torn. The bi-monthly Fahey consignment auction (I often called it the “buy-monthly” as it was a main source of equipment and tools for Gardens of Eagan for thirty+ years) has discontinued it’s on-site, in-person portion of the auction and is only available through on-line bidding.

Martin told me this at the breakfast table today. I can easily see the financial and logistical gains in discontinuing the in-person portion, the liability, the managing of people and parking their trucks, the crowd of bidders lining up for their number and again to pay at the end, the cigarette butts dropped and the churned mud from boots. No more bad auction days when it is freezing and pouring rain and only the most determined of deal-searches will stand outside all day waiting for a possible buy. [Read more…]

“Getting No-Where”

Sometimes, “Getting No-Where” is Part of the Process.

Ever have an hour, or a day, or a week, or heaven forbid a year, where you just couldn’t seem to make any progress on your goals? Martin likes to say—You have to get the no-where out of the way before you can even start.

I like to say—Sometimes you just have to steep in “ getting no-where.”

There is no end of things that can hold us back and sometimes one of the first positive steps in moving forward is to recognize that we’re not ready, not yet, not now. If we try to push forward and just “do it” in this stage, we often fail at reaching our goals, get discouraged, and worse may give up altogether. Sometimes we have limiting beliefs about what is possible or even permissible for ourselves to do. We may have hopelessness from previous failed attempts, or negative messages from people around us that we’ve internalized. Moving forward can require recognizing and challenging old beliefs, developing a stronger sense of self-worth and confidence, or getting involved at whatever level we are presently at. [Read more…]