slow farming
In a world where there’s never enough time, where we juggle multiple tasks throughout every day, and where most farmers engage in at least some off farm work (96% of farmers in the US have some income from off farm jobs), the trend continues towards efficiency. This is true not just amongst the industrialized farms that blanket the land, but even for those of us running small farms and homesteads. Whether for time or money or both, if we can squeeze a little more out, we are taught that we must. And the truth is, often we truly must (for financial reasons or otherwise). If I scroll through instagram I’m bombarded by “taking care of your birds in 5 minutes or less a day”, “only change your rabbit water once a week” and “the downsides of ducks: mess”. All these messages actively, or subversively, create a story that centralizes time management above all else.
I too, no doubt, believe efficiencies are required to make this way of life manageable. I need to have a good sense of how much hay I need to get through the winter, have a good routine for completing morning chores and a realistic sense of how much time I can invest in the day to day operations of caring for so many beings. But that’s just it, ultimately for me, this work, this practice, is about the caring, observing, participating and learning before anything else. With ancestral knowledge lost, those processes ultimately are the work. Some days they are efficient and some days they are slow. Some days I’m called to simply be with my animals, so whenever I can, I am. Not to get through the work of keeping them, but to build the knowledge and instincts, to bit by bit understand the art of farming. I can’t imagine building that knowledge in “five minutes a day or less” and I can’t imagine understanding the subtle shifts that signal needs, potential problems, or let me know an exciting event is imminent (like more rabbit kits magically emerging from their burrows!). I also can’t imagine being able to figure out when the temperature is too low to offer fresh greens (10 degrees farenheit) because they will simply freeze before our birds or rabbits can gobble them up. But mostly I can’t imagine enjoying my farm if my time with my animals was simply about base level needs being met - whether for me or for them I want to sit with, talk to, watch, learn from, and savor the awe I feel for all the amazing lives I have the privilege to care for.
So here I am, not a good production farmer, but hopefully engaging in the practice of farming in a way that makes my knowledge valuable and my food incredible. We sell what we have to offer, and what we have to offer is some of the highest quality food around. But we also enjoy sharing other amazing brands and farms, welcoming guests and providing educational opportunities on the farm. I hope when I share what I’m learning I can help inspire the next generation of farmers. We hope to welcome you as we continue to build community, and equity, and support food justice, here on the farm, and beyond.