Tara Firma Farms: March 2011

March 17, 2011
I used to swear people still went to the grocery store because the veggies and meat cost less. Even the organic stuff. Well it happened. I went into Whole Paycheck and the Grass Fed Burger was $9.00/lb, Ribeye was $22/lb. These meats are much higher in fat and water content as they are not dry aged 3 to 4 weeks. Spinach was $3.59 for 5 oz in plastic container. I was shocked and curious (okay a bit of ego is in play here) so I asked the manager what was up. He told me the cost of vegetables would double in the next month with meat to follow. The gas prices to haul the meat and vegetables from farm to processing to grocery and/or from other countries to here was driving up the costs. What does that mean to us and you? To us it explains the sudden growth we have had with the membership. For you it supports your decision to eat directly from the farm and gives you ammunition if your spouse complains about the costs . But there is still something really bugging me. The parking lot was totally packed at Whole Paycheck. Why? It is because people don’t know we are here? They don’t realize they are paying higher prices? Maybe they pick up dates(not the fruit) in the produce section. Not really sure but I think it is non of those. Is it convenience? It is easy to go to the grocery store. We have done it all our lives. Changing to a bag of meat and box of veggies is not easy. It takes commitment to get used to it. I want to know for sure though. So I am going to go back to ask. I will stand in the parking lot and ask why people shop there and offer a dozen eggs to those that will talk with me. I think that is illegal. Maybe I will send someone else like a student so they can get credit for doing research…..I am such a chicken…but a healthy one. Your Farmer

March 10, 2011
A little bit of lice is good for you!
Knowing me as the positive person I am, many of you might now think I have lice and am trying to come up with a silver lining on my way to have my head shaved.
Which I would do “the shaving part, maybe.However, what I have learned about lice makes sense. Why I learned it is a different story.
This time of year the pigs will get lice. A little lice is fine for the older pigs but the piglets get depressed. They really do. It is a bit overwhelming for them.
The internet cure for piglets is all about pesticides,lovely. The treatment most recommended for you and your children is also a pesticide and highly toxic. It is the ingredient Permethrin. It is a synthetic chemical pesticide that works as a neurotoxin. It kills the insect and in quantity can kill brain cells. It is bad stuff to put on your head. It doesn’t work much anymore on the lice because it doesn’t kill the eggs of the adult lice. The stronger of those that hatch build a resistance and hence the Permethrin only kills the weaker of the pesky things. Leaving a stronger strain to deal with while you poison yourself…isn’t that special.
But there is something that actually kills not only the adult lice but the eggs too. Natural and non toxic to humans Tea Tree, Neem and Karanja Oil. The eggs are killed and the lice is gone. The best mix out there we found is by Access Nutraceuticals Inc. (you can google licekiller.com).

Not willing to wait for an order to be delivered I took the Tea Tree oil off my shelf and mixed it with an organic shampoo. Armed with a bucket and brush I walked out to the piglets. Now piglets are not excited about cold water in winter and they do not wish to be bathed in a tub. But sometimes mom’s gotta to do what she’s gotta do. Just like holding the dog in the tub, we put the piglets in one by one and gave them a Tea Tree oil bath. The sound that comes from a piglets mouth when it does not want a bath is something one should not put on a bucket list of experience to have in ones lifetime. OMG. It is the worst screeching, high pitched nasty sound on the planet. If you didn’t know better you would think they were having a leg cut off and they don’t stop until you put them back on the ground at which time the just stop. Instant silence and they walk away. Just like a human baby, one of them had to poop and at the same time try to jump out splashing poop water all over me, particularly in my face (I love my job, I love my job). After getting 9 or so cleaned up I took a break staring at the little herd digging around the greens in their pasture. Half of them were so clean compared to the other half that were not bathed yet. The difference was striking. I remembered Wilbur and how he glistened when the farmers wife gave him a buttermilk bath. I also remember that he stood there enjoying it. Not my expereince. Covered in mud, pig pooh and feeling good about the morning I walked back toward the house that would offer a shower. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, even a little bit of lice (kicks in your immune system). I stopped to talk to one of our members walking with her young daughter. The sweet, cute little darling scrunched up her nose at me and whispered to her mom “she smells bad”. That I did.
Your Farmer, still.

March 3, 2011
I just spent a morning writing to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (I tried walking into the office in WA where supposedly Bill works. It is not the public office for the Foundation, which is in downtown Seattle but rather a private office where Bill and Melinda work in Kirkland, WA. There are no names for the foundation in the lobby and the 4th floor is not labeled nor accessible. The receptionist in the building told me that there was no office for Bill or Melinda in the building and I must be mistake. The guard chuckled as I left. He asked me what I was thinking walking into the private offices of the richest man in the world. Had to try).

I sat down and wrote to the foundation, an e-mail, to see if I could gain an audience. Why, you ask? Because I believe that in 5 to 10 years we will experience the first demand for oil being higher that the supply. We already are seeing the market move to higher prices in our gasoline. Shipping to and from other countries will become obsolete unless a new form of energy shows up. What does that mean for our food supply? Grain coming from China, veggies from Chile, Mexico, Argentina…meat from unsustainable feed lots, poisoned with herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics…..but I am preaching to the choir…you already know these things and hence are members of our farm.

I want to build a non profit educational program that attracts young people to local, sustainable farming and that includes profitability. I want to show the world that food needs to be grown locally in order for it to be nutritional and sustainable.
So I walked into their non office and was not able to speak to anyone but I did write the e-mail. It took a minute to push the send button, wanting each sentence to be perfect and the other concern I have went flying out the window. That concern about starting something that I am too old to finish. What if they replied and wanted to talk with me. What would that mean to my life? Would I go forward and build a national training institute? Teach thousands of young people how to build a successful business in farming and boost them into their own businesses here and around the country? Or the World? Have I lost my mind? Maybe, but I know it’s the right thing to do…. Any other ideas? Your Farmer.

February 28, 2011
A long time ago, like a year or so Elijah (our Master
Gardener from Kenya) came running up to the house
yelling “Bobby cat in the cage, bobby cat in the cage!”.
Something had killed a turkey in the middle of the night so
we put out a live trap. It is a cage with bait in it and
traps the predator inside without harming it. Craig was
not home so I got the neighbor, who brought a gun with
him. As we walked out to the field where the trap was
sitting I was really nervous.
Remember this was in the first few months of us being
here. I told the neighbor that I didn’t want to rush into
anything, that we needed to assess the situation before
any shooting occurred. Perhaps we could relocate the
animal as we were clearly encroaching on its hunting
ground. As we approached the cage was moving and the
hissing was loud. Black and looking huge in the cage I
moved nearer to get a good look (it was dark out and
we didn’t have flashlights, duh…) Suddenly, I burst
out laughing…it was our cat and Elijah has used tuna
in a can for bait…needless to say poor old kitty was
not happy. Elijah was not used to cats. Cats are not
common where he comes from…and there are other differences.
Like last week…we had a few chicks attacked in the
brooder. We checked every nook and cranny. Filled any
gaps. Next day there were more chicks attacked. Again
we covered any possible entry site. In the morning Elijah
was walking past the brooder and heard loud crazy
chirping. He was carrying a shovel and entered the
brooder. The animal ran toward him to escape and in his
surprise he swung and hit it on the head. Being the kind
of guy he is he came to get me to view the burglar. He
was certain it was something like a gopher…but not a rat.
Not a rat because rats are small little cute things that run
around the house on occasion (another story). He had
covered the animal with a pail. I was really curious what
it could be. He said is was a huge animal. With anticipation
he lifted the pail and there was the rat. Definitely a rat.
After I explained the difference between rat and mouse,
I mentioned that Jake,our now 20 year old, had a pet rat when
he was little. You know, the cute black and white ones. How smart
they are…etc…so far Elijah is quite concerned that we would
have a pet rat. He shook his head then and brought it up
again today, wondering if I might be wrong. That the pet
was some other animal I am calling rat.
Can’t blame him. How weird it is to have a pet rat all cute
and friendly. They were too. The first one was named
“Breakfast” and the second one was named “Lunch”
(remember the black cat…). They would sit on my shoulder
and nuzzle under my ear. They came running to me and would
play around my neck. Both of the rats died of old age,
not by the paw of the cat, but I did cry. I cried because they were so
friendly.

Elijah thinks I am insane with this story and perhaps I
might be making it up. But truly I am not. Your Farmer.

February 21, 2011
How are we doing building toward our vision?
Our first goal was to educate our community about
REAL food.
We are doing a lot of that.
Our second goal was to provide that food.
We are doing a lot of that also.
Our 3rd goal was to do it sustainably. What does that
mean actually?
The pillars of sustainability are: People, Profit and
Planet.
The People: We have great people working here.
They hold our vision and work toward making it a
reality. We provide workman’s compensation, health
insurance and pay over minimum wage with a promise
of profit sharing…and the working environment is
pretty nice…

Profit: Getting there. We will break even with
approximately 100 more weekly members and have a
solid working plan to get there within 2 months. You
can help with that by referring your neighbors and
friends to come take a tour…we can do the rest…

The Planet: We have this down given the work we are
doing. Proper pasture management grows the grasses
that sequester the carbon, through photosynthesis,
back into the ground. The animals assist in the mowing,
fertilization and maintenance of the land (and bug
control). They are happy animals out on pasture. They
are able to produce optimum omega 3-6 balance in
their fat along with CLAs, amino acids and a plethora of
other nutrients we need in our bodies.
It is important to me to hit profitability. I want to walk
around with a smug look on my face. I want to say
“YES. Farming can be fun, green, profitable and a
career any young person would want to strive towards”.
The smug part is about all those people that continue to
say ..."it can’t be done here…". I don’t get the “here” part
but then…I don’t care!
Thanks for the support to us, your families, friends and
to your planet!
Your Farmer.

February 14, 2011
My farmer actually showers…..
I have been doing a lot of speaking lately to various groups in and around Sonoma and Marin County. Every time, and I mean every time I speak, at least one person comments on my clothes or how I look…”You don’t look like a farmer”. It has caused me to pause and consider our perception of the local “farmer”.
The perception is fairly dreary; old guy with a weathered face, broken down truck, complaining, driving through town with his grandchild riding along in tattered clothes…his house is 100 years old and falling apart and he doesn’t EVER have a day off. Farming is hard work. I hear that all the time…”farming is hard work”.
Yeah! I like working hard. I like to earn my way. I like to make a difference in our world and hopefully leave behind a path and example for others to do the same. However, I don’t believe a farmer should be broken down, poor, scraping by and never have a day off. I believe farming REAL food should be a sought after career. That vacations, 401k’s, a decent vehicle and savings for college is a given. That retirement is possible in the future without concern about how to afford it.
If we believe that water and REAL food are essential to our environment and health (clearly you do), then why does our society continue to support everything but that?
The only way to get REAL food is to vote with your dollars. Every dollar we spend is like a vote.
The most important votes we have are about our food and water. If we buy cheap processed food we are voting for a food system that depletes and destroys our planet, irreparably destroys our health, and is not sustainable in any way whatsoever.
I wish I was a prolific as Joel Salatin but I am not. However, I can share what I have learned from going down the path he has forged. I do this not only to congratulate you but wish to help you verbalize your choices to others in the hope of moving our culture to local, sustainable, affordable and possibly re-create the perception of the “farmer”.
The most often used reason that people say they can’t afford to buy organic is that they can’t afford it. Most people can and just choose other priorities. Joel has a lists of items he believes no one ever “needs” to buy: Fast food, TV, movies, soda pop, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, drugs, diapers, baby food, vacations, new cars,
new clothes, processed food, junk food, breakfast cereal, candy, eating out, recreation, gadgets, toys, furniture, cell phones, $100 designer jeans with holes already in the knees…etc…
I agree with the statement and clearly have chosen some of the items anyway. The difference between you, me and those that say they can’t afford REAL food is that they don’t see it as a choice.
There is a gap between you and people who say they can’t afford it and that gap is about their choices. Those that truly cannot afford it are not the ones complaining about it…they are focused on survival.
How do we close the gap? Hmmm, well back to voting with our dollars…buy only local, recycle everything you can from your clothes (have a girlfriend party and trade, it is a lot of fun), to furniture, appliances (buy used or hire a local guy to fix that fridge). If you want to really make an impact on both your farmer and a family that really can’t afford healthy food, buy a subscription for them, a Double Shot for REAL food and those that are barely making ends meet.
You get the point. I am preaching to the choir, I know that, but I do want to bring up ideas for your dinner table discussion, potential action and impact. Let me know what you are doing so we can share your efforts with the community.
Lastly, what college kid would ever want to get into agriculture that would produce REAL food given the perception of the “FARMER”? Maybe it is time to change that. Farming can be done following the sustainable pillars of priority: People, Profit and Planet.
Thanks for helping us to set an example.
Send your friends for a free tour, we can do the rest.
In Gratitude and freshly out of the shower,Your Farmer!

Chickens are doing well. Pigs are, well, happy as pigs
in….grass actually. Moving up the hill past the pond. It
is a lovely sight to see happy animals. Cows are grazing
out there, loving the warm weather…,sneaky as it is.
And the laying hens have been fooled into thinking
summer is here and the eggs are doubling up. I
packed 120 dozen eggs on Saturday. I like packing up
the eggs. Something about all the colors and trying to
make sure to parcel out the green eggs so more kids
get the excitement of seeing a green, yellow or blue
egg (okay, admit it…you do too).
It is a different life to read the news and then wash
eggs. The news is, as usual, hopeless. The U.S. debt,
entitlement of our generation and those to come,
global warming, starvation while eating, starvation in
general, war, etc….goes on and on… and then I wash
eggs. Sun streams in the window. Something tells me
we might be in for a hard time but it will turn out okay
because we are the generation that is educated,
creative, critical thinkers. We solve problems when we
get involved. Thomas Jefferson was quoted as saying:
“The democracy will cease to exist when you take
away from those who are willing to work and give to
those who would not.” I like that because I don‟t like
throwing stones, unless I am willing to do something
about the issues I am throwing stones at…. My 12 year
old Joe is the one that reminded me of that saying 3
years ago when I was complaining about “the food
system”. He said “stop complaining or do something
about it, get a farm".so here I am washing eggs.
I want to make sure that we can supply food. Healthy food. REAL
food. To as many families as possible. I want to share
our knowledge with young farmer wannabes and help
them to supply food also.
Doing what I can…thanks for helping, learning along
with us and being part of the effort. Your Farmer!

January 31, 2011

I was tricked....it is not summer.
It looks like summer.
Feels like summer.
Not summer.
I feel like getting under the covers with a cup of tea
and a good book but...I don't want to miss the sun....
Hmmmm....so sitting here in....OMG check this out...
Our NEW Office......YEAH Baby! We have graduated
to a new space. No longer in my kitchen, living, and
dining room. It is so nice to have personal space again
and have the Office stuff in its own space. It’s in the
gray house on your left when you come in the
driveway... (it will have a sign that says office soon)
and it is fabulous! Come visit when you are here...
In recent months many of you have asked what I think
about the FDA gaining the power to move the food
industry in whatever direction they deem appropriate.
Whether it is sweeteners added to your food without
requirement to be listed on the label, to cows being
fed the same so they fatten up faster (you read that
right), it is all so boring. I go down the rat hole and
end up with a hopeless feeling...then I remember....we
do know how to eat. What to choose, when to cheat
and how much. It is everyone else I am concerned
about...how can I help? I suppose doing what we do
and continuing to educate as much as we can. Send
your friends....
On that note of education, look for our Tara Firma
Farms Institute, nonprofit, coming soon. An
educational component of the farm, separate from the
"business" of the farm (we still have our goal of
demonstrating profitable REAL food farming and are
getting close to that). The education will encompass
not only farming and the business of farming but all
things farming. That’s where you come in....what do
you want to learn? We have a huge community that can
teach you pretty much anything from fermenting to
canning. Maybe you have something you would like to
teach? Let us know as we are brainstorming the list....
And finally, a contest! We need a name for our
educational nonprofit...A turkey to the winner!
Send us your thoughts....i.e. Tara Firma Farms Institute
sounds a little boring to me....
Enjoy this fake summer! Your Farmer, Tara Smith

January 24, 2011
Ever wonder about the TRUE cost of food? The
following link is a 15 minute, straight forward fun to
watch (albeit, still disturbing) video created by the
Sierra Club.
http://www.sierraclub.org/truecostoffood/movie.asp
Give it a look see. It will remind you of another 15
reasons you buy REAL food and that the REAL food you
are buying from Tara Firma is less expensive that store
bought food.
But I digress. And digress even further.....I and the
staff wish to thank all of you that have moved onto the
Farmigo system. You stayed with us during the
transition and that means a lot not only to our mission
to provide REAL food, but in the calculations of our
future inventory. When we can see what the demand is
we know how many chickens, pigs and cows we need to
have out on pasture each month and we assume a 10%
increase in demand along with that.
Interestingly enough, we are already hitting 15% growth
over the last few weeks....seems like a lot of discussion
and sharing occurred over the holidays and those
people that you talked to are coming out in droves on
Sundays (with or without boots). Don't forget you earn
Farm Bucks for your referrals....and we can continue to
move forward.
We were lucky again to be able to see Joel Salatin (the
farmer and mentor who inspired us). He spoke out at
Point Reyes this past week. It was informative,
inspirational and frankly the guy is just funny. He has a
new book out. Really worth the read as it too is
poignant, informative, full of stories that mean
something and overall hilarity. You can purchase from
his website; www.polyfacefarms.com. The title is:
The Sheer Ecstasy of Being a Lunatic Farmer.
We are close to publicizing our spring, summer, fall
event calendar and look forward to seeing you here to
hike, fish, dance, garden, commune with the animals
and generally enjoy the amazing bounty that you are a
part of creating.....Your Farmer!

January 17th, 2011
Remember the Vampire scene where the woman hears
something below and in her white flowing gown, she
walks down the grand staircase, candelabra in hand,
asking "who's there?" I sat there yelling at her not to
go.....
Last night at 3am, Roland, dog protector
extraordinaire, went nuts barking. I got up and
walked, in my sweat pants and tee shirt, to the front
door and he bolted out. Tearing across the front yard
he went straight for the back porch but the fence was
closed. He was jumping and snarling and barking.
Honestly, I was thinking about the woman in the
flowing gown at that point, how she innocently walked
right into the vampire’s arms. But I still scuffled to
the fence and opened it for him. He ran out, jumped
up and, I kid you not, 6 feet up in the air. Over my
head. And of course, came back down and jumped
again, snarling and barking. There was just enough
light to see 2 shapes in the tree. Scuffling back into
the house I got a flashlight. Shining it up into the tree
the red eye glow of 2 bandits (raccoons) stared back at
me. Roland was still losing it, jumping up and down,
there were no vampires, I went back to bed.....
It seems the movies are always different than real life,
sometimes more exciting but perhaps not as safe!
What does this have to do with REAL food. Absolutely
nothing.
So here is the education piece.....its about vaccines
and food. From the early 1900's to 1930 there was a
90% drop in the diseases that vaccines were later to
take credit for extinguishing. However the drop
occurred BEFORE the vaccines were introduced in the
30's. The drop was due to increased knowledge and
practice of nutrition. The good news was that the
information on nutrition was good information and the
food to go with it was healthy REAL food. But then it
wasn't. Goodbye nutrition, hello plastic, irradiated,
dead food. We are on a different slippery slope now.
But I am preaching to the choir.
Thanks for caring about the food you eat and feed your
families. Thanks for believing in us and supporting our
trial and error with billing.....we love the new system!
Remember to come out anytime to visit, wear boots
and tell your friends to come to a Sunday tour (you get
a $10 food certificate for referrals that sign up). Stay
warm, see you here soon. Your Farmer, Tara

January 10th, 2011

Farmigo: Farm-me-go or Farm-i-go? Either is fine or you can call it a "miracle". We do! What is It? Do you have it? If not, you will! It is the next step in bringing REAL food to your table without the hassles of billing, missed orders, missed vacations etc.

Now you can see it, change it, order more and cancel for the week within your own account and at your own convenience. If you are set up already, great! If not, please call as soon as you can: 707-765-1202. We can spend 10 minutes setting you up and giving you a quick tour. It is important to get you on the system no later than January 15th (billing cycle gets confusing after that and we certainly don't need to add to the confusion).
With that I want to give a sincere thank you for those of you that have weathered the billing and filling errors, being part of the solution, while we grow and learn our business. You are the customer and are always right. We are grateful for you and your desire to eat REAL food as it is our desire to grow and raise it for you and do it well.
As for me, life is becoming easier here. We are not on such a steep learning curve but still learning:
- Sun is good.
- Grace, the runt pig, is no longer a runt and has taken up with her fellow brothers and sisters. She has a beau in mind.....
- After turkey processing I practically had a 6 pack stomach (turkeys are heavy) but now I have a holiday pooch (you can only eat so much pumpkin pie and not out do your work out).
- Having a staff with a sense of humor who holds the vision of what we are doing as their own and does what it takes to get it done, is how a business is successful. We have that going on!
My husband, Craig, has a saying: Want everything, need nothing, and accept what shows up. We wanted to provide REAL food. I still can't believe it's working, and what has shown up is you. So thank you for demanding healthy food. Thank you for working with us to provide it, being a partner more than a customer, your gratitude and your graciousness, and your words of encouragement. Those words always show up when I need them most.
Your Farmer, Tara Smith

December 27th, 2010
Stories from the Farm....

Here are some thoughts or stories that you can relate
too and chuckle at....enjoy....

Mice are cute and are much smaller than rats.
My shoe size is a 10 and holds a nice size rat... in my
closet...2 feet from my bed...OMG.

Little children love the chicks in the brooder most of
all (so do all the grownups).

Chicken processing is not at all the shock we expected
and most people seem disappointed that there isn’t
more to it.

Roland has fleas.....

Remember the baby owls in the barn? Yeah, they were
really cute. Until they started eating baby chickens in
the chicken tractors. They could squeeze in but one
night they couldn't get out. Busted. No, I let them
loose, closed up the hole they were getting through...

Hens slow down laying eggs in the winter, as we are all
painfully aware. We could put lights out there but they
need the winter rest so we suffer without the eggs
....but then there are those hens that have gone to the
dark side.....pecking at eggs....breaking them in the
nesting boxes. One of our customers said "golf balls" in
the boxes. It worked...think about it. (thanks Brian!)

Clarification...chickens and pigs are omnivores. They
eat meat. Bugs, grubs, worms, insects, etc. We don't
give them meat, they find it in the ground.
The pigs don't eat children (ours don't anyway, they are
happy, well fed pigs).

Female pigs will line up and chant along with a mama
about to give birth. Kind of like birthing coaches...It is
amazing. Hens will lay eggs in front of birthing mama
pigs to give her extra protein...that's what it looks like
anyway.

An e-mail from a potential intern stating that he was in
college studying Political Science and felt his time was being wasted with the drivel.....could he come and get
his hands dirty...
My response: I have 2 B.S. degrees one of them is
Political Science. What do you think got me here? Go
back to school (his mother would love me).

Gracie the runty little pig is getting huge. She thinks
she is a goat and the goats think they are house pets.

Roland is needing more valium every day...had a bath
at the dog clinic and still has fleas.

Piglets are sneaky. Found a gang of them sneaking into
the garden....could have been a disaster but they are
also easy to scare...we knelt down behind some plants
and growled...the squealing was hysterical....as they
sprinted back to mom....haven't been near the garden
since...they are smart...sort of....

An intern, on his first day of training, came into the
chick brooder, stoned. "Really?" was my response. He
said his back hurt and he needed to relieve the pain.
His back hurt? And he came to work on a farm?

Coyotes are creepy sounding. Turkeys don't like it.
When the coyote howls they walk together in a huge
group, knocking down the feather net, away from the
sound, until Elijah and I come out to scare off the
coyote. Then they come back...on their own.

While petting one of the goats a 30-something aged
man asked me what the difference was between a goat
and a sheep... what do you say to that..?
Another tour question: What do you feed grass fed
beef?
I learn everyday and am happy to have been here to
serve up a dream, along with a great team, to bring to you
REAL food and a connection, whether strong or not, a
connection still to our earth and our short stay with
her.....Happy Holidays. Christmas, Hanukah any
tradition that brings you together in the spirit of
love.......your Farmer.

Christmas Poetry from your Farmer!

Twas the night before Christmas
And all across the farm
The only thing dry
Was the tractor in the barn

The animals were happy though
Fresh grass to eat
They had food and warm coats
Straw under their feet

Baby chicks were nestled
All snug in their beds
While the turkeys for Christmas

The cows were out grazing
The chickens were nesting
The coyotes far off
The worms safe and resting

Rounding up the piglets
Mama pigs, they were busy
The piglets running around
Creating a tizzy.

The goats had settled in
With Gracies the pig, as you know
Who was happy and full
Dreaming of pastry doe

The Turkeys were gone
A memory they make
The tasty dinner for Christmas
We could hardly wait

The miracle here
On the farm as you know
Was brought to fruition
By your bucking the status quo

The soil is rich
The grasses grow fast
This sustainable farm
Has a food source that can last

Its your farm

December 20th, 2010

NOTES FROM YOUR FARMER
We had a dream, a vision.....(sounds like MLK...)
A community of people coming together to share REAL
food and family. Walking, hiking and enjoying the
property. I didn't think much further, too busy learning
about animals and plants. One day I looked up. There
was a birthday party in the tent, families with children
everywhere, a group of college students from Berkeley
talking in the garden. That was last spring.
Our mission was clear, not easy but clear:
 Provide REAL food to our local community.
 Educate as many people as we can about the
food they eat and what it means to their
families, their community and the
environment.
 Create a path for young people to see farming
as an attractive, sustainable and meaningful
profession.
We have hit the first two goals. The third one,
Growing Farmers, we have struggled. There are
few young people that want to work hard and learn
the skills of building fences to reading profit and
loss statements. Not giving up on that goal however.

We did all of it with you as our partners. Your
feedback and referrals. Your patience and stories.
But most of all your willingness to be
inconvenienced occasionally and change your
shopping habits. To believe that what we are doing
is the right thing and wanting to be part of it
enough to make the change. You are Tara Firma
Farms.
However, (there is always a however with me)
being a person of "never good enough" I want to put
out another vision and ask for you feedback....or
really ask if you want to play....

What if we were the first counties (Sonoma and
Marin) in the country to be only eating local? What
would have to happen? I think about that a lot.
What if we made a list of all the things we need
that we currently get locally and a list of all the
things we get that are from outside the
watershed. What if we started looking at what we
could do here locally and began funding businesses
that would supply the things we need...what would
need to happen?
Just food for thought as you enjoy your families
and holiday events... I will enjoy mine knowing you
are out there and eating well! Your Farmer.......

Tara Firma Farms

Friday, March 25, 2011

What do I do with my days?

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

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