Slow Money – Not so slow……and smart returns….

Last weekend we hosted a meeting called Slow Money.
Medium to small businesses wishing to raise capital or offer write offs for charitable contributions, come together with potential investors or donors.
Sounds like a boring business meeting…..without the exciting
returns of an Apple stock investment or the acknowledgment of creating an endowment to serve a global cause.

Not so and not boring. The returns can be much smarter and
much less risky….here’s why….

The Wall Street market place structure means that you give
your money to a person you may only have spoken to on the phone (the average investor). They invest your dollars in what they perceive will earn the highest paycheck for themselves or the company they work for (not necessarily what will earn you the most dollars. They have stock to move and each move makes them more money first). The average investor doesn’t know the actual companies or individuals their money is given too.

A wise saying I follow when considering an investment of
time, energy or money….”Who do you listen too?” In other words, is the
person you are listening to successful in the thing you wish to
accomplish? Why would you listen to someone that is not? Kind of
like that cost accounting teacher I had in college. The tools would have
been better absorbed if the professor had run a business successfully and could apply real life scenarios….the best professors/teacher I have had in my life came from those with real life experiences.

It is interesting that someone that doesn’t have much money
will tell me they are an expert at investing. If you decide to make
investing your own business what you will learn from the books is to get to know the industry and companies you are considering. What is the history of the leaders in the industry you are considering and more specifically those of the company you investigate? Have they been successful (by whatever standards you apply) in the past? Do they have a vision and mission statement? Business plan? What are their shortcomings (everyone has them) and what do they do to shore those up? What is the long term vision and strategies to get there? What do those that work for them say about the leaders and the business? Are they inspired? How do you feel about the product they are selling? Do you see the market even if it is outside your generation? What are the down sides with the company?
What could get in the way of success as far as you can estimate. Finally,
if you take away your initial excitement, would you still be interested (make a sound business decision without emotion).

Slow Money gives you the opportunity to invest with businesses you can get to know, up front and personal. Long and short term investment with creative returns that can put or keep money in your pocket
while becoming part of something you can touch, feel and believe in.

Meet the owners, recognize their expertise, review business plans, strategies, long term visions, meet with others that work with them and
most importantly test their passion and resolve to use your money in your best interest.

By investing in local businesses, whether is it as a donor
or looking for a $$ return you will be putting your investment dollars into your local economy. Royalty financing (http://slowmoneynocal.org/royalty-financing) allows for the business owner to grow/build their business as a successful rate without the pressure of immediate required returns of normal investing.
It allows the investor to take less risks with as much upside as the
traditional investment and, not to be discounted, the value of knowing the company, its vision, mission, leaders and their past successes that, while not a guarantee, can give a strong sense of integrity and confidence.

If you wish to inquire into the opportunities available, go
to the Slow Money website. There are many opportunities here in our 4
counties that are exciting and lots of ways you can play with any level of
participation.

Lastly, Tara Firma Farms is entertaining such investors.
Your farm, your food. If you have interest, let me know (tara@tarafirmafarms.com).

Your Investing Farmer!

Best kept Secret that no one wants you too know…..

Wow, big response to last weeks note. Not surprising as our membership is made up of people that have made themselves aware of the food issues and care about our future.

Comments ranged from “we are a family that can barely afford
the food but make the hard choices to do so and we can give $10 a month to help those that are beyond making that choice”…to...“We can afford the food and will be happy to buy a monthly
membership for a family that cannot do so”.

All of these responses came with action steps….what specifically that person would do to help and THAT is what counts. Talk is cheap. I was never one for sitting on the sidelines nor have I been one to criticize something I was unwilling to do anything about. I wish we were all that way and I am thrilled to be part of a group of people, all of you reading this, that do take action steps to make a difference.

Yesterday I attended a meeting regarding the “State of Union” with regard to agriculture in the two counties. The audience had
heard from a historian about the “cultures” that had reigned supreme in the counties and where we stood now. We used to be a poultry monoculture, then dairy and now wine. All along little farms like ours have come and gone but over the last 80 years have never been a focus from an economic stand point. The question was “what do you think about the current mono culture?” Here was my answer……

“Forget mono culture. You are close to having no
culture. You are close to becoming one big beautiful area completely
reliant on outside imports to sustain you. We have, in these two
counties, all the resources needed to feed ourselves and our children healthy real food, to educate, to create jobs, to share in our burdens and our successes with little imports. Imports that steal our livelihoods, send our profits out of the county, state and country. It is not a tough
decision or too complicated. The solution is so simple that no one in any
government position or big business wants you to know about it….wait for it….big sounding crashing symbol….here it is…..buy local.

If all of us only purchased local stuff, drove less, car
pooled and took public transportation more, walked more, spent time finding out how are kids are and participating with them we would spend a lot less money on needless things, more time with what matters and build communities that can stand up for themselves, care for themselves, know each other….it is only a matter of 10% of us doing just that. Buying local, participating locally, putting our energies into local. From schools to vacations, food to entertainment.
It is so simple…. And the demand forces supply, brings down prices allowing healthy food to be accessed and afforded by everyone”.

I wish I was big enough or rich enough to lead such an endeavor. I wish I had the recognition from the community that they would hear me. I believe so deeply in my bones in the power of our individual
choices to come together and model the way for the rest of the country.

Marin and Sonoma counties are now recognized as the greenest areas in the country. We have the power to lead the country in eliminating the burden we place on our government to take care of us, make decisions for us. We can do it ourselves. We can buy local, demand green healthy products that support an environment not only for our children but planning for the next 1000 years. Consider that. What would I do differently if I was making choices that would affect the next 1000 years. Would I do something else? What would I change. What if the last 100 years was planed out with a vision of 1000 year out…..my guess is we would be living with a smaller population, healthy food, sustainable businesses, all green, little to no disease and little to no stress.

“All righty then” as Jim Carrey would say…enough
said. Buy local….see what happens….if you are not sure where to get
something locally ask a friend. If you can’t get it locally ask yourself
if you really need it. Is there an alternative? You will be
surprised at the money you save. And with the money that you save, if you have a care for those that truly cannot afford that food, buy extra. We can deliver to them. It supports our farm, your food source, it changes one family at a time, builds community and so much more…..buy everything local……buy local…buy local…buy local. What about a buy local only week? Then a buy local month…try it out. Write down what you can’t buy local and let’s share it to see what we can solve…jobs that could be created due to demand…..buy local…buy local….buy local….

Your BL Farmer….

Access for all....

If we didn’t do farming……what would we have done…

I had a moment to consider what I would be doing if I had chosen something else after reading Omnivore’s Dilemma. One of our members brought up the subject of people that cannot afford to buy organic healthy food. What about those people?

Got me thinking…scary… Healthy food options for those that cannot afford healthy food. That is an interesting one.

Many of our customers make hard choices to afford our food and many of our customers can afford our food. These customers drive
economies of scale, driving down costs over time. They model the
way for others who are either ignorant of the food quality concern and/or those who may struggle but can make the hard choices for healthy food.

The part of our society that are financially not able to afford “organic” foods today are not only concerned about food, but shelter, education, health care, jobs and most likely don’t see or have hope.

I grew up in a single parent household, mom was a teacher and at $6,000/year we were what would be considered poor. The public school was fine, small college paid for by waitressing, nothing of note. We didn’t have the big marketing barrage telling us” who we should be” or
things we “had to have”.

I was poor but I had hope. I think that hope is the
difference for those that figure out a way and those that don’t. It is a
beginning, a starting point to kick off from. That is a different topic
and Victor Frankl said most of anything worth saying on that topic.

This newsletter is about the effect I might have had if I
chose something different. Here is what I came up with:

A farm that focused on hiring low income community members
to participate in growing their own food. Work and get paid to do the work. Including selling and distributing the food to those who can afford it and to those who can’t. Particularly in their own neighborhoods, building community and allowing for not only a sustainable model (meaning that the food sales to those that could afford the food would offset the food sales for those that could only pay a portion) but also the pride of meaningful work that brings hope, ownership and community. It could work either with many employees or run mainly by volunteers working for food vs pay. Lots of options.

We built this farm not to make a lot of money but to pay the
bills, provide a decent living for its workers and the little bit of profit to
share among the employees. Now we are building the nonprofit to support education. Perhaps the next step is focusing on low income families having access to our food.

Would you pay more if you knew you were subsidizing low
income families that had low or no access to healthy food? In the
long run it would pay you back in less monies toward welfare (health care, EBT).

For those of you who can afford our food what about buying a
bag of meat/vegetables for a low income family once a month? I am sure we could figure out a simple way to identify who to help. Thoughts?

I would love to help and I am doing all that I can.

Any takers?

Your Farmer, Tara Smith

Photo by Alexis Distad

Feb 6, 2012
Notes from Your Farmer

Either choose healthy or don’t.
Your call……and your consequences…

A member of the farm is travelling abroad and studying food systems. She asked me to respond to the question “why support local food systems”. Here is my answer…

Given that you can’t live without food for long…the critical question is whether you believe the current system is a benefit to you. If you believe the government and USDA and their companions have your best interest at heart you do not need to be involved in your food system. If you don’t trust them you would then need to look for another solution. Locally grown and raised foods are the place to begin looking.

However, this solution may not guarantee what you are after. You must define for yourself what food producers you wish to support and why. Health of the soil, plant and animal along with sustainability will be a different solution than shopping at the local chain grocery store. Interestingly enough the prices are equalizing. As the cost of distribution is on the rise so are the costs of what I call “food like substances” that are for purchase at the grocery store. These substances may have the same name as the food a local farmer may grow but they are as damaging as being marooned on a small island and forced to drink salt water. The water will taste fine if you are dying of thirst and will dehydrate you literally to death, eventually.

If you have done any inspection into local, national and global food systems you know there is a problem and if you are a student of the topic you know that we are in trouble. Anyone that says otherwise is either living in a dark hole or is part of the machine that has created the “food like substances”.

I read a few books, watched a few movies, investigated and discovered that the food produced in this country provides the pharmaceutical companies with customers. Our government supports this nasty business directly and aggressively. Given that, I decided to create my own food source and share that with my local community. Those that get it appreciate what we do here and those that don’t, don’t. No offense and none taken. I am not a Democrat, I don’t believe in the government taking my money without my consent to support things I don’t believe in. I am not a Republican. I do believe in helping those that cannot help themselves but I get to choose who or what that is. We support many causes and frankly go without extras in order to do so.

Choosing local, knowing your farmer, learning the processes and being responsible for your own food choices is the safest route however inconvenient in the beginning.

In the long run you get to make the choice of what food you eat. And you get to live with the consequences of your choice (by the way, waiting for the government to “fix” this problem is a choice).

Your “Standing on her Soap Box” Farmer…Tara Smith

Jan 30, 2012
Notes from Your Farmer

Rain, Rain, Don’t Go Away
We need you every other day!

Our perennial grasses are growing fast
If you keep it up, all year they will last!

Without you right now to raise up cattle food
We would be forced to buy alfalfa and that would not be good!

The cost of alfalfa will be astronomical
The cost of beef will become quite comical!

And those perennials sequester carbon back into the ground
Without you helping you know where that carbon is found.

It stays up in the air for our children to breath
It warms up the planet and it might force us to leave.

So please keep on coming as long as you can.
Please help us stick to our rotational plan.

Our beef is amazing. It’s clean and it’s healthy.
Our cattle are happy and our grass lands are wealthy!

The chickens and pigs and the cows all dance
when your drops help the grass to grow and advance

Through the year their roots grow deep in the ground
And can continue to grow when you’re not around.

Our community counts on us to deliver
Without you right now I feel a slight shiver.

So I trust in your plan and we’ll go boldly on
And look forward to more rainy and wet with each dawn.

Your Soggy Farmer, Tara Smith

Jan 23, 2012
Notes from Your Farmer

OMG, I had lunch with a scientist. A smart guy. A really smart guy. The kind of person that is so smart he did his level best to keep me from getting lost. He had emotional intelligence along with his smart guy intelligence. His involvement in shaping the world is really interesting and revolves around stuff that we know and care about. Green stuff. Global green. Needless to say I was on the edge of my chair and asking a million questions. He couldn’t answer fast enough. His facts and point of view or opinions, he was careful to identify each, were off the charts for me and the best part was the hope he instilled for us globally. A rising consciousness across the globe that would change our way of being drastically along with an exponential growth in science and technology bringing discoveries to us in 10 years that weren’t expected for 100 years.

Here was my favorite…he asked me if I had ever thought about how old I wanted to get. I said I always answer that question with the age of 150 as long as I am healthy enough to care for myself (buy long term care insurance). He replied “you will have the option”. Of course my response was “I beg your pardon?” He said the technology and science reverse aging was in place and within 10 to 20 years would be available. Not to raise concern that that may cause a global population crises that is already upon us he said. Because we are learning more than just science on aging, we are learning about space travel, healthy food, restoring the planet and protecting its resources. Predications of a Global government supported by a consciousness that eradicates war, starvation, and disease.

Even if he is slightly right I am excited. But I digress to the point I want to make. All weekend I have been thinking about the idea of really living until 150. Would it change what I do today? Something about not worrying so much and rushing so much because I only have 20 good years left. What if I had 100 good years left. That changes things. Would I slow down a bit? Take more time to learn more, mentor more, plan longer term that I thought before….?
Somehow that simple conversation with the smart guy has relieved me of some anxiety that time is running out. Maybe we do have time to get it right, whatever right is.

The smart guy agreed to come to the farm for a pot luck event and to do a talk. Very excited for that. Have a great contemplative week!

Your “Feeling Very Young” Farmer, Tara Smith

Jan 16, 2012
Notes from Your Farmer

I was sent a youtube video about future technology and how it would be a “great service”. It opens with 2 parents sleeping and the sound of morning comes on in their bedroom (birds chirping I guess). “Natural” sunlight comes up to slowly wake them (General Electric light bulb). The wall opposite the bed pops on and is somewhat like the internet. It has weather, traffic, and my favorite “The To Do list” for both parents. Before they get out of bed they are already on the treadmill of information.
They are steeped in how much can they accomplish today and the technology will feed them as much as they can take in. The video goes on for 10 minutes or so and involves the whole family throughout the morning. It was exhausting.

The quality of life for this family will be much less than mine by my definition. Both parents had big time consuming jobs and the technology helped them to be more successful in those jobs. More information quicker and faster, to earn more money so they can buy more stuff and go more places so they can have more debt and need to work more and climb to the next job to get more money etc..

I know this track. I was on it and continue to fight to stay off it. That track leads to lots of money and some results that people never talk about…so, given that I am not running for any office and don’t care if people don’t like the truth (as I see it), here it is:

The track on which we strive to play is littered with death. The death of marriages/partnerships is one. A marriage will not survive if it is not nurtured. That takes time and commitment to the marriage/partnership.
Children will either act out to find themselves or withdraw without a solid relationship with a parent. That takes time and commitment to the child. Extended family is lost without time and commitment. Without extended family the family unit has little support when it needs it whether a teenager needs mentoring, (not by their “ridiculous parent” but by the cool aunt or uncle) or a crisis occurs with health or loss of a job.

The connection to the outside world, nature is dying off. It is a significant loss. Most kids don’t know where their food comes from and wouldn’t be able to grow or raise it (and I expect most parents lack this knowledge too). We are logged in, tuned in, locked on or in some way viewing media. Most of it is a complete waste of our time and we are wasting hours and hours a day not connecting with other human beings.

Education for our children has gone by the wayside and the parents have little to no responsibility toward public education. Charter schools are proving that education can thrive but it requires the participation of the parents.
Public schools dismiss the requirement of parent involvement until there is a problem and then blame the parents. Parents choose to buy a new, bigger TV instead of getting rid of the one they have and doing homework with their kids…(it is not fun to do homework with kids, except when you actually do it on a regular basis it can be a blast. Not to mention what we can learn as adults, but most of us are too tired from a day’s work to work with our kids and prefer the TV. Besides I have to get up and work harder to provide for my kids even though what I am providing is not preparing them for the world they will face). I believe in Charter schools in that they require parent participation. Those parents that opt for Charter schools are all about education and that lends to amazing schools teaching kids well rounded skills and emotional intelligence to adapt and lead their upcoming world.

What did we do with our priorities?

I am not free of guilt here. However I did do homework with my son all week. Husband travelling, Joe and had a great week. Homework, walking with the goats on the farm, picking eggs, talking a lot. He has a lot to say and it is critical to me to maintain that communication now that he is in his teen years (mostly listening). I stop to look at my day and consider what that next opportunity means to my overall day to day happiness. Should I really take on more? More technology to give me more information to give me more opportunity to work more?
So much is wrong with short term choices and short term planning. I wish I was better at it. And acknowledging the problem is the first step and who knows where it goes from there…

Your Farmer…Tara Smith

Jan 9, 2012
Notes from Your Farmer

Memories…

When I am out on pasture feeding whey and milk to the pigs, which I love doing, I have a lot of time to think.
Yesterday I was working close to I street which created interactive moments with those driving by. Some were in cars, some were riding bikes and some were walking. Some waved, yelled a hello and some stopped to talk. Some asked to help!

As the afternoon wore on I began thinking about how nice it was to have my neighbors stop to say hello and talk. Then I thought about how that was when I was a kid. It gave a sense of support, safety, appreciation and overall lessoning of anxiety for me. People are mostly kind.

So why didn’t I feel that before we started farming? I thought about that most of the evening and realize that it has to do with the architecture of our lives. Most of us get up in the am, go into our garage, get into a car and drive through traffic that is anything but relaxing. We get to our job and at the end of the day we get back in the car, back on the road, now we are tired with little patience, and hit traffic again. Once we get home we drive into the garage, walk into the house and never see our neighbors.

We are secluded by design.

In the old days, we walked to school with our friends from next door. Our parents had BBQ in the backyard and the neighbors joined with parts of the meal. We knew who was getting married, who was expecting a baby, who was sick or had died. Parents offered help to each other. Whether it was painting a house or moving a freezer. Knowledge was shared from life experience. Older parents helped new parents. Grandparents helped busy parents. People that had a pool invited those kids to play that didn’t.

Why these memories make me smile is the comfort these communities created. We were not alone and we had support. We had expectations also. Get out of line as a kid and all the parents would know and that was enough to stop us from doing things kids weren’t supposed to do. Parents had a code they discussed with each other and we had a many sets of eyes watching. They also had a code they lived by. And the expectations of how they showed up in the world created a sense of comfort and safety. We expected our parents to behave in the community a certain way and for the most part they did.

That way of being is not lost for us today. It is waiting for us to notice it. It is as simple as a wave of your hand and a smile. An invitation to have an interaction as simple as “How’s it going”? Leadership begins with they who trust first…the results are astonishing…

Your farmer…Tara Smith

Byron Palmer, Ranch Manager!

Jan 2, 2012
Notes from Your Farmer

Doing it right the first time-ish.

The question is.....do you fashion farrowing pens for the pregnant pig mamas out of a hodge-podge of straw bales, recycled fencing and bailing twine...or do you go to Friedman's Home Improvement and spend $1500 to do it right the first time? Or the second or third time, but really, who's counting [Insert cough sound effect here]. At first glance the answer could be simple in either direction. When you're running a business, minimizing unnecessary expenses is at the top of your list of things to do, but where do you draw the line between making due, and incurring cost to improve infrastructure?

If we lose a few baby pigs in the first week because their shelters are not dry or warm enough, well that would be more in opportunity cost then the price of the materials. However...couldn't we jerry-rig a situation together that could be adequate to keep them warm and dry enough? But wait, last breeding round we spent a whole lot of time chasing baby pigs and mamas around...like hours. How much did that cost? But what if we decide to try a different breed of pig in a few months that is more low maintenance when it comes to farrowing and we don't need the newly built permanent pens anymore because they are out in the woods? Where do you draw the line?

These are the types of decisions we make out here day to day. Tradeoffs, potentialities, workflows and possibilities. How do we do what is right for the animal? How do we do what is right for our customer? How do we do what is right for the land? How do we do what is right for our bottom line so we can keep providing our community food? Every time we are making decisions out here we are asking those questions, whether it be 103 degrees in July on the side of a hill with a 45 degree slope or 29 degrees in the dark with one knee in a puddle of water fixing a spigot at 6:30 this morning, we're thinking of you. And we are sure that no matter how you make your living, you’re asking similar questions about when to make do and when to improve, as we all have limited time, money and resources and improving processes is a never ending game. Hope you had a wonderful holiday season.

Your farmer, Ranch Manager Byron Palmer

Dec 26, 2011
Notes from Your Farmer

The Christmas Otter…..(a short story/poem)….
Twas the week after Christmas
And all across the farm
The sun was shining
The green hills with their charm.

Walking along
The small pond at my left
I noticed a visitor
Caught in a theft.

It sat in the middle
Of the pond very still.
Eating the Koi
Having its fill.

It saw me first
But didn’t move off.
When I stopped in surprise
It swallowed and scoffed.

Slipping slow in the water
It seemed to not care
That I was so close
And continued to stare.

I looked further around
In excitement you see
I wanted to share
My dis-cov-ver-ee.

No one was around
I stood silent in awe.
Taking in the surroundings
Not conscious of what I saw.

I walked quietly away
Feeling as if
I was given a belated
Special Christmas gift.

As I moved up the hill
It came to me slow
That something was missing
And suddenly, “whoa”.

The picture in my mind
Was the pond and the otter.
The Blue Herron was standing
On the side and seemed bothered.

There was something else
But my mind was still stuck.
Then it dawned on me suddenly
There was only one duck.

We have had a pair
2 ducks in the pond
A couple, it seemed
Of them we are fond.

I wondered at why
I would only see one.
They are always together
Watching them is fun.

I put it out of my mind
And went on with my day
But the thought came back
It would not go away.

The next morning I walked
Direct to the pond
And sadly I noticed
The second duck gone.

I rushed to the internet
And what did I find
That happy fat otter
Eats ducks and others in kind.

So what do you do?
It’s a war at all levels
The otter, over fishing
Both are coined devils.

Depending on the moment
On who is in need
We seem to be always
An invader indeed.

So while he is cute
And my fish are diminishing
The time has come
To put a stop to his fishing

He is getting fat fast
So yes he must go.
Just not sure how to end
His cute but devastating show.

Perhaps a removal
Of the otter in question
Put back in the river
And the pond we’ll refreshen.

In the world that we live
Is a world that’s at War.
Oil, Pharm, Banks, and Food
We must closely explore.

We must take back our world
From the few with the power
It certainly won’t be easy
We must act now in this hour.

For WE have the power
With each decision we make
To love or to purchase
Our souls are at stake.

Make your resolution this year
Be one of a question:
“Is the next decision I make
Sustainable with thoughtful introspection?”

If we do this together
We’ll change the path we are on.
We will set a pattern for living
The war will be won…


Glad to be in the trenches with you…your farmer Tara Smith

Dec 19, 2011
Notes from Your Farmer

“To all the Parents, Aunts, Uncles, Sister and Brothers…What to get for Christmas…

Twas the night before Christmas
And all across the Farm
Not a creature was stirring
All quiet in the Barn

The children were nestled
Scattered about the house (four sons – 21, 22, 23, 14, a girl that is supposedly just a friend and another kid from who knows where)
My husband I were sleeping (hiding)
I awoke to a SNAP…one less mouse (peanut butter in the trap works really well)

Staring at the ceiling
Feeling the dread
Knowing I would soon
Be getting out of bed

Wrapping the presents
And filling the socks
Wondering if they would think it funny
If they were filled with Rocks

We don’t need any thing
We don’t need and stuff
We don’t need to waste
It’s all useless fluff

The packaging and paper
Our landfills are full
Our buying and buying
Needing more is just bull.

It’s never enough
All the junk, all the stuff
It doesn’t make us happy
Myself I rebuff

It’s not about stuff
It’s not about things
It’s not about toys or gas cards or rings

It’s not about spending
Time in the store
It’s not about giving out crap
Anymore.

It has to change
We have to wake up
We have to think long term
The “stuff” we have to give up

So I took out a pen
And paper to write
I made several renditions
Notes to my boys that night

I wrote of how proud
I am of them all
How we laugh together
They are really a ball

I wrote of their wins
And how they show character when they lose
I wrote of honesty
And lack of drug taking and little booze.

I tried to explain
How a mother does feel
To see her children
Engage in a way that is real.

In the wee morning hours
I drank coffee and cried
The paper was stained
And the tear stains shown as they dried.

With so little stuff
Under the tree
I worried they would wake
And be disappointed in me.

I watched as they gathered
Around the lit tree
Each taking out their letters
Reading silently.

I watched them tear up
As the heart embraces
The emotion it feels
It showed in their faces

The love of a parent
So simple to give
It lasts forever
Any stuff it will outlive.

It takes only time
And a paper and pen
Give them a gift
They will remember when…and always…

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Your Farmer,
Tara Smith

Dec 12, 2011
Notes from Your Farmer

“You are my hero”.

Someone said that to me last week. They were referring to the jump from the corporate world to farming. “Hero” is an interesting label. I think of a hero as someone who shows great courage or strength of character. Martin Luther King comes to mind, or Lierre Keith. Very different people but they both meet the definition showing great courage, and strength of character. They took a stand for what they believe in and did so peacefully while faced with great adversity and physical harm. Both were/are heroes in my book. I didn’t know MLK and I had a brief introduction to Lierre Keith. Both inspire me to move forward with character and integrity, yet I don’t see myself as a hero. Or at least I don’t feel that way. I wasn’t afraid of jumping into farming, I was excited. I haven’t faced physical threats to my person because I became a farmer…not yet anyway…:).

However, I will comment on something that happens naturally to someone when they take a stand for something they believe in. In today’s media environment it is called “arm chair blogging”. Someone that knows nothing about what you do has an opinion and states that opinion with authority. I find that fascinating. A critique without a clue. It makes for so much loss. Loss in time, energy, and money in some cases. What a sad profession to take up, arm chair blogging. A wasted life in that there is nothing valuable about it. It doesn’t build up a cause, or support a hero or give rise to anything but fear, uncertainty and doubt.

I believe we are all heroes inside and if we didn’t fear public opinion whether it is family, friends, media etc…we would feel courage and show the stamina of character daily. I don’t feel like a hero and maybe that’s because I don’t fear others opinions and have to therefore find “courage” to act. Maybe that is the secret. We are heroes underneath and it is would be a natural way to be if we didn’t have to fear each other every moment.

By the way…as members, you are my heroes. You take a stand for unadulterated food and humanly raised animals in the face of other choices you could make.

In gratitude, Your “Hero” Farmer, Tara Smith

Photo of Rosemary the goat by Nathaniel Coon

Dec 5, 2011
Notes from Your Farmer

When it rains it pours…

I believe in the law of attraction. I have to. Not because it is exciting or inspiring but because it can be dangerous…

3 years ago I had a vision:

To grow and raise organic real food. Did that. Educate our community about real food and offer a better choice than the grocery store. Did that. Do all of this profitably. Did that (one month and counting!).

The point is…I didn’t know how to do all of that. I just had a vision and everything unfolded. It unfolded pretty much to look like what I expected. In fact it unfolded better than I expected.

The “how” was not important. It was the continuous thoughts, way of being, that attracted the how. The how showed up and I acted on it. But the thoughts, oh the thoughts. They are the secret.

So what about the danger? Well, we also talked about teaching future farmers to execute this model and help them into property, be the bank for them so to speak. Why? Because there are so few opportunities for our children to learn farming from a perspective that they could actually be farmers. That it can be a wonderful life and profitable. That they could work outside with nature and make a decent living. But most importantly we need to have the food they would provide. There are so few local farmers. Not enough to feed these two counties, not even close. We are at the mercy of the cheap, processed foods that crowd our grocery stores, fill up our neighborhood quick marts, tempt our kids at their schools through fast vending machines.

Hence the Tara Firma Farms Farm School. A nonprofit. It was the last part of the vision. And it is scary to me that we already have the nonprofit designation. We have the first $15k for startup money and we hired a seasoned, start up, nonprofit, guru to begin it, Pam Hartwell-Herrero. She started Sustainable Fairfax and is now Mayor of Fairfax. She is awesome. I am meeting with local influential people to raise the money to begin. All of that with a thought. Albeit a consistent thought.

The phrase “be careful what you ask for”. Maybe it should be more like “Be aware of what you are thinking about. You are asking the Universe to deliver it and She wants to”.

It was a beautiful day here on the farm.
Come visit.

Your Farmer, Tara Smith

Nov 28, 2011
Notes from Your Farmer

The Night before Thanksgiving
The Cows are ruminating
The Chickens nestled in bed
The Pigs piled up for warmth
The Turkeys are…well…

Hope you enjoyed the feast… :)

Thank you for supporting your food chain.

Your “one link of many” Farmer, Tara Smith

Nov 21, 2011
Notes from Your Farmer

Regarding Food…What really matters?

Picture this…

You just hung up the phone while waiting on hold with the IRS because your boss walked up. He needs the numbers that you were working on last week and didn’t finish, within 2 hours. The layoffs are continuing and you don’t know when you will get yours. The IRS call was all about an audit and your 16 year old was busted at school for pot and has been expelled. The doctor wants you to come back in for another look at that lump and, oh, by the way, you’re broke. Can’t make the house payment and are juggling bills. You have also ignored that your spouse seems to be engaged elsewhere…now how ya doing? Feeling a little stressed out? Do you think that your body may be undergoing any reactions to the buildup of stress in your life?

Now think about a commercial turkey. Vaccinated even before hatching, medicated water after hatching. Raised for 1 month on a cold floor with thousands of other birds, some dead under foot. Put into a pen with hundreds or even thousands of other birds with beak and toe nails clipped so as not to peck the other birds, due to stress. Feathers fall out. Feed is mostly GMO corn or soy and no greens. Grown so big so fast they can’t walk or mate due to weight gain and lack of space. Medications (antibiotics) come along with the food to keep them alive. 3 to 4 months and then they are processed. What do you think about the effects of this life style on the turkey?

Now consider your life - work is going well and is exciting. The projects are on topics you are good at and enjoy. The boss reminds you that you are valuable and not to worry about layoffs. Your children are doing well at school and actually curb their sarcasm because they see their parents are happy and create a lifestyle that fits the family. Life is good and low stress.

Turkeys on pasture…free to roam, eat bugs, worms, slugs and enjoy the sun. Exercising and resting in the grass up on the hill. Warm house to walk into at night that is predator safe. Toms romancing the hens. Life is good and low stress.

It’s all about the stress or lack thereof…it is that simple. Animals raised in low stress environments - plenty of pasture to enjoy, fresh water and sunshine, safe house to sleep in at night, and the ability to be a chicken doing chicken things, or a pig in all its pig-ness or a cow in its cow-ness……or a turkey in its turkey-ness! The lack of stress is the single most important consideration, over everything else.

Consider where your meat comes from...how it was raised. Don’t let marketing fool you into a false sense of healthy eating. If it was not on pasture it doesn’t have the fats, vitamins, minerals, CLA’s, and all the other good stuff we need to sustain a healthy life style. Free range and/or organic does NOT mean pastured!

P.S. I get that you are probably a member and I am preaching to the choir…just wanted to give you another perspective when you talk with friends and family… ;)

Your Farmer, Tara Smith

Nov 14, 2011
Notes from Your Farmer

“This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy”…George Bernard Shaw.

I am feeling “mighty” this early a.m. We feed 300+ families a week. This team of life players is committed to bring to you REAL food. I am reminded of how amazing this group of people is to work with each day because of their willingness to play hard, every day, toward a cause they so believe in. They face criticism that comes from ignorance. They seek out solutions and when none are forthcoming, they create. They face failure each day and overcome by holding a vision they know is right and true. They are valiant and steadfast. They are leaders in uncharted territory and they choose, daily, not to falter.

It is a pleasure to serve them. As you sit down to your Thanks Giving table this year, raise your glass to this young, strong, unwavering team of leaders. Your table is full of their efforts, hearts and soul.

Your Grateful Farmer…Tara Smith

Notes from the Turkeys
Here are some facts about me! Did you know that:

• I can weigh up to 38 pounds! Can you imagine me on your dinner table!
• We lay about 18 eggs at a time and it takes about 30 days for us to hatch.
• After hatching we are called “Poults”.
• I have over 5000 feathers and 157 bones.
• I can fly up to 55 mph and run about 18 mph
• That funny thing hanging over my beak is called a “Snood” and the other floppy thing under my chin is called a “Wattle”!
• I live outside and eat lots of grass, bugs, vegetation that is all around me
• I am smarter than an Eagle and frankly more respectable. I find my own food where as the Eagle is a scavenger.
• Ben Franklin wanted me to be the National Bird. Here is an excerpt from a letter he sent to his daughter:

"For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labor of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

"With all this Injustice, he is never in good Case but like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country...
"I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America... He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on."

Whew! Order up your turkey today so you can free your mind for other tasks in the busy holidays!

Your Snoody Farmer…Tara Smith

Oct 24, 2011
Pumpkins on Pikes!

It’s Festival Time, here at the farm
Children and parents carve alike
500 pumpkins in all their glory
Each sit upon a pike.

Looking out across the garden
500 pumpkins look back
The fun, the food, the smiles on children
The orange glows against the black

Floating faces of all shapes, glowing in the night
The sun goes down, the candles light
The view is such an amazing site.

But more is happening here than we know
The pumpkins see it, their smiles grow
The community of family, seeds of friendship will sow
They bask in their efforts of the pumpkin glow.

Each year we meet celebrating the season
Each year we come back for a simple reason
To commune, to play, to share a toast
Drink pumpkin beer or a marshmallow roast

We come to remember that we are all one
We come to experience that oneness in fun
Enjoy your Halloween next week
The turkeys come next, and they are a Treat!

Happy Harvest and Halloween!

Your Farmer Tara Smith

Slow Money.....I went to the conference in San Francisco and I have to say I was amazed. For those of you that are not familiar with Slow Money here is my take…

There are many folks that want to invest their money but don’t trust the stock market…that makes sense to me. These people also believe that the economy will grow if we give small business a chance to thrive.
The Banks are not lending to small business and when a loan is made the interest rates and fees are prohibitive. Slow Money investors are expecting to get money back but as the name implies, they are expecting a slow return and a modest one.
By investing in business ventures locally the money you invest stays local. Now that is an interesting thought (am I being too sarcastic?)!

These groups of investors are changing the way we borrow money. At the San Fran meeting there were 20 small entrepreneurs presenting their businesses and asking for small to large investments to grow. Some were as small as $1500 all the way up to $3 million. It was fabulous. All of the businesses were green, clean, environmentally sound and well thought out. They had business plans articulating growth expectations, expenses and exit strategies for investors (how the investor gets repaid). There is a San Francisco chapter meeting in Berkeley October 24th (look at their web site). If you are interested in an investment that supports your community, this is the place to be.

We are now building the Non Profit to train Future Farmers. Slow Money put me in contact with several possible investors that we can work with in the next few months. We want to build the infrastructure to train future farmers and help them into the land…be the bank…that is where you or those you know come in. Who do you know that may be interested in contributing, either from a loan perspective, a straight up contribution or in an advisory capacity. If you have interest, let me know and I will forward our business plan for your perusal. We are scheduling a meeting to discuss the plan with all interested, in any capacity, in November. Send me a note if you wish to attend (tara@tarafirmafarms.com) and I will make sure you are on the invite list.

Thanks so much for helping keep your food REAL and your money here in the community.

Your Farmer Tara Smith

Oct 10, 2011

Ode to the Grass…..

Annual grass grows once a year
Perennials would grow all year long
But it needs help to get going
Cows do the mowing
Chickens fertilize, debug and help with the sowing

Why is that good?
This should be understood
Within photosynthesis the answer is found
The grass that keeps growing
Due to the fertilizer and mowing
Photosynthesizes carbon back into the ground

This is good as you know
So our ozone will grow
Protecting us from the harsh rays of the sun
The happy animals on pasture
Avoid the disaster
Of life in cage with no fun.

Life with no fun
Is a life full of stress
It creates such an unnecessary mess
It requires chemical use
And all kinds of abuse
Our environment is choking as if in a noose

So we grow the grasses
That sequesters the carbon
We do it with animals
And make sure they have fun.

The circle of life
It is all around us
If we just follow Mother Nature
It is her we can trust

We have worked really hard
With the animals here
Raising them out on the pasture
Help us change the world
One farm at a time and
Avoid an environmental disaster!

Your Farmer Tara Smith (with a little help from Dr. Seuss)

One of my favorite things to do on the farm is to take a group of smart, savvy women on a tour.

The term Chicks in the Hen House comes to mind as to the way we woman talk. We talk over each other with excitement and flare when we first meet up and while it might look like we are all talking at once (we are) but we are also listening at the same time. It is an innate skill we seem to have.

Julie, one of our farm members, brought her gaggle of woman friends for a tour this week. It was fabulous. Everyone talking at once, asking lots of questions, smart questions to boot. Somewhere in near the end of the tour my favorite compliment showed up. ”…you are an inspiration. How did you find the courage to do all of this?” Here is the answer. It was 3 things.

Courage is one of them. Being fearless or acknowledging your fear and doing what needs to be done in spite of your fear. Here is an example: castrating pigs. I watched a video, watched an expert and jumped in. The little pig had his head in a bucket of ice cream. We sprayed scarlet oil, which is a numbing disinfectant, on the little testicles, made a tiny small slice and out they pop. It was easy and the pigs didn’t stop eating. He just shook a leg and walked off. No harm, no foul…got that done. Leading up to the process I was full of anxiety expecting the guys that work here to roll their eyes. But I pulled it off. Jumping in with a strong sense of knowing it would be okay even though…

The 2nd thing I think makes a person successful in what they choose is character. Character defined as: Following through on a commitment long after the excitement of the moment has passed”. Remember the “turkey sh$t storm”? Driving the atv into the barn, startling the wild turkeys that were roosting in the rafters. They flew out toward me, all at once, while each letting go of their entire lower bowels in one fell swoop. All over me and the dog (who rolled in the little that missed me and hit the ground). My first reaction? This is good material for the newsletter. It is a choice to laugh at it or not.

And 3rd is intention. Intention, in my book, is 90% of what it takes to be successful. It is the magic that happens when you paint yourself a vision and think of it as if it already existed. It changes the way you interact with people. What you talk about, what you do with the smallest decision and you don’t even know it. It is an unconscious way of being. It is incredibly powerful when intention is thought about consciously (with intent).


When it comes to the farm we said we wanted to grow and raise the food, educate our community about REAL food, be economically sustainable and to train future farmers. I pictured families picnicking, someone getting married, children playing, students learning. It is all happening now. At the end of the day, with all my complaining and whining, I still held the vision and the universe delivered. We have the food, the education, the accounting and most importantly, you, our members. Do what you love and the money will come. But it is more than that. It is a way of being and learning. Learning to hold the vision, surrounding myself with the people that can make the vision happen, being coachable/teachable (that is hard to do at 50 but when I let go of having to be in charge, everyone showed up and got the job done). That is the long answer. Intention. It is all about intention.

I am intending to have 2 days off a week in October.
Sincerely, your farmer…Tara Smith

I am an innovator. I enjoy starting new endeavors, kicking stuff off, hitting a goal, talking vision and proving it can happen. Yes siree, that is my strength.
Tell me something can’t be done (something that is exciting) and I will jump in full force.

This time I am learning patience. It is not easy for me. There is always something going on around here and my lack of experience is what creates the “thing” that goes on around here. Here is an example…we are all about growing perennial grasses year round. The story goes that if they are allowed to grow up to 2 feet or so and have consistent haircuts by the cows (leaving 8 to 12 inches), they will grow back to 2 feet-ish in 2 months….each time they get the haircut and begin to grow the roots grow also. By the dry season the roots can be far enough down, 2 to 3 feet, where they can access water and don’t need rain. Yeah! Green grass all year round. Green grass photosynthesizing carbon back into the ground and feeding cows and chickens!

In our 8th month here, November 2009, it was beginning to rain a bit, here and there. The Perennial grasses would take 3 to 5 years to show up and I was…impatient. What if I just tossed out some Perennial grass seed? Not a lot as it is expensive. Just some, a little. My CFO husband was not all that crazy about the idea and thought the expense was unnecessary. So, I did what any determined, impatient wife does, I waited until he was on a business trip and told one of our employees to pick up the seed for me while she was in town. A few days later I noticed the bag of seed sitting in the barn and took it out to a couple of areas where the cows and chickens had been and tossed it out randomly.

As we all know, while one thing is going on, many other things are going on. We had our pigs in the rock pasture. The pasture with lots of buried rocks. We were planting corn, fava, turnips, wheat and barley in the rock pasture and once it was a good foot high we put the pigs in and they dig up the plants and rocks along with it! Genius. Great way to move out the rocks and fertilize at the same time.

Craig and I were walking over the land (sounds romantic) we came across a corn stalk in the middle of nowhere. Do you see where this is going? The gal I had asked to pick up the seed had forgotten. The seed I threw over the pastures was the seed for the pigs pasture - corn, fava, etc. I suppose I should have known as the bag was open but I was so excited. Don’t be surprised to see various vegetables growing around the farm, outside of the garden.

The good news is that we had a grass expert walk the property and we already have about 15% of native perennials growing where the cows and chickens have been. Mother Nature did not need to be rushed. I apologize profusely to her and realize she has a sense of humor…..so does my husband…

Your Farmer Tara Smith

Every now and then, well okay, more than that, I sneak into the grocery store to see what is being charged for meat and veggies. The organic veggies. While I can compare costs from the organic counter to our food and it is interesting…what I can’t do is compare what is in the grocery store to what we and the farmers here grow. Because very little of the veggies and meat in the grocery store are from here. Here is a sample of 10 items of veggies (there was one local grass fed/finished ground beef option at $7/lb). No other local meat that day.

Cucumbers - $3/pound here, $2.99/pound Whole Foods
Broccoli - $2.50/bunch here, $2.69/pound Whole Foods
Leeks - $5/pound here, $5.99/pound Whole Foods
Carrots - $3/pound here, $3/pound Whole Foods
Onions - $3/pound here, $4.99/pound Whole Foods
Summer Squash - $3/pound here, $2.99/pound WF
Strawberries - $5/basket here, $5/basket Whole Foods
Specialty/Baby lettuce - $5/pound here, $8/lb WF

The veggies from our farm are local, completely organic and taste like they were meant to taste. The veggies from the grocery are from many countries; China, Mexico, Argentina and therefore use large amounts of oil to transport, are picked unripe, washed in bleach, sprayed with mineral oil for shine (tomatoes) and gassed with ethylene to unnaturally “ripen” them (anything that needs to ripen more).

Have you purchased an heirloom tomato from the store and compared the flavor to one of the tomatoes we have put in your box, heirloom or otherwise? It is shockingly different to me and I am biased, I admit that. Clearly we are in the business to provide real healthy food at a price to be sustainable. It actually costs less in the long run for you to shop locally. Your health, your environment, your families understanding and accountability for their food. We thank you for that and hope to see you carving pumpkins at Pumpkins on Pikes this year!

The Bottom Line……Sounds like a political news show and I am hosting. Here it is…Unfortunately the switch to corn and soy free feed is not sustainable, available consistently, or affordable going forward - with price increases in the peas in particular. We analyzed the numbers and would need to charge $10/lb for chicken in order to make it work so we going back to the feed we used prior to last February.

Here is what I know about the effect of feed for the animals that we eat…The health of the bird is 80% lifestyle and 20% feed. Making sure they have plenty of fresh air, fresh water, exercise, greens and low to no stress makes a healthy bird. Their feed is important to have the healthy mix of proteins and carbs, and we have always used certified organic feed.

However, if I couldn’t afford organic I would choose a bird that was out on pasture over a caged bird. Their lifestyle is too significant a piece of the health puzzle.

It was a good experiment and we are sad that we can’t continue with the corn and soy free feed. Of course we will revert to the organic feed we used prior, and will be supporting a local business.

This choice is one more rung on the ladder towards sustainability for the farm. We love taking care of this land, raising healthy happy animals, and feeding our community.

As always we appreciate your business, feedback and support.

Stop by sometime – it would be great to see you!
Farm tours are Saturday and Sunday 10am to 3pm on the hour. Bring a picnic!

Your Farmer Tara Smith (out running in a field…after chickens)