Monsanto

A detailed article on Monsanto, its history and practices with a particular look at its impact on soya and seeds.

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805?currentPage=1

The Housemartins

While Gaia has been singing 'I've got a brand new combine harvester' (The Wurzels, 1976), courtesy of an afternoon in the shop with Barry's music selection, I have had that well known Housemartins track, 'Sheep', running round my head. The lambs are now out in the fields, by Kidbrooke, eating the Bluebells (which are poisonous) and they are wonderful to watch. Everyone who comes into the barn and holds the sweet little things in their hands or bottle feeds one (only 6 left to lamb) asks tentatively, 'so, how old are they when you.., y'know, when they go off for..., y'know'. At least they are there, asking the question. Not enough clean grass or fencing for the autumn lambs or replacement ewes so they are now in the barn. Another exercise in escaping sheep. David has created a timetable of tasks (probably a first for Tablehurst) which is efficient and means we all know where we should be if we aren't doing emergency fence repairs, sheep collecting (from A22, Forest Row, Emerson etc), essential deliveries (eg. straw to circus) or leaning on pitchforks deep in the finer points of Nietzsche and Mill with Terry and Stewart. Pigs...huh, in the same way that man has to try and stop sheep killing themselves, so he must save piglets from tyrannical (or careless) mothers. Either the sow rolls over and sleeps on them, suffocating or squashing the poor things or she eats the neighbouring sow's. One benefit of having the pigs run in with the cows (deliberate) and sheep (a fencing deficiency) is that they eat all the afterbirth, which saves me a job (clearing up, not eating). One of the stirring sticks broke yesterday, extra chaotic vigour by Jors. I am proud of my replacement, coppiced by the chicken sheds and hung early afternoon. Now if it will just stop raining so we can do some spraying.... Generally, its great fun and I am really enjoying it, although its extremely hard work. I love reading everyone's comments, keep it up. And, yes, Robin, you should go into politics, although I was under the impression you already had.

Hi ...apologies to anyone confused by my last fictional entry.I could ramble on at length about the many different tasks I have been given since I arrived here but I think that would be as enthralling as watching a dead toad dry out on a hot day. Today I walked to Ruskin Mill , which is about 8 miles away. DHF has Ruskin students here to work once a week, the managers eldest son is one of the group that comes over.It was a form of pilgrimage to walk to the nearest BD farm.The route took me through vast fields of industrial-chemical "agriculture" and it was a relief to arrive at Gables Farm and find horse-drawn equipment in recent action. Last week I was able to use the flame weeder, brush weeder and best of all; The Vacuum Seeder!
Some of you may remember this machine from a video Arjen showed us... I have always liked farm machinery and this one is the business! I drilled my first ever field-scale carrots and hope to do much more of this..... There is a Dutch grower here called Fred who studied at Warmoderhof . We get on well and he has given me excellent tuition when setting up the machines . He also obtained an Earthways seeder for me so I have sown some stuff with that as well. There we are... Isaid I wouldnt ramble on but I have! Perhaps I should be in politics

Planet Vortex

The day is trying to tell me that it's over... however something I read on the BD Now list I thought I should share:

Dear friends,

I received some information this morning in my meditation.



This in regards of the Monsanto corporation.

The plant life collective of this planet, their deva caretakers and
many others have been watching this outfit and consider that they
will no longer allow the perversion of nature by this entity. I'm not
sure what's up with this yet, but there is a collective action
ongoing by the nature spirits to work with the plants as that is
their sphere. They are offering protection of the plant species.

It's ours to misdirect and redirect the Monsanto entity.

If you should so choose, please picture The Monsanto corporation ---
upside down and inside out --- in disarray and destruction. It is
happening from the inside out. Something big is coming. This is in
motion from inside the organization and will not be stopped. To be
revealed soon.



I don't know any more than that.


Bonnie York

Make of that what you will, for me at least it brings some hope.

More bad news about bees I'm afraid:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004341374_bee11m.html

Erin you know anything about this

If you never got round to reading them then here is a sort of summary of Dr. S's lectures on bees.

Been stirring 500 in big barrels last 2 days, bumble bees are out on dandelion flowers, things coming alive now (Sweden at least a month behind S. England), I should sleep. Thank you Robin for brightening my day.

Kristof informs me that the email list was property of Phil, who removed it. If anyone has Phil's email then please send to me (ormrATmail2eris.com). Danke...

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Dr. Seuss

Greetings from Duchy Home Farm! Life here is never dull as you can imagine. The other day one of the rare -breed pigs , a Peruvian Dreadlock sow started to devour her 3 day-old piglets.
I rushed over and tried to stick a fence post between her teeth to stop her munching her tiny offspring. As I wrestled with the beast , a visitor wandered over to watch. I glanced up to see a tall figure in a barbour jacket observing me.....The Prince ! I wasted no time in asking for his help." Your Highness " I gasped ,still wrestling with the huge Sow " could you answer the question everyone wants to ask?" He looked at me wearily..." well, I suppose er.. ask away."
" Sir, is it true that your favourite pop artist is the hysterical dwarf from Minneapolis who shares your title , Prince?" His royal eyes lit up. "You know Iwas a big fan until he produced a movie , Purple Rain, and this ,I thought, was a poorly produced load of bunk. " I pulled a half eaten piglet out of the sows jaws and smiled at him." Nice looking pigs these, no mothering instinct unfortunately....."

hi everybody!

Finally! i figured out how to work this thing!
Where to begin? since missing my flight home and amazingly getting the very next one standby, the universe and my world have been sending me constant messages of support and inspiration. I know now more than ever that i am doing the rite thing for myself and the world.
The farm is amazing, S&S homestead farm, i was welcomed with open arms into the family and my nervousness about living here for 6 months disappeared. My fellow intern is wonderful, as is everyone else on the farm. the milking cow "Loveday" just gave birth and hand milking is everything i expected, wonderful. i just moved into my tent on the property and its freezing, it snowed 5 inches at sea level last week, but its all part of the homesteading experience and now is the time for these rich experiences that make us stronger and who we are.
Friday: chased baby and mama cow for 45 min. through a mudd bog of a field trying to get them into a stall, also chased 8 seriously pregnant sheep back into pen after considerable damage to the csa garden, got shocked by a 9 volt fence 4 times (throughout the day) set up my 16x12 pole tent. fun and always full days on the farm. i hurt so bad all over, but it feels so good.
back on the land again!
good luck and love to you all,
hoping it warms up soon!
erin

Good Time!

Hallo!!!!!!!!!!

Had really good two weeeks till now on the farm! I'm glad to be here...
Most of the first time we were grating and packing carotts and potatoes. Since monday we went outside on to the fields planting potatoes.Is greate fun six people on a caroussellplanter (?)!!!

So now it's weekend and I'm expecting a friend I haven't seen for years...
so have fun everybody, want to hear more from you!
Michaela

Traveling without study books?

Some of us or already exhausted by farming forces on daily bases but...

If you are traveling without good study books I would like to remind you the tip Arjen gave us about 'the soil and health library' on the internet.

It is easy to download very good books on BD and sustainable agriculture as other topics.

Fantastic stuff!!!

unexplained powers of animals...

Rupert Sheldrake and his new science

Apprentices

Hello boppers,
So - just finished the Soils week for the apprentices. It's always a great week - all they do for 2 years is working on farms having fairly little theoretical input, and they're always very eager to come for an intensive week of lectures, art and soil experiments. I was thinking, perhaps I will experiment with offering them to come and do the 2nd year of our training as a follow-up after their apprenticeship. It will depend a bit on which farm they were if they have enough knowledge and experience equivalent to what you did in the first year of the FT training, but I think we'll give it a go. It will also help to boost the numbers somewhat in the second year and it will be nice to have some new people in the group... I welcome your thoughts on this!

Phew! Day off today, of sorts. Vision&Strategy meeting (in Carson). Long day, lots of talk, but some strong support for BD. I sympathise Katharina, my officeboy/student hands are raw and bloody after 2 weeks feeding&bedding pigs, cows, chickens and sheep (and boy do I sleep well). Having spent Tuesday (killing n gutting) & Wednesday (moving n bedding) 'doing chickens' I am considering becoming an exclusive red meat carnivore (with eggs). The whole chicken thing feels a bit too much. Sheep are great, especially if you want to know where the hole in your fence is. So far at least 20 man hours have been taken up finding, herding and reallocating escaped sheep. The lambs are cute. I have strung up a hammock in the barn and it is a joy to watch little groups of lambs building up team bravado, running up and down the middle walkway as one, only to chaotically disperse as they encounter a silage bail and a milky teat calls. You'll be unsurprised to know it has been raining. The pigs can't go out, the cows can't go out, so they fight. No preps can be sprayed and no ploughing can be done. Roll on spring. I cant wait for the apple trees to blossom.

And dont forget to use your imagination when shopping, Tesco now has better coverage than Vodafone, go somewhere else.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/mar/28/tesco.supermarkets

camp, camp, camphill!

hi all,
just some quick news, as i'm deadly tired, like every evening. having a nice time here, everybody very welcoming and lovely. still struggling to remember some peoples names, so i haven't started on the cow's yet. work is quite nice, strange semi-masochistic pleasure in blistering my overly tender student hands. all the people i have worked with so far (a lot, teams here are massive) are lovely, but sometimes the concentrated craziness and intensity can be quite exhausting, which is the main reason for my tiredness, i haven't really been working all that hard yet. easter was nice, very contemplative and actually quite a nice change from ignoring it to having gatherings every day. right, feel greeted from snowy scotland,
kat
(p.s. i've just been told very earnestly not to publish anything about the community, so that's why i'm not mentioning any names of people or places here.)

Don't forget the bees!!!!

Hello volks,

Feeling a bit less cynical today. Been chopping wood (with chopping machine), sorting rotting veg, cutting raspberries.

Here are some links for your reading, concerning what I see as perhaps the most siginificant activities of our species at the present time...

The lady who swallowed a fly (GM)

10 Reasons Why Organic Can Feed the World  and 10 reasons GM won't

The Doomsday Seed Vault

Bee colony collapse and GM

Bees and GM II

Bats dying

Angels don't play this HAARP

Also, could someone please post or send me (ormrATmail2eris.com) the list of emails that was up in the classsroom? When I went to write them down it was gone. Keep posting

Adam

Edit 29.3: Added a couple more links... discuss in comments if you wish.
Haven't been sent the email list yet.

I am here somewhere!

Dear fellow students, 

I am very curious to all your stories and happy to have read some of them.  I can only encourage you to write often so I can get a feel of each of your experiences.

I arrived a few days ago in Belo Horizonte, Brasil.  Not really knowing where or what or how I find myself in a safe dominio where the parents of Cristiane live.  My portuguese is far from usable still but we did visit some interesting places related to food produce and the poor cheese quality in this country.  So we bought gear to make our own cheese and I hope I can do better here.  One goat spotted a long the road and that made my day, alright!!!

Soon we are going south to visit my farm 'A boa terra' but till then I am watching farming programs with my father in law on early mornings.  Get the picture?!!

I will not mention the hot weather or the beauty of nature in this part of the world.  I will talk about red soil later.  

Goatman stof wishes you all well

Just in case you forgot

It's that time of year again...

Warning: Crucifixion is bad for health

For further investigation of Judaeo-Christian pathology, I suggest viewing Alexandro Jorodowsky's masterpiece 'Holy Mountain'.

You should all check out the BDNow! discussion list. Even I find the people on there crazy...

So two coach rides two ferries and a car journey later I am finally in Sweden. No work yet just some walk and moongazing. Happy equinox all... will write more later.

A.

HELLO

Hello, now it is my first turn to wright something on the blog....
my english gets worse and this after less than a week... how shall it be in september????

So, I didn't start my placement jet, but I m so excited, WE HAVE SNOW!!!!!!!
it started snowing yesterday but nothing was left and now again since this afternoon and you can' t see the grass in our garden anymore!

So have fun and good work! I m enjoying the brake ;-)
Michaela

Flowers...

Sowing sowing sowing - knocking in a few posts for the sweet peas, transplanting the yarrow (did you know that's a cut flower too?), sowing the dahlias... The land is still too wet to rotavate some more beds but fortunately I had prepared a few in advance.

The excursion to Alanus Hochschule was very interesting: from a college very remeniscent of Emerson College with 160 students just 8 years ago they have changed into a fully accredited art university where you can (but don't have to) include anthrposophy as part of your training. So 3/4 of the students don't do anything anthroposophically and 1/4 does... Now they have 450 students, all between 18 and 25 years old, and they are set to grow to 800 in the next couple of years. What an example for the future!

First Day

Knackered....6 months in a classroom doesn't really prepare you to bed cows, feed chickens, bed pigs, feed pigs, move pigs to Spring Hill, pick up pigs from Kidbrooke, drop off pigs at Tablehurst. Go lambing. Where did I leave the tractor? I'm sure there were 8 calves in there before lunch. Is that ewe about to lamb or is she sitting on it? And nothing compares to an escaped pig for entertainment, adrenalin, frustration, anger and sympathy all at once! Retire exhausted.

Thank you Arjen

As I sit here pondering which essay I should delight in starting this evening, as the prospect of 6 months of beautiful early mornings and a month of bedding down with the sheep lays ahead I reflect upon the last 6 months. There is one person who looms large in my thoughts. Arjen.

Thank you Arjen for all the time, organisation, negotiation and effort that went into putting together a most rewarding period of study. It had its highs and, therefore, its lows but most of all it was great fun. The diversity of people you brought in was refreshing and inspiring. Your own enthusiasm and willingness to listen never waned and I personally found very motivating.

I start work on a farm tomorrow, not confident in my skill set as a farmer, but confident that after 6 months of classroom I have a basic understanding of the farm organism and enough foundation knowledge that I can be an asset rather than a liability. Most of the time.

Good luck to everyone and I look forward to hearing from all of you.

Thanks Arjen for helping me on this journey.

Interesting documentary's to watch!!

Origin of Aids, Influence of Freud on 20th century thinking, Peak oil, ZEITGEIST, English being bored in Spain, NGO?, CIA plans and history, ...

Have Fun, dear students on placement

and don't forget Goatman!

So how did you afford to buy up half of Hampshire?

Here's some info on FATS, Jody's firearms simulator company he sold up before moving to the UK to embark on his Laverstock journey:

http://www.answers.com/topic/firearms-training-systems?cat=biz-fin

S

Biodynamic Man

The UK WWOOF site currently has a video about a Biodynamic WWOOF host. I can't view it but that might just be a Mac thing. The history bit tells about how Sue Coppard started it in 1971 on Tablehurst (then part of Emerson).

http://www.wwoof.org/wwoof_uk/home.html

Soya

Here's a piece on soya from the Guardian's food editor and a recent report from Friends of the Earth on livestock (and soya).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,,1828158,00.html

http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/hoofprints.pdf

New pictures added

I have also uploaded a whole lot of new pictures to the web album. Have fun!

Link to William's website

Hallo students,
please follow this link to William's website about animal husbandry:
http://web.mac.com/wrpickard1/Emerson_1/Welcome.html

Soil and Health Library

Books like "Agriculture of Tomorrow" can be downloaded from the Soil and Health Library:
http://www.soilandhealth.org

Pictures

Hello everybody,
Pictures that I have taken during the tractor driving, farm tour and metal shop work can be seen and downloaded from this link:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ahuese

Enjoy!

Arjen

Perry Court Farm

Jeff, here's a short film about Winter on Perry Court Farm (No.56)

www.documentary-film.net/search/video-listings.php?e=56

Milking routines

Dear students, from the 7th January we will be going to an organic dairy farm in small groups of three in the afternoons to learn how to milk cows and do the feeding and bedding. They are also putting the last screws on their new dairy processing unit so with a bit of luck we can also have a go at making butter and yogurt (not cheese yet). I hope everyone with a car is prepared to drive ...? This is one of the best managed organic dairy farms in the country, they supply the Omsco, and it is a great opportunity to get a good feel for milking cows.
Arjen

Hotbed !

Hallo boppers,
I'm working hard on my hotbed - that was a brilliant inspiration during that class. Got 8 straw bales from Tablehurst and some 'fish and bones' for nitrogen - that should get it going for 8 to 10 weeks! I burnt 50 pounds worth of gas in just 10 days... that was horrendous so we started digging the hotbed. When you come back hopefully you'll be able to admire the result. Enjoy your holidays and don't eat too many mince pies. Arjen

emersons weird communication politics

sorry, this is not the thoughtful comment the title suggests. just realised that emerson does not provide contact details for any of the teaching staff on their website. meaning, arjen, i havent got your e-mail address, and loch arthur want it (and your phone-no.) for a reference.
speaking of which, did you talk to barry or peter? and what did they say?
anyway, enjoy the empty college all of you that are still there, or enjoy whereever you are, happy rest of advent, katharina

And if this is the only reason you don't shop at Tesco it's enough: 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,2128067,00.html

BD is cropping up all over the place, check out Daryl Hannah's Week21:   http://www.dhlovelife.com/v2/knowdummy/dhindepth.php

For all those who cant get enough of nutrient budgets here's the online software:

http://www.planet4farmers.co.uk/welcome/index.html

New bloggers

Hello students, I have all sent you an invitation to join this blog so that we can use it for the placement - as a means to stay in touch with each other and read about your growing, milking and getting married! Drop me a mail if you didn't receive an invitation or if there are any other problems.

Job Offer for Grower at Duchy Home Farm

Full Time Vegetable Grower

Required for organic farm supplying seasonal produce through own box scheme, small retail enterprise and farmers markets.

Would suit an organized and enthusiastic individual with experience of large-scale organic vegetable production. The role would involve working on own initiative as well as within a team environment

We also require a

Part-Time Vegetable Grower

(with a view to becoming a full-time position)

To work alongside other members of our small team on many aspects of the vegetable production and harvesting.

Please apply in writing, including your current C.V to:-

Mr David Wilson

Duchy Home Farm

Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8SE

Email: vegbox@duchyhomefarm.org.uk

Tel: 01666 503507

Biodynamic Organic Agriculture Training

The Biodynamic Organic Agriculture Training at Emerson College is a unique combination of using scientific knowledge and artistic skills in order to create healthy balanced sustainable farms. We use the insights into the formative processes at work in minerals and plants to create life abundant soils that nourish crops on all levels. We use our observational skills to get a glance of farm animals' innate soul qualities in order to create the natural environment in which they thrive. And we use the latest scientific insights in life force research to assess the nutritive quality of the food we produce. The Biodynamic Organic Agriculture Training is not just about learning how to drive a tractor - although that is part of the curriculum too! - it is about developing new ways of working with nature and increasing your knowledge of the supersensible world.

The Biodynamic Organic Agriculture Training is a offered as a winter school: from September to March students study at Emerson College, working on subjects like vegetable and fruit production, animal husbandry, soil science, phenomenology and art. From April to August student do a placement on an organic or biodynamic farm. In September students come back for the second year of the training, with subjects like seed growing and breeding, farm business management, research in formative forces and social dynamics. In April the second placement takes place, and in August students graduate with an official level 3 BTEC National Certificate in Agriculture. Graduates are then ready to take on a responsible position on an organic or biodynamic farm as herdsman, crop producer or vegetable grower.

There is a high demand for graduates, most students find a paid job within 3 months of finishing the course!

Tuition fees: £ 2,178 per year, reduction possible through placement farm contribution.

Students can apply for financial support (Adult Learning Grant, etc.)

Emerson College, tel. 01342-822238

www.biodynamics.org.uk

www.emerson.org.uk

What is Biodynamics?

Biodynamic farming is the oldest form of organic farming, and the most advanced at the same time. Biodynamic farmers follow all the EU 2092/91 rules and regulations on organic production and have been working since 1925 to increase the fertility of the soils on their farms. Apart from that, biodynamic farmers use certain herbal preparations and homeopathic remedies to sustain the life forces on their farms on a supersensible level.

The living food that we eat does not just consist of proteins and minerals, but feeds our life forces at the same time. Biodynamic farming is the most holistic approach to creating whole-farm systems, where soils, crops, animals and humans are made part of an integrated and coherent farm organism. Biodynamically grown food nourishes not only our physical body but feeds our soul as well!