Crop observation and review sheets

Dear students,

Thanks for your emails and blog posts - it's great to hear from you and how you are doing. I went to see Jefferson at Perry Court Farm a few weeks ago and he seemed to be doing fine as well.

I received the first farmer review sheet back from Alix, full of praise - which reminded me of the fact that you should all try to get your first review session with your farmer, and get the sheet filled in and sent back to me.

The other thing I wanted to remind you of is the crop observation assessment - I hope you'll all have chosen your crops by now that you want to follow through the season, and ideally made some first observations on paper.

This week I am teaching the Foundation Year about biodynamics - a combination of lectures and practical sessions in the garden. We did some weeding, planting, sowing and putting support netting up - the garden starts to look really great. Friday some peonies, snapdragons and sweet peas will go to the flower shop in the village, which has recently changed hands and is now owned by a lady who has a larger flower shop in Lewes. She is very keen on locally grown, organic flowers - so that is great. I reckon most flowers will go to her this year.

The coming weekend is the big meeting with the Trustees where the proposals of the Vision and Strategy Group will be approved (hopefully). That means start of the Rachel Carson Centre with integrated college garden, teaching kitchen, BD training etc. Keep your fingers crossed!

Keep your heads up - and keep posting to the blog!

Arjen

Job in Tuscany

Farmer or "Farm Couple" for Genuine Carbon-Neutral, sustainable, Biodynamic resort in Tuscany.

We are looking for a Farmer or Farming Couple who are versed in biodynamic and sustainable agriculture method to join us on this unique project in Italy. We are renovating 8,000 square metres of buildings and rehabilitating 1,200 acres of field and forest. The project aims to be genuinely carbon neutral and sustainable when it opens in 2011. We have engaged a consultant in Biodynamic method. He is currently salvaging our vines and olives. He will work with our new Farmer[s] to completely redevelop the property to provide the resort's food, biomass and biofuel requirements by 2011. We have 3 hectares of wine, 3,000 olives and circa 100 acres of farmland - the remainder is in forest. We expect to develop food production ranging from wild boar to goat's cheese and from pasta to honey.

The Farmer[s] will become part of the management team developing the whole project. We envision a package that will include accommodation, salary and profit sharing. We are very flexible on this and will tailor the package to the successful candidate[s]. English is essential, knowledge of Italian would be excellent but we will provide appropriate courses as necessary. We are looking for a dedicated individual or couple who will relish the chance to apply sustainable and sympathetic agricultural method within a project which hopes to become a pattern for future living in Europe.

To discuss the position, please e-mail contact details to mike.payne2@gmail.com

Hay and much more...

Yesterday we got or second lot of hay in! Was kind of raining but gladly stoped after some minutes...
We were working from 2 to half past 9 in the evenings... nearly everybody was helping.
I'm glad we got it all in yeaterday so we have off today ;-)
Part of the afternoon I was aible to go on the field on my own for ridging the potatoes...
First time that nobody was walking behind me to make the settings... fas fun and I also got to hitch the plough for driving home... Even if I don't have I needed driverlisence (had to pace the road) I was driving this enormous thing home (hope some pictures will follow, its really amaising and everyother day we change implements on the plough...)

Can you all belive that we are allready more than nine weks on our farms? nearly have the time... it went soooo fast (too fast!)


Last week I got to drill a hole field of carrots!
And we spent a lot of time to take docks out of the fields

wish you all a suny sunday and a good time!

harder than expected

my fellow intern quit last week. she was going to possibly take over the farm in the future, and because of that, way too many responsibilities and pressures were put upon her and she'd had it. im feeling a little lonely and scared. how am i to do all of the things it took all of my energy plus hers to do, every day?
its only so bad because we got along so famously, worked so well together, had the same strong work ethic, spent every waking moment together and i could really see myself farming with her long term in the future. maby i will some day.
other than that, and multiple other massive issues like communication, definitions of community, gender, cultural and age gaps (that feel somehow like un-crossable chasms), lack of appreciation and a total disregard for respecting humans....... im alright.
really, i love this island and the csa project im working on half the time is so gratifying and challenging. i feel like im really doing it!(market gardening) making real decisions, im really a part of something i can call my own there. its my happy place, and the people im working with on the csa keep me sane. i can talk to them and they to me, we are a support system for each other.
i will keep you posted. send me love and encouragement. i see the situation as a massive life lesson in bridging gaps and intensive communication skills.
hope your spring has sprung, cold and rainy here today, but last week hot and sunny. still waiting for the weather to really shift, and still waiting for fields to dry out enough to till and plant veggies.
love
erin

Full Moon

Bitten by pig. Squatting in farrowing pen to repair half eaten drinker. Unaware of disquiet causing very pregnant sow. She decides to let me know. Bites my back, I lunge forward in pain, hitting head firmly on wood. Knee connects too rapidly with concrete. Generally painful experience. Topping, now that's fun, nothing to bite you and a very pretty field when you have finished.

Vision and Strategy

Dear Students,

We have just finished our last retreat of the Vision and Strategy Group before the final meeting with the trustees on 31st May (in two weeks time). There has been a process of first tuning into the needs of the society at large, and the anthroposophical movement more specifically; and after that we have been trying to focus on the most urgent and current issues that we feel Emerson College can link to and try to address. One of the proposals appearing is the Rachel Carson Centre: the green bd-building transformed into a centre where the 2-year biodynamic training will be housed, as well as courses in the area of anthroposophical nutrition and cooking. Outside the Carson building it is proposed to (re)establish a biodynamic garden that supplies the college with fresh seasonal biodynamic food (vegetables, fruit, eggs) and where a fulltime employed gardener guides students from all kind of courses in weekly gardening sessions. It is also thought that that garden could feature in the afternoon work rota for the students on the biodynamic training, and that one or two bd-students could do their second-year placement on the college garden. Robin and myself are going to do a fundraise action in order to get money for a real glasshouse which can be attached to the Carson building in permaculture style - providing heat for the building in winter and fresh veg in winter for the kitchen.

There are several other proposals, but this is the one most obviously related to the biodynamic training and in the next two weeks Robin and myself are going to work out the financial side of this proposal and on the 31st May the trustees will decide if they want to go ahead with this proposal. Please send some positive energy to us and if you have any suggestions or ideas please let us know!

Arjen

Hot and Horse

As the debate on food prices and energy continious around the globe all of us seem to get to the roots of the brew.
As I am covering my head with old sheats and shirts to prevent excess of the healing sun, I stumble behind the horse that pulls the wooden ridge tool over the field. The mountains around give me the feeling I am going back to the nest of production. The farmer on the other side of the hill shouts with his tractor as I clearly prefer to look at the ass of the working stalion. While I am trying to keep my balance and the ridge steady I wonder if this is something I did before.
The absence of the engine taking over almost all senses feels like old glory. Maybe the BD farmer in the Black Forest was ahead of his time when he declared a farm without tractor.
The other two families only work with the machine and when I talked to the Dutch organiser of this Sitio he doubted if this horse-team would be able to keep going.
The next day the horses are lost between the high grasses and there is no tractor to quickly prepare that field.
If we are going to learn how to work with animals again, we need to become specialists and realists. I am not sure yet how to bring these two together.

I have to say that I love the work and my drive to farm only seems to grow!!!
Wish you all very well!!
I got contact with Jefferson and he does not have acces to the internet but has a very good time in Kent on the farm. He gives you all his regards!

The Future's So Bright

A point to note, our governments do not so much allow private individuals to speculate on food and energy, rather they do not prevent the speculation. A fundamental difference and a liberty to which I for one am much attached. After all, it was the freedom to speculate that predominantly gave rise to the discoveries and inventions that then allowed so much energy and food to be produced and consumed. It becomes a circular argument. Not to say the modern day financial system is without its faults (another time) and speculation causes ripples and can puff bubbles, however, very rarely without an underlying momentum that is firmly embedded in the physical market place. This is particularly true with such deep markets as exist in food and energy. Generally, in my experience, it is expediency, petty politics and incompetence that give rise to such distortionary, devastating circumstances.

I would agree with 'Voland' that it is 'irresponsible laissez-faire and lack of planning' that are the real issues. Disjointed, reactionary government rather than malicious conspiracy. As Tim Lang has often responded when asked what the UK government's stance is; 'food policy?, sadly, we leave it to Tesco'. We have all been speculating and reaping the benefits of 3 decades of soft commodity price deflation (food prices have actually been going down for over 100yrs), the result of many factors. It was inevitable that at some point those deflationary pressures would reverse, particularly given the growth in population and GDP in China and India. What's amazing is that it hasn't happened earlier (oil bottomed in 1998 at $8bbl vs $125 now). Ultimately the brokers speculating are simply an extreme microcosm of the society (race?) in which we all share and, to a greater or lesser extent, are all complicit, that promotes consumption over compassion, more over less but also gives us the freedom to decide where we stand, as individuals, on all these issues.

The sun is out, the seed is drilled and finally the cows are in the field. Friday was a long day, we weighed all the calves, tagged all the cows who were missing a tag (quite a job, tagging a horned Sussex who doesn't want to be in a crush and definitely doesn't want her ear pierced). The grass has come on, we lack clean fields (and fences) so there's a fair amount of daily animal herding but all the barns are empty and mucking out will start next week.

It has been wonderful to watch the farm bloom in the short time I have been here; from the snow blanket of April 6th, to the humid heat just a month later. Lambs, calves, piglets full of joy and boundless energy. A multitude of birds from chickens, geese, phesants (shooting season is closed), guinea fowl (got some cheap day olds), turkeys (soon) to sparrow hawks, herons, cuckoos and cormorants. Deers, badgers, foxes, moles all contribute to the daily cycle and, of course, the bees are now very active. Max got a hive for his birthday and 2 days later he got his first swarm from the bush outside Stein's house. When I am able to stop for a moment, feel comfortable in my exhaustion, to look at the beauty surrounding me and gaze toward the unfurling landscape beyond, I am struck by the magic of it all.

Speculations

Hello all, no new post here, pourquoi? Explosions of growth and life force here, much planting, now hoeing every day. Very hot, I thought I came to Sweden so that it owouldn't be so. Going to swim in the river now, but just before here's your fix of doom and gloom. Blessings, A.

Food prices, we have discussed, likewise the contibution of biofuels to the increase of, however is there more to it than that? My attention returned to these matters after reading an article about overpopulation on the Guardian's website, and the comments below it.

Guardian article

Global research

Truthout

Here, a blog commentary (from Manuscripts Don't Burn)

Check out the last one for lots of good links.

Irrelevant diversions as the price of food rockets...

The average UK family is facing a £1700-a-year utility and food bill increase over the past 12 months - that on a £20K gross salary. For most of the population, regardless of what the government says, actual experienced inflation is running at 10-15%.

It's inevitable, we are told. Poor harvests. Overpopulation. Global warming. "The era of cheap food is over." "We all have to tighten our belts and pull together - it'll be like the war again. It's the New Austerity."

Bullshit.

The elephant in the room is that we have food riots all around the world and looming shortages / starvation because a bunch of brokers are being allowed by supine governments to create a bubble in commodities (ie FOOD) to try and claw back some of the money they lost in the subprime fiasco (after they'd been "allowed" to flog off the backup foodstores we'd set aside to prevent this sort of thing happening).

It's not global warming, it's not overpopulation. Our governments are allowing private individuals to speculate with the global staple food and energy supply. Irresponsible laissez-faire and lack of planning is the crime, that and the fact that the media are not shouting the truth from the rooftops.

But, hey, this is corporate feudalism - it's cool if people die, as long as the brokers keep making their millions. We can always blame it on global warming and overpopulation! The poor saps will never cotton on till it's too late - then they'll be too hungry to do anything about it.

Buy coffee! Buy rice! Buy wheat! The price is gonna rocket once the people start dropping!

Sumer Is Icumen In

Summer has come in,
Loudly sing, Cuckoo!
The seed grows and the meadow blooms
And the wood springs anew,
Sing, Cuckoo!

The ewe bleats after the lamb,
The cow lows after the calf.
The bullock stirs, the buck-goat turns,
Merrily sing, Cuckoo!

Cuckoo, cuckoo, well you sing, cuckoo;
Don't you ever stop now,
Sing cuckoo now. Sing, Cuckoo.
Sing Cuckoo. Sing cuckoo now!

So, tomorrow is Beltaine (Celts reckoned days from sundown to sundown), the traditional beginning of summer. Here we'll be having a big bonfire... may the earth be renewed!

transition tramp

I finally get paid tomorrow! This will end a period of poverty that has pissed me off a lot .I have been living on about £3.50 a day for the last month . Ok , so I can have free carrots ,potatoes ,kale and milk but would you be content on that diet ? I also had to stop using my car as I couldn't afford road tax for it,so have had no alternative but to walk to ***** supermarket for supplies. This has raised an ethical dilemma; is it better to drive 10 miles to Stroud ,which is full of shops for greenies , or walk to a supermarket?
Rising fuel prices have got me thinking about the Transition movement and how to respond to this issue in farming. This farm has about 10 tractors most of which are in daily use . I reckon these machines alone are using 3-500 litres a week.... if we were spraying preps as well ,fuel consumption would be even higher. It seems this paradigm of 'industrial' bd/organic is not sustainable.Can a shift to horse and people powered farming be achieved without some kind of crisis that forces the change?
On a lighter note,I recently met one of the humblest residents at DHF, an elderly Irish tramp who lives in a barn up the road.Last time the 'Boss' was here ,he went up to look at the barn as it has recently been renovated.He was apparently concerned for the welfare of this guy and asked one of the staff to give him some bedding... its good to know there is room for a tramp on this farm.

arm.

Plastic Passion

That was very touching Katharina, thank you.

Here is an excellent article on the dilemma of plastic packaging:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/823eebc6-1007-11dd-8871-0000779fd2ac.html

foot and mouth 7 years ago

hi everybody,
firstly, it's great to hear from you and how things are going, keep on sharing.
secondly, things are busy but well here, but something i really wanted to share with you already occured two weeks ago (talk about busy).

we have a gathering every sunday, and week before lasts was in memory of all the animals that got "culled", meaning needlessly and cruelly slaughtered, during the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001.
For this farm here, as for so many others, it was a massively traumatic event in every respect, and basically things have only just more or less caught up again with what there was before that - can't find the right word - that unspeakable thing.
imagine from one day to the next having an empty and deserted farm, where all that is left are a few chickens that only remind you of what the place actually should be like, and all your good breeding stock, completely healthy thriving creatures that weren't any harm to anybody, the animals you've loved and cared for, killed and burnt and wasted.

what we did in memory of them, very fittingly as i found, was that we got together, at least twenty or thirty of us in the afternoon, and stirred and sprayed 500, treating it as a reinforcement and a remembrance of the cycles that are sustained by the land that we sprayed. because in the circle between the soil, the grass, the cows and the manure, all those dead animals are still present in this place, and even after we have lost them needlessly, we are still benefitting from their gifts, and we can use the new animals' manure (and after that sunday, i really looked at the "new" animals with a lot more reverence, thinking what an amazing privilege it is to have them) to express our gratefulness and love to the land off of which we live.

sorry this is such a preachy and soppy post, but that day really meant a lot to me and also deepened my understanding of what we do when we spray 500, or any preparations.
when you look at your animals tomorrow morning, or whenever, think for a second about how lucky you are to work with them.

katharina

Hey everybody.
what a month it has been. i feel settled so happy and truly content, but also exhausted and a little nervous about the state of the world. We had snow on 4 different occasions last week, and on april 19 , I woke up to 3 inches on the ground outside my tent. Baby lambs were born that day and the day before, all the cows escaped the fencing due to faulty batteries and a heifer with an attitude problem was running wild on the opposite end of the property. My fellow intern and i spent our weekend freezing in the snow and running after stray cattle, constantly checking on lambs (who are really tough stuff, by the way!). The c.s.a garden has been watter logged and impossible to cultivate. we think we may need to set back the dates for shares. We hope to till by sunday and get the ball really rolling. But in the mean time we have been single digging (hand tilling) which is tiresome but feels good and gives the ladies of the farm a chance to bond over shovels full of heavy dirt and bluegrass music.
Crazy weather and stress aside, i have been most productive! making cheeses, butter, yogurt, creamy things, like ice cream (we are getting 2 gallons of milk per/day from one cow) and other tasty treats as well as bread, dinner for 9 twice a week and some beautiful compost piles that would make Ann Marie proud. Also doing tests on starts with 500 and 501 in the green house, taking notes and doing as much research into BD preps as possible, getting ready for the workshop on BD held here at the end of June, where i will be teaching 12-20 people about BD preps; making and the application of...... EEEKKKKSSSS! im not sure how that will happen, i can hardly talk to 2 people with out blushing, but we will see how it goes, i guess i have to start teaching somewhere.
i feel like i have so much more to tell, but it will have to wait, ive rambled enough already.

*thanks for the link to the bees, we are in a dire situation, and i am afraid my friends, we will be the ones taking agriculture trough the troughs of a massive shift in the enviroment as well as in the concioussness of human kind. Lets show them the way! i encourage all of you to keep up the good hard work, you are appreciated and loved all around the world by the massive flux of young people doing just what we all are right now. Working to understand the earth, her power and gifts, so as to sustain and feed this world. As well as saving the beauty of it for our children.

-how do i post pictures on this thing?
- does anyone have Phils email? im only 2 stops on the ferry away from his island and would love to contact him and take a feild trip to another bd farm


"its all about the love"- henning ( my boss talking about bd preps and loving compost piles and the spaces they are in)

erin

Serious stuff

Thank you for these hilarious and enthusiastic stories!  

Time to give you more from Brasil.

I am on the farm A BOA TERRA for two weeks now.  The main task that I have to do here is to create a 4000m educational garden where schoolchildren will come weekly to grow there veg, herbs and fruit.  It is a big thing here at the sitio and I am very excited to do this.  The first week I had to bring  2 hectares of bush, forest and creeks into a exact map.  Now we are planning the whole idea based on books (eco litteracy, Fritjof Capra), experiences ( they already had 14000 children coming on educational sessions on nature and agriculture) and wishes.

So as I am jalous about you guys and girls getting on with the real dirt I feel happy that I can take this important task on me.  I could also arrange with the "farmer"more the organiser that I start next week in the veg production.  The problem is that they work with 3 teams (families) and they are independent.  They rent the land and sell the veg to the farm.  So where do I fit in? 

The language starts to make sense so I hope it will all get along.  The house we are about to live in is painted in our free hours and we still hope to get the bats and birds out without using poison.  Our herb garden florishes and I feel it all starts to roll...

And every moring I have to stop somewhere to look at the incredible beauty of nature here!

On the 100 hectares sitio they have 135 types of birds, lots of little rivers and swamps and all the flowers and fruits you wished for.

I saw they use some horses to cultivate so I hope to get going with this one day.

The cows here are used in a reforesting program.  They eat the elephant grass short so trees can grow.  The trick seems to be to keep the cows in just before they start eating the trees!

Cristiane is enjoying herself with setting up a new education program based on the theory of "the private eye".  You might have heard about it.  

And honestly, I would love to come and visit every one of you to have a good chat!!!

Ciao

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!