Bee Tree Farm

According to the title, there is only one day left of farm school and the verdict is – officially – in.  I love farm school.

Maybe that has a lot to do with the fact that I’m a devoted Kool-Aid drinker when it comes to buying into anything I’m excited about.  When starting something new, I’ve never seen much value in half-hearted involvement.  So I sign up and ask questions and shake hands and try to smile, a lot.  It helps combat any bad joojoo that likes to attach itself to fear and uncertainty.  Do I know what exactly I’m doing, if it will work, what it will look like, how to get “started?”  Hell no.  Smile anyway.

However, I truly believe the reason I love farm school is because it’s been valuable.  Class #4 actually was the most valuable to me so far since we received fairly comprehensive information about various programs, services, and resources available through the USDA and FSA (Farm Service Agency).  We talked a little about the ever controversial Farm Bill, were introduced to the director of ag valuation for this county, heard from the head of the small business development office for Austin, and met the executive director of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA) – a leading voice at the legislature to promote and support the rights and opportunities of small and large food producers in the state.  By the end of the day I was invited to participate in a discussion with other current or interested raw milk producers and set up appointments with my FSA officer to look at my “options.”  Options for what exactly?  I guess we’ll see.

And beyond all this, it’s just been wonderful to meet other attendees.  Everyone has a story that starts somewhere with land, food, or animals and although we’re still basically strangers, I’m now physically aware of the community that exists for anyone who wants to start somewhere with this endeavor.  In an effort to plug the initiative, I’ll stop calling it farm school (just momentarily) and give you a pretty little link to its true name and more information about what’s available through my local extension office.  Agricultural extension offices exist throughout the country and chances are good that the one near you is offering some courses relevant to your interests be they farming, beekeeping, or backyard gardening.  Extension offices are generally connected to all of the resources within your community as well as FSA programs and other national types of resources.  Look them up immediately, or at least before you go to bed tonight.

But now farm school is ending.  I have one more class to attend on Tuesday and a notebook full of notes, presentations, business cards – useless sheets of paper until I make the time to digest them properly.  And even if I never do, it was still an important experience since it’s forced me to scrutinize our situation through a different lens.  So many of the farm stories I read start as “we just wanted to grow our own food and now we have this farm business” or “we just wanted a couple goats for our own milk and now we have this dairy” – words written on the About Us section of websites.  The omission between the “food for us” and “food for you” are sentences I’m trying to write now.  What isn’t in those stories are the nights spent skimming stacks of books, or browsing through websites, or sketching out a meager business plan, or practicing with cheese curd in the kitchen, sacrificing gallons of beautiful milk for the sake of learning.  I try not to get mired in the odds against whatever I’m thinking about starting.  And although farm school and the subsequent classes I plan to take (two big cheese-making classes soon!) are critical ways to support this goal, no course will deliver me to a less treacherous road then the one I think I’ve chosen.  Lately I cling to a quote uncovered somewhere, don’t remember where, but have it written on a slip of paper in my pocket that I rub like a lucky rabbit’s foot.

“Sometimes the only transportation is a leap of faith.”  – Margaret Shepherd.

Alright Margaret, let’s see if you’re right.