Mapleton's

Today was the second CRAFT day of the season. We went to Mapleton's Organic farm. The website has a decent introduction to the farm and it's history. We started the day by dividing into two groups and toured the joint. No wait, we started with an icebreaker in which we all got pieces of paper attached to our back and had to ask others yes or no questions in the attempt to figure out what was written on them. Most people had things like "tractor", or "holstein", or "mulch". I got "subsidies". :(

Anyhow, the first thing we toured was the CSA garden. This is a new addition to the farm started by an ex-CRAFT intern (and OT grad), Caitlin Hall. She has done an amazing job. Really, it's quite impressive. Since October or November last year she has bootstrapped the entire 20 member operation, on her own. She's working a two acre plot and greenhouse. All of her vegetables look pretty good, and her garden is super well organised (okay, well as soon as I see labeled stakes in the ground marking each row, I'm happy). She puts a lot of time into it though; she works 12-13 hour days six days a week, plus works half of Sunday. A machine.

I think I'll try to keep in touch with her to see how it goes over the season. We're now heading into the most intense time of the season, I'm told.

Anyhow, after the CSA gardens we saw the ice cream and yogurt making facility. Lots of stainless steel. We learned a bit about the milk quota system and ice cream regulations. Interesting stuff.

Then on to see the dairy cows and their milking shed. They're such beautiful animals. Cows. I think I'd like to own a few someday, but only just so that I could let them do their cow things, and collect the manure maybe. These cows were mostly Holsteins, with some Jersey crosses, I think. Enormous udders. Painfully enormous. It's the size of a full garbage bag hanging from between their legs. Apparently their top producer gives them 50 L of milk a day. Holy cow.

We learned all sorts of info on the differences between the conventional and these organically raised cows. After hearing all of this I find it a little hard to imagine farming conventionally. I mean, I can certainly understand it, but I just as certainly couldn't do it myself. As I say, and I know this sounds terribly flakey, but there's something about letting animals and vegetables be themselves that I find intensely wholesome and important. Performing the conventional horrors to an animal or vegetable to make it grow just because it appears easier, or more efficient, or even necessary somehow seems ultimately like short-sightedness.

Anyhow, then came lunch followed by a talk by Johann of our farm, and Steve of Fourfold Farm on livestock. Then we worked. Then we bought ice cream. Then we left. (Sorry, I'm tired).