| TURKANA FARMS, LLC |
| WHAT’S NEW THIS WEEK:Freedom Ranger Chickens (the ones we offered freshly slaughtered last week) now offered frozen. Great for a weekend meal, on the larger side this year, mostly 4 to 7 lbs., $6/lb Raspberries, $6/pint |
| Me, myself and the sheep, selfie by Troy Spindler |
| You Don’t Have to be Lonely Hey All Troy here. This has been my first week alone on the farm for a while. The last time this happened was early in the year, when Victoria spent a week in the city at a fiber arts residency. This time, I have a better grasp of how things work around here and more confidence in my ability to keep the place afloat. As far as labor goes, it hasn’t been much different from a normal week. I had to do more cooking (but fewer dishes), and I had to pay closer attention to the dog and the house plants. I’m sure our fall crops suffered from Victoria’s absence, but I managed to stay on top of all of our current harvests. Things seem to be moving forward, and I don’t feel like I’m floundering. With these minor successes in mind, I began to wonder how manageable this endeavor would be if I were on my own for more than just a week. I could adjust the workload and scale everything back a bit to make it easier on myself. And after a few more years of experience, I’m sure I’ll be a lot more efficient. Could I do this long-term? Could I run this farm on my own? The answer is:absolutely not, and why would I want to?A couple of years ago, I watched a documentary with my family called “Peter and the Farm.” It is about Peter Dunning, who runs a 187-acre diversified livestock farm in Vermont almost entirely on his own. It is also a shockingly intimate portrait of a man with severe depression. Numerous times throughout the film, Peter brought up that he wanted to kill himself, that the farm was the only reason he hasn’t yet, and that he could no longer separate the farm from his own body. As a young farmer just starting out, it painted a bleak potential future. And I’m concerned that it might be more common than we realize.Reports on farmer suicides vary, but the consensus seems to be that they fall somewhere between 1.5 and 3.5 times the national average. Statistics like this can be difficult to interpret. What defines a farmer? How many suicides get reported as “work-related accidents”? Perhaps a more useful metric for understanding depression among farmers could be located in the advent and subsequent success of the dating website “Farmersonly.com” which focuses on matching farmers who find themselves socially isolated by the reality of their profession. One of the site’s taglines is “You don’t have to be lonely.” Clearly, the implication suggests, you already are.I think part of this isolation comes from the idea that agriculture is the epitome of rugged American individualism. The self-made man is the master of his land, he alters the landscape as he wishes, he tames the environment, he turns dirt into money,and he does it all himself. This persists as an aspirational model, despite the fact that it erases the perspective of the underpaid, unpaid, and abused workforce on which agriculture has prospered since this country was founded. Doing it on your own has always been more myth than reality, and trying to do so, even with state-of-the-art technology, takes its toll in one way or another.I do not aspire to this individualist ideal. I think farming needs to be cooperative at its heart. Not only does it require many hands, but it also requires diverse minds. Victoria’s horticultural knowledge and ability to solve problems are absolutely invaluable. Mark’s unending patience and eye for aesthetics make Turkana a wonderful place to work and live. When J.T. was here, his culinary expertise revealed the true, delicious potential of our meat and produce, and it helped inform some of our crop decisions for next year. Plus, we all love and support each other emotionally, and participate in team lifts.In the end, I managed to get everything done this week on my own, but I sure did miss my team. When I’m by myself, the idea of “Getting everything done” changes almost beyond recognition. As Mark said last week, we’re always working to define the “why” of farming for ourselves, and that can only happen when we’re thinking about it together. |
| WHAT’S AVAILABLE THIS WEEK Raspberries, $6/pint Fish Peppers or Cubanelles, 2 for $1.00 Tiny hot matchbox peppers, $2.50/bag Oasis turnips, $2/bunch cherry bell radishes, $2/bunchWild Water Peppers, $2/bunch Tomatoes, larger ones are quite scarce but we can scare up a few $3/lb. Sun Gold tomatoes $4/pint Lots of Rainbow Chard – $3/bunch Leeks, $1/each Honey nut squash, limited, $2/each Cucumbers, $2/lb Mugwort, $1/bunch for infusions or tea Scallions, $2/bunch Kale $3/bunch two different varieties, deep blue green straight leaf and curly leaf Collards, $3/bunch SORREL, $2/BAG MINT: $.75 a bunch parsley $.75 Greek globe basil, $3/bag Genovese Basil, $3/bag SHISO LEAVES green or red, $1.00 FOR 10EGGS: $5/dozMEATS: We keep some on hand, but it helps to order ahead in case we need to retrieve from our stash in the big commercial freezerGEESE: One remaining, about 8.5 lbs. $10/lb.TURKEYS: A few small ones left over and frozen $11/lb .GUINEA FOWL, We are sold out!ROASTING CHICKENS – Nice fat Freedom Rangers, fresh slaughtered for Saturday cooking, frozen thereafter, largish (4 to 7 lbs, a few smaller), $6/lb.LAMB: shoulder roasts at $10/lb, riblets $8/lb, small and larger leg roasts $14/lb, lamb stew $7/lb, shanks, $10/lbPORK: Loin pork chops, $12/lb (2 to a pack, btwn 1 and 1.5 lbs), Jowl (roughly 2 to 3 lbs each), $12/lb, Spare ribs and country ribs $7/lb baby back ribs $8/lb fresh ham roasts (2 to 3 lbs), $12/lb picnic or Boston butt roasts (roughly 2 lbs) SOLD OUT smoked bacon, $12/lb Kielbasa $8/lbDUCKS: SOLD OUT |
| FARM PICKUPS:Email us your order at farm@turkanafarms.com, and let us know when you’d like to pick up your order. It will be put out for you on the side screened porch of the farmhouse (110 Lasher Ave., Germantown) in a bag. You can leave cash or a check in the now famous pineapple on the porch table. Regular pickup times are Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., other days by arrangement. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to call at 518-537-3815 or email. |
