Women Farmers: Who Need Them?

When you think of a farmer, do you envision this?

Or this?

If you picked the first photo, you're not alone.  The role of women in farming is often neglected and underappreciated.  And in case you think the result is little more than bruised egos, a report that came out of this month's Global Conference on Women in Agruculture cites the neglect of women farmers as the cause for 100 - 150 million people going hungry.  You can read the article here.

Things are better in the U.S.  A report from the 2007 Census of Agriculture, published by AmericanAgriwomen.org,  shows that there are almost a million female farmers in the U.S. 

While almost a quarter million U.S. farms were operated by women in 2002 (a number that's up 13 percent from 1997) that was still only 12 percent of U.S. farms.

What's most interesting is that women farmers are much more diverse than their male counterparts.  Using the North American Industry Classification System, women dominate production of vegetables, fruits and nuts, horticulture, poultry and eggs, and sheep and goats.  And their choice of crops or livestock often falls into the USDA categories labeled "other." 

It's clear that the world needs women farmers.  If you know one, give her a hug.

###

No Dilemma for This Omnivore

If you eat meat, poultry or fish, own anything made of leather or natural parchment, or buy just about any pet food, you’re part of a process that involves killing animals.  You can pretend otherwise, but it would be a lie.

For years, I (an unabashed animal lover) haughtily proclaimed that if I had to kill my food I’d be a vegan.  Ha ha.  It was a feeble attempt to straddle a line separating the genuine concerns of animal rights advocates from the agricultural industrial complex that supplies most of this nation with meat.

I have never enjoyed or wanted to kill anything, but I was glad to eat the animals killed by someone else.  Like many from the city, I was content to grill wonderfully marbled steaks while sticking my head in the sand concerning the treatment of those animals.

That changed when I moved to the farm.  Suddenly, I was living in a community of farms, populated by thousands of animals, most of which were destined for someone’s dinner fork.  I could see where these animals were born, where they grazed, where they slept and where they were slaughtered.  I could no longer ignore their lives.  I had taken a huge step closer to my food.

Being “close” to what you eat isn’t just about geography.  It means taking responsibility for your contribution to the complex food production system in this country. 

I love animals and have tremendous empathy for their plight, but meat is also an important part of my diet and the diet of billions of others.  There’s nothing immoral about killing an animal and eating it.  What’s immoral is mistreating the animal while it’s alive, either through the way it’s raised or slaughtered.  Everything dies, so what matters is how and why it lived.

I got an e-mail from a reader of my blog who wanted to know how I made, “… the mental leap from ‘cute little goat’ to ‘slaughter.’”  There is no leap from loving an animal to killing it for food.

For thousands of years, people from all over the world hunted animals for food.  And they often worshiped the animals that they killed.  Native Americans cherished the bison.  The Inuit cherish the whale.  It may be hard, at first, to understand this.  But when you see an animal living a natural, stress-free life, and you know it can either feed the buzzards, the coyotes or you and your family, it’s not hard to choose the later.  And be thankful in the process.

This isn’t a screed against Big Agra.  They feed millions for less money than at any time in history.  And I still enjoy a Big Mac now and then.  Sure, Big Agra can do better, but first I must do better.

That’s where I am on this philosophical journey.  I love animals and I love meat.  When I enjoy the flesh of animals raised in a safe, stress-free, healthy environment and slaughtered in a quick, painless, humane way, I can have both.  And for that brief period, I’ve removed myself from the Big Agra system.

My animals live good lives with plenty of space, natural food and protection from predators.  Killing one is never fun, but I know that for every animal raised in this natural way, a commercially-housed, antibiotic-drenched animal did not have to suffer in my name.

###

Goats on the Rocks!

Goats on the rocks,

Ain't no big surprise.

Where sun warms the hide

And a soggy hoof dries.

(With apologies to Neil Diamond)

###

Embracing Natural Food

I’m a natural skeptic, I don’t buy into fads and no one has ever called me trendy (although, my 1970 bell-bottoms were indeed considered groovy).

But, on rare occasions I become personally enamored with something that coincidentally enjoys widespread popularity.  It’s embarrassing, but I’ve learned to live with it.  My most recent convergence with a cultural craze is my increasing affinity for natural food.

I define “natural food” in simple, commonsense terms: Fruits and vegetables grown in natural, healthy soil without synthetic fertilizers or insecticides; Animals raised in as close to a natural habitat as possible, feeding on natural vegetation (as opposed to grain and synthesized feeds), treated with compassion and given drugs only if necessary to save their life.

Movements embracing “organic” food, environmentally conscious “locavores” or the “slow food” philosophy are growing internationally.  Most of these movements make claims about improved health, reduced carbon emissions and a return to old-world social values.  Perhaps.  Objective science cautions that many of these claims have not been substantiated, and that some are downright false. 

But I don’t care about movements.  I’m a supporter of natural food because I like natural food. 

Our tomatoes, green beans, peppers and herbs taste better than store bought.  Maybe it’s all in my mind, but I don’t care.  As long as my produce seems to taste better, I’m sold.  But I also get peace of mind from knowing the soil they were grown in is rich in micronutrients and free of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers.  We grow all our vegetables in rich, natural compost, courtesy of two horses and a couple dozen goats.  Nothing in that soil came in a bag, box or bottle.

The chevon (goat meat) in my freezer came from a goat I helped deliver and raise.  I know where that goat was its entire life, what it ate, and most importantly, that no synthetic chemical or drug has never touched it, inside or out.  It was raised with enormous compassion and was ultimately slaughtered quickly and humanely.  Sure, it tastes great, but it also makes me feel great.

Thanks to a small network of local farmers, we’ve come to enjoy an abundance of natural food.  We eat eggs from free-range chickens we regularly visit.  We’ve had sausage and pork chops from a hormone-free pig we’ve played with.  I use honey from bees I’ve seen.

My wife makes tomato sauce from our tomatoes and herbs.  The goat cheese in our salads comes from a local farm she’s visited.  Turnips, cucumbers and squash all come from friends.  And when we grill, we use charcoal I made on our farm using local hardwood (check out our Charcoal page).

Some nights, almost everything on our plates can be traced to where it was grown or born.  Kinda neat, don’t you think?

I make no claim that I’m physically healthier, will lose weight or am saving the environment.  I simply state that I like this food better; I know the animals are being treated with utmost care and I’m putting as much back into the land as I’m taking out.  For me, that’s enough.

Drop me a line and let me know what you think about natural food.

Alan Keck

Alan@SoleilFarm.com

###

Soleil Farm Now on Twitter and Facebook

We're experimenting with Facebook and Twitter to see if it helps spread the word about the health benefits of browse-fed goat meat and natural agriculture.  Our links to both social networks are on the right side of this page. Check us out and let us know what you think. 

Alan & Leslie

Soleil Farm Adding Goat Forum

We've added a Goat Forum to our website.  It's an effort to tap the enormous wealth of goat knowledge among goat producers and enthusiasts.

As I visit goat farms in Southside Virginia, I'm always impressed with the innovative solutions producers have for dealing with goat husbandry problems.  Rather than continually reinventing the goat production wheel, I'd like to see how others handle problems and come up with solutions.  

This Goat Forum is an attempt to gather some of those solutions and share them with others.

So, if you have a question about goats, post it on our Goat Forum and hopefully someone will offer to share their caprine wisdom. 

Happy Goating,

Alan

Bucklings for Sale

Soleil Farm has three prime bucklings for sale, each with hybrid vigor and good markings.  Go to the For Sale page and see photos of the little critters.

Alan

###

Scrapie Tags - Simple Mystery

In Virginia, some goats must be identified with Scrapie tags, while others are exempt.  The Virginia code that determines what goats fall into which category, is complex, convoluted and virtually worthless to us simple farm folk.

So, I spent several days compiling information and chatting with a Virginia state official.  If you have questions about Scrapie tags, go to my Learning Curve page and read Scrapie Tags - Simple Mystery.

Alan Keck

###

Goats in Trunks - Not Cool

They're meat goats ... which means someone eats them ... which means someone has to kill them. When I sell a meat goat, I know it's going to be slaughtered.  I accept this, but I don't pretend to enjoy it.

As a former urban paramedic, I've seen more than my share of death and suffering.  Death comes to us all, but we need not suffer, nor impose needless suffering on other creatures.  I bring this up because it's evident that some goat buyers don't share my view.

Recently, a woman in Bedford, Virginia was cited for animal cruelty when a routine traffic stop revealed a goat, bound and in obvious distress in her oppressively hot trunk.  She was returning from a farm where she purchased the goat for some friends from Kenya.

I know this happens all the time; I just don't want to be a part of it.  I'm an unapologetic carnivore and I'll kill when it's necessary, but there's no reason to inflict suffering, or allow it, due to expedience or profit.

Transporting a live animal isn't always easy, but doing so in a responsible, ethical manner is everyone's obligation.  Article 6 of Virginia's Cruelty to Animals Statutes states: (3.1-796.122 Cruelty to animals; penalty) A. Any person who ... deprives any animal of necessary food, drink, shelter ... or carries or causes to to be carried in or upon any vehicle, vessel or otherwise any animal in a cruel, burtal, or inhumane manner, so as to produce torture or unnecessary suffering ... shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."

As a matter of principle, we at Soleil Farm will not allow our goats to leave here in a trunk, gasping for air as their brains fry in the heat.  You can kill it and you can eat it, but you shouldn't torture it.  I think that's fair.

Alan

###

How Hot Is It?

When we say it's bone dry, we aren't kidding

It's so hot, trees are whistling for dogs.

It's so hot, farmers are feeding their chickens crushed ice so they don't lay hard-boiled eggs.

It's so hot, I saw an Amish guy buying an air conditioner.

It's so hot, birds are using pot holders to pull worms out of the ground.

It's so hot, the goats are giving evaporated milk.

It's so hot, Virginia Cavalier fans are taking the paper bags off their heads.

Go Hokies!

###