A farm regulated to production of raw commodities is not a farm at all. It is a temporary blip until the land is used up, the water polluted, the neighbors nauseated, and the air unbreathable. The farmhouse, the concrete, the machinery, and outbuildings become relics of a bygone vibrancy when another family farm moves to the city financial centers for relief. 
― Joel Salatin, Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front

The family farm is about more than just producing raw commodities “to feed the world.” It is a synergy of many parts working for the health and benefit of the whole - the farm, the community, and the world.

Martin's Ruminations

This is an essay we published in a previous Harvest Haven Happenings, but the message is still relevant today and serves as a good reminder to all of us.

Feeding the World

I’ve gotten into a lot of discussions and arguments about the sustainability and legitimacy of organic farming, as I’m sure many of you have.

Many have insisted that conventional farming with its seemingly great yield per acre is the only way to feed the world, as though chemicals are the only possible means of eradicating starvation and hunger. It’s such a preposterous lie that it makes me angry, not that I can hold it against everyone who’s been deceived by the chemical gospel. It is an evil history strewn with lies, murder, greed and plenty more than a few dead bodies.

Let me share a few points that come to mind.

First, organic farming has been tested side-by-side with chemical farming for the last 50 years and it’s been more than adequately demonstrated that there is no advantage in using chemicals. In fact, in dry or wet years, organic crops outperform chemical crops. And that’s only comparing yield. The nutrient density of the organic crop outperforms the chemical crop every year.

There is a reason for the “conventional farming yields more” myth. You see, organic soil can fix its own nitrogen out of the air (the air we breathe is 78% nitrogen) with the aid of solar power and microbiology. If you add chemical fertilizer to a healthy organic crop, you’ll likely see incredible yields in the first couple years because you have your chemical input and your microbiology working together. Great yields can be very tempting. The trouble is that the chemicals eventually annihilate the microbiological community at which point you’re back to your original organic yields but it’s not free anymore.

The only way to achieve that same super crop is to increase the amount of chemical, and as your soil diminishes the chemical needs continue to increase. At that point your chemical company officially has you and your soil hooked on drugs. The only way out of that addiction is a miserable period of withdrawal that many farmers are not willing to face. Understandably so. It’s hard enough for most farmers to get by. The prospect of losing money until your soil slowly comes back to life is too big a burden for most family farms to bear.

There are whole divisions of these evil companies responsible for forcing and deceiving new nations and cultures, enslaving their farmers after hooking them on chemicals. Thousands of farmers in India alone have taken their own lives in desperation because chemical companies took what little ability they had left to feed their families away from them. It is cruel tyranny. We have choices to make. These chemical companies would be bankrupt tomorrow if everybody boycotted them.

Second, just because we can get outrageous yields for multiple years in a row, does not mean we can presume it will continue. Just because we can get somewhere faster by over-revving our motor, does not mean it comes without a cost to the motor. If you withdraw more from your soil than you return, you are guilty of stealing from your children and God Himself.

Third, over 40% of North America’s food is wasted. People have a gross disrespect for food. If we’re so concerned about feeding the world, why not stop burying nearly half of our harvest in landfills. At the very least, a good portion could be fed back to livestock.

Fourth, if you could hear the cries of starving third world farmers whose crops are now worthless because “charitable” first world nations flooded their economies with cheap food, you would think twice about how much so-called “good” we’re doing by trying to feed the world. First world governments are intentionally crashing foreign markets with surpluses of cheap grain to bankrupt local agriculture and create dependency. We are bankrupting our own soil and creating a harmful over-abundance, just so we can take advantage of people who are already suffering. Everybody is losing.

Finally, do you know how much money, natural resources, research, political activity and straight up hard labor get wasted on war every year? Did you know that the same chemical companies that produced chemical weapons, nerve gas, and explosives for Hitler during the war now produce pesticide and fertilizer for your average farmer? Did you know that those same companies are waiting in hospital boardrooms when their dirty agriculture gives you cancer, so they can finish you off with a derivative of mustard gas they call Chemotherapy? Can you even imagine anything so evil?!!??

There is enough land and resource on this planet to feed billions more people. There’s no need to believe and repeat the lies that murderers have fed to us, just so we can suffer for their gain. Chemical companies have taken advantage of well-meaning farmers by convincing them they’re helping feed the hungry, just so they can attempt to satisfy their own insatiable greed. 
Chemical farming doesn’t feed the world. It destroys it!

Every last person on Earth could live like kings if everyone would hear, believe, and exercise Truth!

The weather is still pleasant, so James continues to dig ditches and lay irrigation pipe. We’re very thankful to get this done now, instead of having to wait for the ground to thaw in the spring to do it.

Brett continues with the woodwork details. It’s the “little” things he does that make the big picture impressive.

Martin is busily applying clay to the walls in the new store. Looking good!

Boneless Lamb Leg Roast- Sale $14.99/lb Reg. $16.89/lb

Sirloin Tip Roast- Sale $11.49/lb Reg. $13.49/lb

Whole Chicken- Sale $4.89/lb Reg. $5.39/lb (See Recipe Box)

Potatoes, all varieties, 5 lb bag- Sale $5.99 Reg. $7.99

Yams- Sale $3.99/lb Reg. $4.49/lb (See Recipe Box)

Carrots -Sale $1.99/lb Reg. $2.49/lb

Fresh Cranberries, 8 oz pkg- Sale $3.49 each Reg. $3.99 each (See Recipe Box)

Camino Organic Shredded Coconut, 200g- Sale $5.49 each Reg. $5.99 each (See Recipe Box)

Edward and Sons Organic Brown Rice Snaps, 100g- Sale $6.49 each Reg. $6.99 each (See Recipe Box)

Please note, all ingredients in our recipes are organic.

After dinner, Martin was doing a little woodworking in the shop and slipped over to the lumber pile beside the dairy cow corral. As he was returning to the workshop, he heard a short, strange moo from Cherry, our milk cow.

“Hmmm…that’s an odd sound from her. Do I check on Cherry or just keep working? I need to see what she wants,” realizing he wouldn’t have any peace if he didn’t.

When Martin gets into the barn, Cherry’s there “telling him something.” He looks at her and realizes she’s going to calve shortly. Calling James for help, the two of them prepare a nice spot with fresh straw for her.

Within 15 minutes, she had her calf to everyone’s surprise. Obviously, there had been no time to waste.

Reflecting on the event, Martin knows Cherry called him with her strange moo. It was different from all the other bawling she makes for hay or just attention. Add to this, she was in the barn “communicating” with him that he needed to do something to prepare a place for her to calve. And she had her calf within minutes. Quite amazing!

“Dumb” beasts aren’t so dumb?

Then, there was the next morning. It was back to normal cow behaviour for Cherry.

Martin was bringing her into the milking stall to see if her teats were being successfully sucked on by her new calf. As he was opening the gate to let her in, Harriett poked her head in the door to check on things.

Boom! Martin became invisible to hormonal Cherry as she saw a threat to her new baby. In her full-on charge at Harriett, Cherry, with head down, stepped on Martin’s foot while at the same time flinging him like a match stick six-feet across the barn into the wall.

Martin saw what was coming and knew the only thing he could do to lessen the inevitable injuries was to relax. (I don’t know how anyone could think that fast, in the face of the imminent danger from 1500 pounds of brute force coming straight at you, and RELAX on top of it.)

When Martin “came to,” although he wasn’t technically knocked out, just knocked through the air, he realized he was on his back looking up at the roof of the barn with his legs crumpled against the wall. His boot was loose enough to come out from under Cherry’s foot and allow him some “air time.” 
Our fearless farmer was a little battered and bruised, but no broken bones, thankfully. His bad knee, which had been injured in school when some ruffian kicked it from the side, causing tendon damage, was re-injured. Before Martin could get up, he had to brace himself and inflict more pain by forcefully straightening his knee that was in muscle spasms.

Cherry had returned to her calf. Harriett had retreated from the barn. And Martin limped home for some much-needed solace.

Now, you would think that was enough excitement for our courageous farmer for a few days. But exciting times just keep happening.

The next day, Martin was checking on the beef cows in another corral and considered that Night, Cherry’s heifer calf from three years ago, could be ready to calve, too. Looking around for her, he spotted a new calf in the middle of the corral with Night tenderly licking it.

Gathering this newborn in his arms, Martin limped into the barn with Mother Night close behind. Depositing his bundle in the fresh straw, he made sure Harriett couldn’t get in anywhere. No repeats.

He grabbed a pail to drain a little milk from Night’s udder to make it easier for her calf to suck. Seeing the milk pail on the move, the barn cats got excited expecting a treat of fresh milk and started to gather around. As Martin settled down to milk Night, one of the kittens got too close to her calf and she charged it, kicking the pail out of Martin’s hand, destroying it and sending Martin slamming into another barn wall.

Cows and calves are all doing nicely; Harriett and the barn cats are fine; and Martin is mending.

Farming is NOT for wussies.

Seems the issue may be one of reining cats and dogs or they reign all over him?

Marseilles' depictions of what happened to Martin.

Cherry charges Martin.	Harriett tries to see where Martin went.	Martin sees "stars."