TEDxDirigo - Roger Doiron - A Subversive Plot: How to Grow a Revolution in Your Own Backyard

The video of this TED talk is about 18 minutes in length. Give a listen with your morning coffee.

For those who aren't familiar with TED you MUST check out their About page. You can follow them on Twitter @TedTalks and on Facebook at Facebook.com/TED. The project is doing good things in the world.

A few of my notes from Roger's talk follow:

90% of vegetable varieties went extinct in the 20^th century. (source?)
 31 minutes. The average amount of time the American family spends preparing, eating, and cleaning up after meals, per day. (per day? dreadful)
 Gardens grow important economic savings for families. (amen!)

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Going to Gothberg Farms

Will be at Gothberg Farms in Bow in a few minutes. Decent afternoon in this part of the valley, overcast but not raining and I see shadows on the ground so I have hopes that the afternoon. I'm looking forward to visiting Rhonda Gothberg's farm, seeing her goats, getting some cheese, and hearing about how her life led to a dairy at 50 years young. Rhonda sounds like a fun and inspiring person.

Stay tuned, I'm still editing the video of my visit with Anne at Blue Heron Farm and Kai at Hedlin's Family Farm. Those will be posted shortly, too.

a morsel of wisdom from Dwight Eisenhower

about farming and government ...

“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field.”

Coming Soon: Rhonda Gothberg + Gothberg Farms = CHEESE, BABY, CHEESE

Thrilled to say that it looks like I'll (we'll) get to meet Rhonda Gothberg of Gothberg Farms in Bow very soon! Hopefully we can coordinate in the next week or two! I'll have video and photographs to share of my time with her and I absolutely will hope to leave her farm with a collection of to-die-for cheeses which I will brag about for days and days.

As a primer, get on Rhonda's website and read about the farm and goats. You can follow her on Facebook and on Twitter as @gothbergfarms.

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And with that, I leave you with a poem by one of my favorite authors of all time ...

BLAME

by Shel Silverstein  

I wrote such a beautiful book for you

'Bout rainbows and sunshine

And dreams that come true.

But the goat went and ate it

(You never knew that he would),

So I wrote you another one

Fast as I could.

Of course it could never be

Nearly as great

As that beautiful book

That silly goat ate.

So if you don't like

This new book I just wrote—

Blame the goat.

Video & pics from the Skagit Valley Festival of Family Farms 2011

Do you know how far cows can smell? I had no idea!!!!!! I learned the answer at Golden Glen Creamery / Jensen & Son Dairy in Bow, WA. Watch this short video and you'll know too, you can tell all your friends and sound super smart at trivia. 

This year I had time to go to five farms on the farm tour: Golden Glen Creamery / Jenson & Son Dairy, Sakuma Bros Farms & Market, Hemlock Highlands, Eagle Haven Winery / Perkins Apple Orchard, and Country Time Alpacas. 

Couldn't leave Golden Glen Creamery without getting some chocolate milk, eggs, and variety of cheeses (plus an assortment of other stuff). Got apples, strawberries, honey, raspberry jam, and grilled corn from Sakuma Farms. Got some pie apples and a couple bottles of wine from Eagle Haven Winery, and some yummy felted soap from Country Time Alpacas ... and the FUZZZZZZZZIEST little teddy bear with the softness of baby alpacas. 

Always a good time! 

Video of my visit with Steve Sakuma of Sakuma Bros Farms and Market in Burlington, WA

It was a windy July morning in the valley when I was fortunate to have the booted, bundled up, and jacket-clad company of Steve Sakuma, a 3rd generation farmer at his family farm Sakuma Bros Farms and Market in Burlington, WA.

I wanted to get this posted so I'll be adding my photographs this evening. I lamely didn't ask anybody to take a picture of me and Steve so one of these days I hope to run into him so that can happen.

About the farm ... Sakuma business extends from Washington to Oregon and California. They're tractor drivers AND strategic business people. They're 100% "vertically integrated" in the small fruit industry which (in smaller words) means their hands are in every aspect of their farm from research to planting to harvesting to processing to selling to operating a wholesale and retail nursery, etc.

About the people ... Steve's talks about his Japanese ancestors and their farming on Bainbridge Island, how the Japanese Internment affected his family, how their business has developed over the generations, the family philosophy about the farm, thoughts on the future of the farm, thoughts about agriculture, commercial and small farms, and work of a farmer these days, and American ... America.

What I learned from talking with Steve could fill pages but the purpose of this blog isn't to read my writing, it's to see the farmers and hear what they have to say. I found Steve to be quite the conversationalist with sprinkles of dry wit and humor to flavor his experience and wisdom. Steve gives a good *serious face* yet don't let that fool you, he's also a really funny guy.

So without further ado, here's my chat with farmer Steve Sakuma. I split the video into two parts, Part 1 is about 14 minutes Part 2 is about 12 minutes.

HERE IS PART ONE

HERE IS PART TWO

Sakuma Bros Farms and Market
17790 Cook Road
Burlington WA 98233
(360) 757-8004

In the works ... Blue Heron Farm & Hedlin Family Farm

The past few days of sunshine and summer are so welcome here right now by chilly irritable pale people AND acre upon acre of crops that rely on the sun's rays to warm roots and ripen fruit. It'll be interesting to see what August brings and when we'll start seeing roadside stands of sweet farm fresh corn 5 or 6 for $1 instead of .78 cents EACH like I saw in a Skagit Valley grocery yesterday.

Just a few days ago I was fortunate enough to spend just over three hours on the farm with the incredible Anne Schwartz of Blue Heron Farm in Rockport. When I say fortunate I mean fortunate and I think the people who know Anne understand how lucky I feel. Anne is a force ... as a woman, a farmer, agricultural activist, and ambassador of food awareness. I built an image around everything I've heard and read about Anne (okay let's see, she's a powerhouse of a lady so if she were a horse I'm thinking she'd be a Clydesdale, after 30 someodd years of farming her body has got to be worn by the sun, after all those years of living upriver in the foothills of the Cascades *we're talking serious country* she's got to be uber self-reliant, more than a little opinionated, and how could you not be a little grumpy living in the constant dew of Rockport, oh and she probably doesn't have the inclination or time to spend with people like me who obviously have too much time.) So, when I realized that the attractive, slender, petite woman with a long ponytail and kind smile who stepped out of a little red pickup truck was Anne I was pretty darn surprised. More about Ms. Anne when I get all of that video edited! Her stories are really amazing and she has an abundance of experience, knowledge and wisdom to share.

I also got to spend time at Hedlin Family Farm in La Conner walking part of the farm and talking with 4th generation farmer Kai Otteson. During my time at Hedlin, I was introduced to so much technical stuff about seeds, equipment, crop rotation etc. that I'm glad I was recording because my brain started to swim. Kai's a young and very articulate guy who grew up in Alaska studied environmental literature and worked summers on the farm before he landed in the valley full time. Again, lots of video to edit and stories and perspective to share.

And I'm still working on editing video from my visit with Steve Sakuma at Sakuma Brothers Farms.

Getting my laptop stolen really bites.