Looking for a farm.

Mike Birch

Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 8:00 AM

Hey everybody!

Clare and I wanted to let everyone know what we've been up to.

As you probably know, we're looking for a new place to farm next year. Life was good at Cedar Valley and the rich soil brought us good things to eat, garlic in particular comes to mind. I myself came away from our year there with a fondness for turkeys. You can see how Benjamin Franklin could love them so.

Unfortunately, our temporary situation in Ottawa, IL is no longer available and we're in the middle of a land search. We've had some great leads and some wonderful opportunities but we're still unsure of how to proceed. It feels complicated to me, and we realize that for our CSA members it'd be better for us to know sooner than later what our situation will be. We appreciate your patience and encouragement. We want to farm next year.

It is exciting to look at farms and imagine the possibilities. Planning is important, and long-term access to land is of paramount importance. There are real expenses associated with our itinerant farming lifestyle, moving expenses being among them. We have several hundred pounds of fence posts to move, for example. Also, we encounter difficulties with building cost-saving infrastructures. There are some snazzy greenhouses out there that don't pay for themselves for a few years, but are really nice to have. A good greenhouse is essential for healthy starts. We'd like to be settled, for the obvious reasons. Anyways, that is where we're at right now. We hope you and yours have a safe and happy holidays! We're going to Cincinnati for Thanksgiving.