Life in Rural America

This is me with my mother helping her harvest some squash.
I was 11 months old in this photo. 

Recently, I saw a quote from Don Dillman, a professor at Washington State University. He was quoted in saying, "Ironically, rural America, has become viewed by a growing number of Americans as a higher quality of life...not because of what is has, but rather because of what it does not have.". Growing up, I would agree that there is a lot that rural life doesn't have. No street lights, no malls, no sidewalks, no reliable high speed internet,  the list goes on and on. Perhaps I was too young to yet appreciate that "lack" of city amenities.

 Fast forward to 2008. Moving out to Ithaca was a bit of an adjustment. I remember how much artificial light there was. Of course, it didn't help that my room mate the first year was a night owl and would stay up until 2am. If anyone has ever tried to drive around downtown Ithaca, you know how bad the traffic can be (especially if you're on the way to Moe's).

Living in the middle of nowhere offers many benefits that simply aren't possible in an urban environment. We  live on a major road (but not a highway) and rush-hour traffic is by no means a gridlock. Every morning, I watch the Philadelphia morning news and needless to say, the traffic is horrible. Congested traffic is non-existent in rural areas (unless it's behind a tractor).

Pollution is another consideration. Air pollution tends to be lower in rural areas (due to less traffic/congestion) although this can be argued when farmers are out spreading chicken manure. Light pollution is also less prevalent due to fewer streetlights. If you want to see a clear night sky, you gotta get away from the streetlights of the city. Finally, the only form of noise pollution I remember from my childhood was that obnoxious rooster that crowed all hours of the night.

Growing up, we ate a lot of vegetables and steak. This was because we grew most of what was on our dinner table. So not only did I get a sound work ethic from the garden and the farm, but I also got a balanced, nutritious diet through the crops we grew. I actually got tired of having steak once a week growing up. I say this not to be a snob but when you grow an 1800 lb Steer (a bull without his manhood), there's a lot of steak to eat.

One of the steers we raised. We would raise 4 at a time and would harvest 2 per year. 

Rural life also tends to be a slower way of life. This was an adjustment moving back home after college. Going from the fast-paced lifestyle of college to the slower lifestyle of a 40 hour work week in the country can be a bit boring. I'm convinced that this is because I've never had this much free time in 5 or so years. But more importantly, a slower lifestyle translates to a lower level of stress. Higher stress is clinically proven to decrease lifespan, although it is true that some stress is necessary (most people I meet are well past this threshold).

To conclude, I think many people yearn for a simpler life. I think we all would like to eat steak weekly, have a smooth commute to work, and live in a cleaner environment. Unfortunately, it's not so easy in an urban environment. So while I couldn't stand living in the country growing up, I am glad to have the experience and wouldn't want it any other way.

Accept no fillers! Well...not so fast

Recently, a disgruntled microbiologist at the USDA blew the lid open on the "pink slime" controversy. If you haven't heard about the process, beef trimmings are separated using a centrifuge and is then sterilized using ammonia gas. This is used as a filler in ground beef. This has caused an upset in people that eat anything with this pink slime. However, I think this has been a sensationalized issue that has been blown out of proportion. This post is dedicated to why fillers are used not only in the meat industry, but in coffee, beer, and many other foods (Hot dogs are especially notorious). Additionally, the use of fillers is found in many household items, such as cleaning solutions, detergents, and just about anything, as we'll see.

The biggest reason that fillers are used in foods today is to maintain low prices. In the US, we spend less than 10% of our income on food. I truly believe that is because our food is cheap rather than us being rich. The price of this food is controlled through subsidies and the use of fillers. Both of these features allow the US to feed so many people, regardless of their level of income.

Another reason to use fillers is to take an existing product, and stretch it out to reach more people. A great example of this is during the civil war. During the civil war, confederate troops would add root chicory and even acorns to their coffee to make their rations stretch out. Sometimes when supplies are tight, it just makes sense to make the most of a limited product.

Now that we have established the needs for fillers, we will look at some common fillers used in common foods or drinks. The most common filler used in the world is water. That's right, water. Water is used to dilute detergents, cleaning solutions, and even in pesticides. Why? water as a filler makes substances like those mentioned safer. It also makes for a more convenient product as it is often ready to use.

Another common filler is corn-based products. Corn is used in everything as a filler it seems. Corn is used as a filler in malted barley to make cheaper beer (which is probably why it doesn't taste as good). Corn starch is used as a thickener with literally hundreds of uses. Then there's public enemy #1, corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup literally is in thousands of products. Why? it all goes back to price. To use a sweetener produced in the US is much cheaper than importing cane sugar from the Caribbean or Central America. The US is addicted to sugar, and a cheap alternative equals lower prices. While I don't necessarily agree with the US sugar addiction, it's there and people would be outraged to pay $2 for a soda.

While writing this, I got to thinking about all the fillers that may be in products, and I'll leave you with a few products I found while browsing the house. And while no one prefers fillers, they make our American lifestyle possible with low prices. And as I leave you today, I want you to ponder on the cost of ground beef, versus prime cut steaks. Many people simply cannot afford to eat prime rib, New York strip steak, and filet mignon every week. Sometimes, you gotta have a burger and hotdog night.

Left: some "original syrup" from Giant. On the reverse, we see the ingredients. Apparently, the original syrup wasn't a maple syrup.

This is the back of a coke can. The first ingredient is water, followed by high fructose corn syrup. This 12 oz portion has 39 grams of sugar from the syrup.

While this is non-dairy creamer, the first ingredient, again is corn. This is a common filler used. 

Make sure the rows are straight!

This GPS monitor attaches to a large tractor.
I wouldn't be surprised  if we try this out for straighter rows.

In a few weeks, our garden will be plowed, rototilled and laid out for the season. One serious point of our garden is that my mother insists that the rows be straight. I wouldn't say that she was obsessive about this, but she wanted her garden to be neat and organized. For her, part of the quality of the garden is translated into the straightness of the rows.

We originally eyeballed the rows and she trusted all of us to make the rows straight. After a few years, she decided that the precision was inadequate. I distinctly remember my father making a contraption that had a notch on a standard board that you could lay out and that solved the problem of unequal spacing. However, if the first row was crooked, all of your rows were crooked. We needed a better system

So we used the old stakes and string. These were two stakes that were connected with a taut piece of string. We would sometimes use these, but the string would move if you made a furrow too close with the hoe (or if it was windy). And when asked about why our rows weren't straight, it became a running joke that "it wasn't our fault, it was windy that day!". My mother wanted an even better system in her quest for straight rows.

The last few years, we entered the 21st century with our straight row technology. My father took his laser level, and set up the laser at one end and pointed it at the other end at the second stake. This created a straight line that wouldn't be affected by wind, and was always straight. I chuckled when I noticed my dad doing this, because it looked more like a surveyor site rather than a grower preparing for the season. Our rows were laid out with laser precision. This was maybe a bit ridiculous, but we have the nicest rows in our garden around.

While we may laugh about my mother's quest for straight rows in her garden, it's been a quest for people in the ag field for thousands of years. Precision agriculture has been a growing trend in the past 30 years. Growers now have options of using GPS and robotics to ensure that their rows are pinpoint accurate. Whether or not you see a significant yield is negligible, but there's something to be said about driving down a road and being able to see down the rows of corn to the end of the field. Perhaps there's something within the human brain that yearns for organized rows.

We are the 2%

This past year, we got to see the 99% rise up against the greedy 1%.  I never quite understood what they were protesting, but I'm sure they were justified in some form.  I'm here to talk about a different imbalance within the US. The 2% of American farmers, ranchers, and growers feeding the rest of the US.

My question this week is how did such a big industry like agriculture get so small on the grower's end? The answer is technology and a few important events.

In 1790, with a population of just over 3 million, 90% of the labor force was in farming (much of which included slaves). At this time, there was very little in mechanization. Harvest and planting was all done by hand, and plowing could be done with a mule, ox, or even a horse.

In 1840, with a population of just over 17 million, the labor force was 69% farming. In 1850, this percentage dipped to 64%, with 203 acres being the average farm. In 1860, this figure dipped again, to 58% of the labor force, but the average acres dropped slightly, to 199. This, I believe was the start of a more efficient land management system. We'll see a reversal of farm size as the demand for food/fuel/fiber increases with population.

1870, the labor force was 53%; Slavery had been abolished by this point in history. In 1880, the scales were tipped, as 49% of the labor force was involved in farming. Farmers were supporting more than 1 additional person and with a national population of nearly 50 million, this was no small task.

By 1910, less than a third of the labor force was committed to farming. This trend continues in the 1920s and 1930s, and many people got out of farming during the advent of the dust bowl. This exodus of farmers, coupled with the mechanized harvester led to an increase in average acreage per farm. By 1940, the statistic was less than one fifth. 1960 saw the US labor force dip below 10% committed to farming. By this time, not only did farmers have tractors, but the advent of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and more efficient land management made this possible to produce more food for more people.

In 1995, we bottomed out at the 1.8%. And this number is probably even lower now. The average farm size is about 470 acres, which would have been unbelievably difficult to manage back in colonial times. We have come a long way technologically.

Today, there are (approximately) 3 million farmers/ranchers/growers that provide all the food, fiber, and farm products to not only themselves, but to an extra 297 million people. But, what's more impressive, is the actual carrying capacity of each farmer. According to Americasfarmers.com the average farmer can feed up to 155 people. Here's the biggest shocker, we actually maintain a surplus in production. That's right, we produce more than we consume. We have maintained a net export since the 1970s, one of the few industries that has maintained such a high rate of export.  I went ahead and crunched the numbers, and if this 2% were all working towards just feeding the world, our 2% would be able to feed our great nation and maintain a surplus of 35%! Currently, one third of all arable land grows crops that are destined to be exported.

So the next time you go shopping, and you're standing in the line, look at everyone around you in the store. It's amazing to think that all those people may have theoretically been supported by one grower. So while the 99% were demanding equality from the 1%, I want to thank the 2% and their hard work to feed the US and the rest of the world!

For more information, I found this website to be very helpful:

Busy beekeepers

A few weeks ago we looked at beekeeping in ancient times and how a colony works and is governed. This week we are looking at modern beekeeping. There are 2 major reasons for keeping bees, one is for honey, the other is for pollination services.

Honey

Here on our farm we keep bees for the honey. Honey is one of those substances that really can't be imitated. The most common form of honey is clover honey which gives a mellow, sweet flavor. Floral honey consists of the bees feeding heavily from wildflowers. Our bees tend to feed heavily on our herb garden, which gives it a subtle herbal flavor. 

Our honey is sold by weight. A gallon of honey weighs about 11lbs.

With honeybees, honey is a product that the bees work for all season. In order to sustain a colony, a beekeeper shouldn't take any more honey than is necessary.  Otherwise, the hive will starve over the winter. With our nine hives, we are able to take off 35 to 40 gallons of honey each season (with no starvation losses). So even if growers can't harvest 100%, there's still plenty to sell.

This is our 3-frame honey extractor. Larger extractors can hold up to 16 frames, and are motorized

Extracting the honey is an age-old challenge. Before the framed hive the entire colony was destroyed. Nowadays, the framed hive allows beekeepers to take out specific frames, leaving the hive intact. Once the frames are taken out of the hive, the cells are normally capped with a way top. A hot knife is used to remove the cap, and then a specialized extractor is used to spin off the honey.

This is the interior of our extractor, the frames sit on the wire rack

Pollination services
Most beekeepers are not considered commercial until they manage about 300 hives. At that point, honey production is secondary. Having to extract 4 gallons of honey from each hive would yield about 1200 gallons (slightly more than 6.5 tons). When beekeepers reach the commercial scale, the main market is pollination services. Regional farmers will rent out 12 to 20 hives for the season to increase pollination. This practice was first implemented by the ancient Egyptians, which they found increased yields. The average price is $75 to $85 per hive (and it's recommended that one hive is used per acre).

Honeybees are responsible for more crops that you might realize. Hives are rented for watermelon, apples, pickling cucumbers, strawberries, pears, almost all tree nuts, and many more. According to the USDA, honeybees are responsible for nearly 1/3 of all the crops grown. Commercial beekeeping is valued at $15 to $20 Billion annually.