The seeds have been sown, the weeds weeded, the tractors tinkered, and the farm crew gathered. We are ready to start the CSA, and we have just one more essential component to add; the community! Thanks for choosing to eat locally grown food this summer and to support small-scale sustainable farming in the Upper Valley.
This spring I have been helping a friend teach his environmental studies students at Dartmouth about conservation and resource management. One of the topics that we keep returning to is the fact that small farms preserve open land and foster ecologically complex landscapes within otherwise developing and fragmented ecosystems. Just yesterday I saw the first bobolink songbirds returning to our pastures, heard on owl hooting from our woodlot, and crossed the tracks of a fox on the bank of our irrigation pond. There is no doubt that our fields, woods, and water are home to a wide range of species, all living, breathing, and photosynthesizing their way to sustaining a healthy corner of this planet.
But in order for farmers to take on the responsibility of stewarding our land and environment for the greater good we need the support of our community; people making a commitment to buy our veggies and meats instead of trucking them in from California and beyond. With this partnership of farmer and eater habitats are conserved, the work of farming is valued, and families are fed fresh, nourishing food. Thanks for partnering with us to make it all happen!
Now, onto the harvest! The first taste of spring!
Cheers
Norah and the Sweetland Crew