In a far away land, there lived a fisherman who fished and fished and fished. The salmon he caught were sold at the marketplace. He was an early rising and hard working fisherman who had learned the habits of the fish. He understood their cycles and seasons, like when they would return to spawn. He respected the gift of the fish and so only fished in such a way as to not hurt the future of the fish or its ability to continue to feed not only people, but all living things within the watershed (bears, eagles, earthworms, grasses, trees).As the years marched on, the fisherman noticed that the fish he was catching were a little smaller and less plentiful as they once were. He still sold his fish at the marketplace, but now he had competition from a farmer selling “farmed” fish. The farmer was raising salmon in a pen. The cost of raising the fish was cheaper and the marketplace got a bargain.
Eventually, word spread that the farmer’s fish didn’t have the richness, color, or the revered Omega 3s found in the wild salmon populations. The farmer soon discovered, however, that if he took the food of the wild salmon, like sardines and herring, and made it into fishmeal and fish oil to feed his farmed salmon, they tasted better. Unfortunately, there was a lot of bycatch (incidental or unwanted fish and other marine species) in the process and, as to be expected, a lot less fish for the wild salmon to eat.
The marketplace was growing weary and leery of farmed salmon, and for good reason. The farmer realized that the customers were becoming educated and were voicing their opinion about the overharvesting of sardines and all the bycatch. To make matters worse, word was getting out that his farmed fish were “getting out.”
After some thought, the farmer contacted another farmer and started to buy genetically modified (GM) soybeans to supplement the fish meal and fish oil, to help his farmed salmon grow bigger sooner. He reasoned that if his fish grew quickly, not only would they be ready for market sooner on less feed, but they would spend less time in the pen, meaning less chance for escapement. All of this would mean more profit.
Later, when a scientist discovered that a growth hormone could be injected into the salmon egg, causing the fish to grow twice as fast and twice as big, the farmer embraced the scientist. The marketplace, however, embraced neither, but instead let the farmer know that they would not eat his farmed, GM-fed, or GM-altered fish.
Thankfully, the fisherman was still fishing and bringing his nutrient-rich, Omega 3 laden wild salmon to the marketplace, where he was greeted by excited customers who valued the fish and the fisherman for helping them live better and eat better.
Always organic, always GMO free.
Last year, we “top worked” some Comice pear trees in our orchard—36 to be precise. We saved 12 of these trees to pollinate the Buerre Bosc pears. I planted the orchard five years ago, but the Comice pears have not performed well and seemed unhappy in our microclimate. The Bosc pears, however, took to the microclimate like a duck takes to water. So this winter, I cut some scion wood from the Bosc pears and am going to “top work” the last 12 Comice pear trees. Last year, we grafted the Comice pears over to Conference pears and four Asian pear varieties. The picture in this article is Stephen cutting off the “nurse” limb we left to stabilize the tree from the aggressive pruning.
Our Annual “K” Quest
As Chungo, our friendly black lab, and Myliss, our friendly cat, were soaking in the sun from our front porch this beautiful winter day, one couldn’t help but feel a little touch of spring in the air, but I am not easily fooled. As I walked up the steps to the ever-inviting tail wagging of Chungo, calling out to me for a scratch around the ears, I was treated to the first flush of crocuses! On our farm, they are the first telltale sign of what is to come. I love to see them as they start to peek through the flower bed mulches that have been keeping them warm and nourished since October. Those first shoots are so green, with that dark vibrant green that is overflowing with life. It is invigorating to my soul and serves as a reminder that spring is just around the corner.
I mean, really, if you think about inhibition, it is a form of self-control, as opposed to prohibition which is a form of outside control. Personally, I am more of a fan of inhibition and self-control than the other. I know, I know, some prohibition is necessary, but I would prefer less than more.
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Last week, I got a call from the Everett Herald who wanted interview me for an article about I-522. This is so important to the health of future generations that, as much as I prefer not to engage in the rhetoric, I accepted. Jerry Cornfield, from the Herald, is a very good writer and accurately captured my comments in the Sunday Herald article. Ironically enough, the “No” position farmer was Andy Werkhoven, a fellow farmer and friend—we just see this issue differently.
Fall is definitely pumpkin time. Shoot, even McDonalds and Starbucks are advertising PSL on the radio and billboards. (Just in case, you are more like me than not, PSL stands for Pumpkin Spice Latte.) Well, on the farm we grow pumpkins and lots of them—sweet pie pumpkins. This growing season was very good for all the varieties of squash.
