Are you like me and you get a thrill out of recommending a book to a friend? My college major was English, but I had many opportunities to explore classes in other departments. I consistently found myself taking classes like “Religion and Food” or “Food and Agriculture in 21st Century America.” These courses fascinated me because of what food told me about cultures, history, religion, societal and personal health, politics, biology, and planetary well-being.
Last year we had the great fortune to acquire a neighboring farm with Molly’s parents through a land contract with the prior owners.
We are coming upon the summer solstice and we’re thoroughly enjoying these long, light-filled days! Read on to get a slice of life here on the farm this month, as well as other updates.
We are thrilled to share that CJ has transitioned into farming full-time here at MoSo Farm! He’ll be working round-the-clock to scale up the business by expanding our beef and pork enterprises, as well as implementing big infrastructure projects in this and the coming years.
The best way to eat and shop with confidence is to know your farmer. And to know the farming practices behind your food. My guess is, that’s why you’re here! In a world full of label claims and marketing schemes, it can be pretty confusing to know what to look for at the grocery store. Should you shop for certified organic products? Or should you preference local over organic? What does it mean when a product says sustainable? Or humanely raised?
We had the opportunity last weekend to be like the Lorax and speak for the trees — specifically, the immense value that trees can have on grazing operations. We presented on how our farm implemented silvopasture (trees + livestock + forages) at the annual Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) Conference.
We thought we’d take a page from the non-profit book and create our first farm annual report! After all, regenerative farms like ours create many social and environmental impacts that are worth documenting.
This morning I pulled out our business plan, which we update every winter with new goals for the short and long-term, to see how our farm has grown and changed. Here’s how we measured up to our goals last year…
What is often missing from the debate about whether to eat meat is the important role that animals play in cycling nutrients. Nature has this figured out. The nutrient cycle, simply put, is when nutrients are transferred between the soil, atmosphere, plants, and animals.
Today is the fall equinox - when both the northern and southern hemispheres experience nearly equal amounts of daylight and darkness. One of the privileges of tending to this piece of land is watching it change…
This newsletter takes us far from the hills of southeast Ohio, all the way to Tanzania where I (Molly) spent two weeks doing a professional exchange between Rural Action (my full-time job) and ECOWICE.
One week ago we celebrated this longest week of the year with live music, good food, and over 120 people who gathered on the farm for our Summer Solstice Show. This was the third show we’ve hosted on the farm and it’s quickly becoming apparent that these summer solstice shows will become an annual tradition.
