One Year Ago I Bought Some Calves...

“Only a crisis — actual or perceived — produces real change. When that crisis occurs, the actions that are taken depend on the ideas that are lying around.”

- Milton Friedman

One year ago I bought some calves…and the world turned upside down. As someone who feels I need to be an expert before getting started, I was hesitant to jump in. However, a few mentors encouraged me to learn by doing and get some animals. One experienced grazier told me about how he bought his first heifer when he was 25 years old and had no fenced-in pasture. He put her out in the field and built the fence around her! So I got my first set of eight lowline angus calves.

At the same time as I was jumping into the cattle grazing world, the rest of the world was shutting down. I was incredibly lucky to lockdown on this beautiful farm with my family. As I wrote in my journal on April 9th, “We have worked on lots of fence, received the calves, trained them to electric, received three more calves and proceeded to chase one around the field, moved water troughs, bought hay, shoveled loads of manure into the garden, planted elderberry bushes, chopped and split lots of wood, and ended most days tired and sweaty.” What a privilege.

Now as things are opening up and people are gathering again, I’m reflecting on this difficult year. On that same day in April, I also wrote the following…

The silver lining of crises is that they make people rethink, and hopefully recreate, normal. We’re realizing the perks (and struggles) of homeschooling, the beauty of spending this time with family, the value in slowing down and looking inward, in nourishing our relationships. On a bigger scale, we’re seeing the importance of universal healthcare, paid sick leave, social security, a reduction in air pollution, an economy that values people over profits. We’re seeing this virus, like all disasters, expose the gross inequities in our society as more low-income people and people of color die from this than the privileged. The drop in air pollution due to the economy shutting down will save more lives in China than COVID-19 will kill. In northern India, residents can see the Himalayas through the cleared air for the first time in 30 years.

Is it normal that most of Australia was on fire? Is it normal to have mass extinction events daily? Is it normal to have billionaires in this country? I’m hoping that people will have long memories and that this will impact us enough to make good changes. Already, Victory gardens are making a comeback as people realize we can’t rely on a massive industrial food system to provide for us. Already actions are being taken that we previously thought impossible. At the very least, hopefully more people are realizing that we are interconnected and that “we all do better when we all do better.”

Let’s move slowly. We have a new world to create.

Interested in purchasing beef?

My first batch of beef will be available in January 2022. I’ll be selling this beef in bulk, meaning quarters, halves and whole cows. If you live in Athens or Columbus (or you’re willing to drive to me) and you’re interested in purchasing beef, email me.

Given my limited amount of beef and the reach of this newsletter, I’ll be reaching out individually to customers versus writing about it here. First come, first served! So clear out your freezer and send me an email.

What I’m reading…

The Planter of Modern Life by Stephen Heyman | “How a leading writer of the Lost Generation (Louis Bromfield) became America’s most famous farmer and inspired the organic food movement.”

Line 3: protests over pipeline through tribal lands spark clashes and mass arrests. Article in The Guardian | “Environmental protesters and Native American tribes have joined together to try to block construction efforts that would expand and repair a controversial pipeline called Line 3, which would carry hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil through tribal lands and fragile watersheds in northern Minnesota.”

What I’m listening to…

Check out my Spring Spotify playlist before the summer solstice is here! I’ve been listening to these tunes while pulling weeds, writing grants, and moving cows.