Signed, Sealed, Delivered

“It is impossible to care for each other more or differently than we care for the earth.” - Wendell Berry

Almost exactly two months ago, while walking across the pasture and talking about our future on this land, CJ Morgan asked me to make the biggest decision of my life thus far. Lucky for me, it was an easy one. Yes! Now I get to look down at the ring I saw on my Grammy’s hand throughout childhood. It’s a fitting symbol of our shared life as it’s because of her that we have the privilege of tending to this piece of earth.

While CJ has always helped out with farm chores since we met two years ago and I wooed him with the fact that I owned cattle, now that he has fully moved here and settled into the rhythm of our days, “my cows” has become “our cows” and decision-making has become a joint process. While MoSo Farm was originally named after my childhood nickname (Molly Sowash —> MoSo), now we think of MoSo as a combination of Morgan and Sowash.

When I first encountered the idea of regenerative beef at Moonstone Farm and considered agriculture as a potential future for myself, farmer Audrey told me — don’t go it alone, find a partner. I didn’t find one for awhile and decided to dive in and purchase some calves anyway. I had family to support me and knew they’d have my back. Six months later I met CJ, who grew up working on neighboring farms, had recently spent three years as the farm manager for a dairy farm, and held a persistent desire to farm on his own someday. Luckily, we also liked each other. Over the last couple years, we have managed to grow the cattle operation to 17 head, spend most weekends flipping his house in southern Ohio, go on ski and backpacking trips across the country, sell his house, move in together, design and secure funding for a silvopasture project, make improvements around the farm, and get engaged.

When thinking about the traditions of marriage, some which I reject and others which I cherish, the words of Wendell Berry come to mind. So I recently turned to his book, The Unsettling of America, for a refresher on the parallels between tending to a relationship and tending to the land. He explains how the new economy after industrialization devalued pre-industrial traditions — both the wife’s role of nurturing and the husband’s role of provisioning once the focus shifted from self-sustenance to money. He speaks eloquently to the forces of consumerism that reduced the complex discipline of housewifery to one of an exercise in purchasing power. As men were expected to leave the house and bring home money, women were left to an empty house that they were expected to make perfect with products. Gone was the practical bond between both partners in the marriage. Home became just a place, not a circumstance “that required, dignified, and rewarded the enactment of mutual dependence.” In this way, marriage lost its practical bond and the necessity to work together to make a life and literally sustain each other. In Berry’s words, “Without the particular demands and satisfactions of the making and keeping of a household, the sanctity and legality of marriage remain abstract, in effect theoretical, and its sexuality becomes a danger. Work is the health of love. To last, love must enflesh itself in the materiality of the world — produce food, shelter, warmth or shade, surround itself with careful acts, well-made things.”

This is what draws us to farming and homesteading. We share the work, it is visible, and it sustains us. There’s something so satisfying about putting up 21 cans of salsa or opening up a jar of pickled beets from our garden in the middle of winter or making pot roast out of an animal we cared for. Neither CJ nor I is very good at sitting still. If love is the fabric of our relationship, then joyful work is the thread.

Want to stock your freezer with beef this November?

Beef is available to order through my website on the Buy Beef page. You’ll find information regarding the process, amounts, pricing, dates, etc. You can purchase a quarter, half, or whole of either breed — the larger red angus or the smaller lowline black angus. Don’t have the freezer space? Go in on a quarter with a few friends. Buying beef in bulk is the most economical way to stock up on good, local, sustainable meat. Below is a brief overview of the estimated costs and weights. I’m happy to walk you through the process or help you make a decision about how much you should order, as there are many options available. Please email me with questions! Or give me a call at 614-749-9283.

For red angus

Whole: Est. hanging weight: 700 lbs = $3,675 | Est. package weight: bone-in = 455-490 lbs OR boneless = 385-420 lbs

Half: Est. hanging weight: 350 lbs = $1,837.50 | Est. package weight: bone-in = 230-245 lbs OR boneless = 195-210 lbs

Quarter: Est. hanging weight: 175 pounds = $918.75 | Est. package weight: bone-in = 115-125 lbs OR boneless = 95-105 lbs

For lowline angus

Whole: Est. hanging weight: 400 lbs = $2,100 | Est. package weight: bone-in = 260-280 lbs OR boneless = 220-240 lbs

Half: Est. hanging weight: 200 lbs = $1,050 | Est. package weight: bone-in = 130-140 lbs OR boneless = 110-120 lbs

Quarter: Est. hanging weight: 100 pounds = $525 | Est. package weight: bone-in = 65-70 lbs OR boneless = 55-60 lbs

You’re invited! Fall Harvest Show on October 22nd

We are gearing up for another farm show! Join us on Saturday, October 22nd starting at 4pm to hear some good folk, rock, and jazz tunes from a few bands. We’ll be cooking up some delicious warm food and invite you to bring drinks and sides. Don’t forget a blanket and some cozy clothing! Folks are welcome to stay afterwards for a bonfire.

What I’m reading...

The Unsettling of America | Book by Wendell Berry | Since its publication in 1977, The Unsettling of America has been recognized as a classic of American letters. In it, Wendell Berry argues that good farming is a cultural and spiritual discipline. Today’s agribusiness, however, takes farming out of its cultural context and away from families. As a result, we as a nation are more estranged from the land—from the intimate knowledge, love, and care of it.

A Small Farm Future | Book by Chris Smaje | Making the case for a society built around local economies, self-provisioning, agricultural diversity, and a shared Earth.” I highly recommend this sobering yet inspirational book! I couldn’t put it better than Vandana Shiva’s review: “We are facing an existential crisis – with species extinction, climate catastrophes, desertification of soil, disappearance of water, pandemics of infectious and chronic diseases, hunger and malnutrition. Industrialized, globalized agriculture based on the myth that it feeds the world is driving the multiple, interconnected crisis. Eighty percent of the food we eat comes from small farms. Chris Smaje’s A Small Farm Future shows that the choice is clear. Either we have a small farm future, or we face collapse and extinction.”

What I’m listening to…

My Fall  playlist is coming out of hiding as the temperatures get chilly here in Ohio. Enjoy these cozy tunes.