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.
May has been defined by welcoming pigs onto the farm and enjoying long sunny days. We brought 8 Hampshire pigs to the farm earlier this month. They will supply the pork for our wedding and we’ll have a limited amount for sale in the fall. We’re considering this as a trial run for adding a pork enterprise as a regular part of our farm operation.
MoSo Farm has become a tree farm! Over the last few weeks, we have dug holes for, planted, staked, tubed, and protected 510 trees across 9 acres. Why? To implement silvopasture, which is the managed integration of trees, livestock, and grazing land.
This week I had the incredible opportunity to join farmers from across the country for the Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience. We gathered in D.C. in order to advocate for a Farm Bill that supports farmer-led climate solutions, racial justice and communities over corporations.
January has drenched the farm with cold rain and heavy skies. When we think the ground is at peak saturation, it rains again and the earth has no choice but to receive it. Muck boot weather.
Over the last month and a half, we have taken 8 animals to the butcher and supplied beef to 19 customers! Once or twice per year, we align all of our butcher dates and have a flurry of activity as we get thousands of pounds of beef to people’s freezers.
