So what’s with the poor grammar in the blog name?

I must admit that I am a “foodie”. I have never liked the term and have denied being a “foodie” for many years but now as a small direct market farmer I know I am a “foodie”. There are lots of definitions of “foodie” but other than having a deep passion for exceptional and different food experiences I think what sets a “foodie” apart is their intellectualization of the eating experience. As I heard Joel Salatin once say “aside from what goes on behind closed doors with your spouse or partner eating is the second most intimate experience you will have [sic].” Knowing where the food came from, it’s genetic particulars, how it was raised, processed, best cooked or preserved, its traditions and nourishing value is all of vital importance to a “foodie”. To be successful as a small direct market farmer It is vitally important that I can accurately explain why and how I produce food. Not only do I need to be able to produce an exceptional food, I need to be able to help my customers appreciate the food through appropriate handling & cooking practices. What I did not expect when I first became a small farmer was that as much as 20% of what I do is education. Perhaps a more controversial aspect of “foodie” is something I am hearing more and more from my customers and that is the “spiritual” aspect of food.

As a small farmer “farmering” is a daily adventure. “Farmering” is a term used to describe a means and methodology of performing repairs using the tools and materials at hand. This means what is exactly at hand. If you are faced with a situation where a broken shear pin is stuck and needs to be tapped out but your ball peen hammer and pin punch is back in the bed of the truck, well, you just give it a good bashing with the adjustable wrench or rock you are holding. “Farmering” includes driving on tires that are only almost flat, struggling with old rickety half broken equipment, taking a quick tack weld to hold it together when you really should take it apart and do it right the first time, using the parts of an old unusable something to make a completely different useful something or using a stick to clean out the guts of the unfortunate field mouse that got blown thru the irrigation pipe into the sprinkler head. With farmering, aesthetics are not even of secondary consideration they are of absolutely no consideration. One of our seasonal workers goes so far as to describe “farmering” as our farm esthetic. In the rare occasion that I buy something new or unbroken he is always nice enough to point out that it goes against the farm esthetic. The eco movement coined the three R’s long ago “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” I think they forgot the most important one “Repair” In our disposable culture repair is more often than not a lost art. “Farmering” is all about the repair experience.

“Foodie” and “Farmering” at first glance appear to be at opposite ends of the spectrum. “Foodie” can be pure intellectualism at its finest. There is lots of literature written about food. Sometimes a good meal experience can be described as pure poetry. “Farmering” on the surface appears to be all about strong back & weak mind. All bloody knuckles and chipped paint. I disagree with this assumption. “Foodie” & “Farmering” both have their yin & yang. “Foodie” in its production state is brutal. Its blood and guts, rotten vegetative matter, mud and crap. “Farmering” at it’s best can be enlightening. A good cobbled repair can have hints of the sublime. This blog will attempt to explore the “Foodie Farmering” experience.