Why do This?
The Farming world has a totally different way of life when compared to the way of life of many people today. It’s always been different when compared to the flows of life in any city throughout history, but today is completely unique due to the fact the for the first time most of the United States population is not on the farm. Most urbanites are 2-3, or even more generations removed from the daily workings of farm life. For those of us who remain, there often feels to be a tremendous cultural chasm between “us” and “city people.” Unfortunately, this chasm is used often to set ourselves up (as farmers) into a mindset of pitiful self-martyrdom, in which many times we see ourselves as overly virtuous, self-sacrificial, willing to suffer for the sake of the rest of society, while at the same time mocked, made fun of, and reduced to professional rednecks.
Cold and Sweaty Pitching Hay this week
Don’t get me wrong, there are many cultural disconnects between rural agricultural life and those who’ve made their home beneath the city lights, but this self-pitiful mindset and self-proclaimed victimhood of farming people is in no way healthy, or helpful. The fact of the manner is that even though much of our population is no longer directly connected to any individual farm, there is more education and concern than ever before with how our food and commodities are produced. There is more critique over certain farming practices more so than ever before. Those critiques for the most part are valid, although many times they do not take into account the sheer complexity of the alternatives. Should we as farmers simply feel overly emotionally offended and write off those outside critiques as just “stupid ideas from city people who have no idea what we do?” Well, that’s what many farmers have been doing for the past 60 plus years, and that situation hasn’t really changed over that time.
Is there a middle ground? I think its possible. The first step is to recognize that I as a farmer am not entitled to anyone thinking more highly of me because I am a farmer. There are challenges to this profession, a lot of which is often outside my control…but this way of life that I have chosen for myself is not an act of self-martyrdom. I’m my own boss. I decide how my day is spent and where it is spent, I make the management calls, and decide where to focus my energy, time and resources. Whatever I decide, that decision is mine. Sometimes that decision is good, other times its not, but at the end of the day I must answer to myself for that. That’s freedom, and I really wouldn’t have it any other way. The idea of clocking in somewhere away from home to be another cog in a huge bureaucratic wheel is repulsive to me. The downside however is that I must deal with the consequences of my bad decisions directly on all fronts- financially, emotionally, physically, psychologically. There’s no silver bullet. Everything has a cost.
Ain’t easy going your own way, but more often than not its what you need to do. Kudos to 7 year old me in inspiring 30 year old me.
Smaller to medium sized Farms today often feel to be in quite the conundrum.
“Do we put everything else on the line to purchase the farm next door, to hopefully give this place a fighting chance to be around for the next 50 years?”
“Should I tie myself up in years of paying off new equipment or higher some of my field work out?”
“Will salvation come swooping in from the outside to reinvigorate this place, or can we build on what we already have?”
These are questions that every farmer faces many times over throughout a single season. There isn’t a one size fits all answer to any of them.
For this place, for this farm, and for me as a farmer I believe its worth the shot of building on to what is already here. To try to showcase the work that’s being done, to invite people to have a little insight into the daily life of this place, and to give people the option to support it through purchasing one of kind, high quality products that you can associate with my own face. Not JBS, or ConAgra, or Cargill, or General Mills, but Andrew Texley. There’s no share-holders, or board rooms, and no extravagant work retreats to some problematic island getaway. I have no trade secrets, and I’m not seeking market domination. I’m simply taking what this farm has always done and offering it directly to you, ultimately to add value to the work that I’d be doing anyways, so this farm has the chance to build up sustainably to be around for the long haul. I guess you could say it’s an entirely selfish endeavor, but it tastes good and puts an actual face to your food. And you can visit it whenever you’d like. We’ll hop into the old chevy and go look at the cows, compare organic crops to the non-organic, and probably have a few laughs and deep conversations along the way. Try doing that at fucking Wal-Mart.
Much Peace~
Andrew
RECIPE
Basic Stroganoff/ Creamy Midwestern noodles & Meat
1 2-3lb Pork Roast
1 Small Yellow Onion (roughly chopped)
2 Cloves of garlic (chopped or crushed)
½ cup of liquid (dry wine, stock, water in a pinch)
½-3/4lb of frozen spinach
½-3/4lb of broccoli
2 cups of Half and Half
1-1 1/2 cups of Sour Cream
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pasta of your choice
This week I made a very basic dish that I think could be considered a Stroganoff, but for sure its something that will warm the cockles of anyone who has spent a considerable amount of time in the Midwest, or at least has been to a pot-luck in some church basement.
I started off with one of my pork roasts. You could just as easily use any meat that would suit your own tastes. I cut it off the bone, and made it into smaller ½” chunks. Lightly salt and pepper, and dust lovingly with some flour.
Pork Roast
Set a pan on the stove over medium-high heat. Toss in some butter and about a tablespoon of your preferred cooking oil. Once the butter is melted down and the pan is hot, toss in your pork to brown. Check in on your pork; once it is brown and slightly crusty turn the pork over to do the same to the other side.
Once that is all browned up I threw in my roughly chopped small yellow onion, and mixed it in with the meat. If you need a little more fat, add some butter. Turn the heat down a bit , stirring occasionally until the onions are cooked down quite a bit. Toss in your garlic until and stir until you smell it in the air. Turn your heat a smidge further down. Add in your ½ cup of liquid. I used a dry red wine, but a chardonnay would have been better, or some sort of meat stock. Once that is reduced add your 2 cups of half and half, and bring to a simmer. At this point I added my half bag of frozen spinach and ½ pound of frozen broccoli. Let it simmer until broccoli is cooked through. Add 1 cup (or more) of sour cream (add more if your sauce needs thickened), and stir in thoroughly. That’s it. Serve with your favorite pasta or mix in Eggs noodles, I think this could easily serve 3-4 people.
