Play with your food some more ~

What’s Growing This Week: ·Leeks Spinach Asparagus Pistachios Tangelos Carrots (M, L) Cauliflower (M, L) Kiwis (M, L) Red Kale (M, L) Green Garlic (L) Sweet Potatoes (L) Chard (L)

We received an email from a subscriber last week asking me to write a newsletter about the outbreak of invasive Light Brown Apple Moth in the Bay Area and Monterey.  It’s not that I am not up to date on the issue, in fact, the day before I had testified before the State Assembly Agriculture Committee on the issue (on behalf of CCOF, on whose board I sit).  Rather, I have been hesitant to discuss the topic for a number of reasons.  At the hearing I attended, I realize that I had been remiss in failing to provide my perspective to our CSA subscribers — many of whom live in areas where the LBAM has been found.  Hearing the testimony of some of the local groups who are opposing the eradication plan, however, it appeared to me that they are making some important factual errors and generalizations.

I will provide my opinions here on a few points that I feel are important.  If you read this newsletter and have questions or opinions about what I say, please email them to us and I will do another newsletter responding to them if you wish.  However, I have a big disclaimer:  I have a fiduciary conflict of interest on this issue.  The current boundary of the LBAM quarantine zone ends just 25 miles from my farm.  If the boundary is extended to include TFF, it will make it extremely difficult and even impossible for us to continue to ship our products off the farm.  Even though a majority of our crops end up in areas that  are already quarantined, USDA rules prohibit shipment of any potentially infected produce out of the county of origin.  Conventional farmers have the option to fumigate all of their crops before shipment, which is sometimes prohibitively expensive.  But as organic farmers, we might be left with no other option than to leave many of our crops in the field.

The California Department of Agriculture (CDFA) is the state agency in charge of the attempts to eradicate the moth.  They have made a lot of mistakes in how they approached this task, but I will give them credit for one thing:  They have made it a top priority to use techniques with the least risk to humans and wildlife, and are trying to use organically approved methods whenever possible.  In other recent pest outbreaks, such as the Medfly in Southern California, organic farms were sprayed with chemicals that caused them to be decertified.  Opponents to the spraying are saying that the organic rules were changed so that organic farms sprayed with this material would not lose their certification — this is simply untrue.  The pheromone product they chose  was already widely and successfully used by organic farmers to control numerous pests.

Is spraying the entire Bay Area going to control or eradicate the LBAM? I don’t know.  I am familiar with the pheromone spray they are using, and feel that it poses a minimal risk to most people, but it is true that the long-term health risks to humans are unknown.  I would be more comfortable seeing it used in a more targeted fashion, such as ground spraying.  But it is also important to note that many of the claims made by the anti-spray coalition about the dangers of the pheromone spray — such as bird and fish die-offs — are alarmist and have been disproven. 

Many contradictory facts and studies are being quoted by both sides in this debate about the pest itself:  how much damage it actually does, how long it has been established in this country, whether or not it can actually be contained or eradicated.  Despite this uncertainty, the anti-spraying groups insist that the LBAM pest is not a threat.  Unfortunately, the USDA does not agree, and has already declared the LBAM infected counties to be a quarantine zone.  If they decide that CDFA is not taking immediate action to respond to the outbreak and contain it, they can extend the quarantine area to include the agricultural area that surrounds the Bay Area.  Other countries are already considering doing so, and if they do, it will cause huge problems for agriculture in Northern California.  It is tremendously naïve of the spraying opponents to downplay these critical consequences.

The San Francisco Bay Area is known all over the world for the quality of its food.  But most of that food now comes from outside the area, from places like Yolo, Solano, San Joaquin, Monterey, and other rural counties.  It offends me to see “agriculture” referred to by the anti-spray groups in an antagonistic way.  I believe that the benefits accrued to all the millions of eaters around SF Bay from the food they receive from their local farmers needs to be weighed against the risks from the pheromone spray that CDFA hopes to use.

There is nothing positive about the arrival of the LBAM in Northern California.  But I think all Californians need to do their part to try to get rid of it.  If the government is going to spray — and they are — then we need to support efforts to use low-impact, low-toxicity methods to do it.

IN YOUR BOXES

Asparagus used to be associated with spring, but now we know that it’s “always spring somewhere in the world”, and the grassy green has become commonplace on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus.  But there are still some people who feel that freshly harvested asparagus in March, April, and May is a ritual of spring.  This year, local asparagus here in Yolo County gets started just in time for the Equinox.

We tried for many years to grow our own asparagus, but have now mostly given up.  While our climate and soil is perfect for growing many things, ‘gras is not one of them.  So we have resigned ourselves to bringing in asparagus for our subscribers from other local organic farmers who seem to be having more success with it.  You will see a bunch in your box most weeks for the next 6-8 weeks, depending on when the summer heat arrives and ends the local season.

Red Russian Kale is quite different from it’s cousin Dino Kale that you saw in your boxes this winter.  It has smoother leaves and a softer texture in addition to its reddish color.  Its primary benefit to us, though, is that it holds out far longer into the spring than the Dino Kale — resisting going to seed for as much as a month longer.  For you, it is just as packed with vitamins and minerals as its Italian cousin.

Kiwifruit helps us fill a gap in our fruit section in the late spring.  It is grown locally and harvested in December, then stored through the spring.  During the warm spring and summer months, I live on yogurt and granola with fruit.  Kiwis nicely occupy the niche that I will later fill with strawberries and peaches.  Meanwhile, the strawberry plants have started to flower, and if the weather cooperates, we’ll have our first ripe berries around the third week of April.

Please make sure to include your account name, the one on the sign off sheet ~ on the box, in every correspondance to Valerie

Recipes............................

Asparagus Noodle Salad — It’s gotten quite warm here the last few evenings; if that means it’s foggy in the Bay Area, you can make this dish as a stir fry instead, substituting a basic soy-flavored sauce mixture for the vinaigrette.
Snap the bottoms off 1 bunch of asparagus, then soak for a few minutes.  Thinly slice 1 leek.  Drain the asparagus and cut into 2 inch pieces.  Slice the thicker bottom pieces in half lengthwise.
Toss the vegetables in a bowl with 1 T. sesame oil, 2 T. lemon juice or rice vinegar, and some white pepper.
Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 400, turning once, until the asparagus is crisp tender.
Meanwhile, bring water to a boil and cook 12 oz.. Soba buckwheat noodles, following the directions on the package.  Drain and allow to cool.
Steam or microwave 1 bunch of red kale leaves, stems removed (alternatively, you can do spinach or cauliflower florets).  Rinse the kale with cold water, then squeeze to remove.
Make a dressing with 1 T. peanut or almond butter, 3 T. rice vinegar, 2 T. soy sauce, and 1 T. sesame oil.  If you have any green garlic, mince the leaves to make 2 T. and add to the dressing.
Toss the kale with the dressing first and allow to sit for 10 minutes, then add the pasta and oven-roasted veggies.

CSA membership fees ~payment due day is first of month.~~ Quarterly discounts are given for any 3 month period only if paid in advance.
They are given as an extra credit when the payment is applied, you won't see your monthly rate change.
 

For mid-month changes,  Up/downgrades are $5 per week per increment.  Small to large is $10.

Vacations ? Billing Inquiries
We need seven days notice before a vacation hold or other change of service.
Contact Valerie through voicemail at (530) 756-2800, or e-mail Goldenbell@aol.com.  Include your account name in full (what's on the sign off sheet).

Account Balance Inquiries The account sheet is hiding under the sign off sheet each week with your account balance on it.  Mid month I've been e-mailing statments, so if you're not getting it send me an e-mail requesting to be added to the list. To be able to read the statements you need to be logged in as an administrator on a PC, and virus programs may corrupt the file. Some Mac operating systems do allow the file to be viewed.  We can't resend them, and it wouldn't work any better the second time anyway.

MAILING ADDRESS:
Terra Firma Farms, Inc
P.O. Box 836
Winters, CA 95694
(530) 756-2800
www.terrafirmafarm.com
Goldenbell@aol.com

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