The twilight zombies are shuffling between coffee stands, the booths are breaking down, the weather has finally cleared, and I actually am leaving the conference with a potential job offer as a farm loan manager in Humboldt County Northern California.
Last night I declined the concert and dance and instead chose to pick out some tunes with a pianist, guitar, dobro, and banja player at the main hall.
As all small circles develop here, each player belonged to the same agriculture agency who works out of the same office in Davis that we might potentially occupy in the next few months as the FVC locates to a central location. With the our foreseen fiscal sponsorship, creation of our own non profit status, and potential funding from the VA, USDA, and foundation support we are well on our way to hopefully employing in the near future a staff consisting of a full time office manager, veteran outreach coordinator, as well as for our project directors position as farm adviser.
Its a wonderful feeling to be a part of something monumental from the ground up. Our organization has made incredible progress from this conference forging new connections, future projects, and most imminently leads to potential employment opportunities for our Farmer-Vets.
Alright, I'm bound to Santa Cruz later this afternoon, then later back to Berkeley to veg' out in the hotel for a day, get a full belly, a good nights rest, and start the race all over again for our planned activity at the Foreign Cinema restaurant on the 28th.
be well.
Damn Good Biking
Mammath Mountain
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Eco-Farm Conference Monterrey California Day 2
Waking up exhausted, hungry, and eager to begin a new day at Eco-Conference. Last night at our FVC mixer I learned the hard lesson of operating without sleep or food as the nasty consequence of being unable to hardly construct a coherent thought.
Today I awoke, stretched, and set up our table, then visited with Will Allen and his wife Kate. It was their farm in Vermont I worked on after Farm Aid which kicked off this intrepid wayfarer's incredible omnivores odyssey around the States, and now Mexico.
My activities after the event was consumed by operating our information booth, spreading the FVC gospel and pimping out our propaganda to willing listeners. The accomplishment of this activity was made in the payment of finding willing farm owners wishing to place our veterans on farms, as well as selling potentially two more tickets to our event on the 28th in San Francisco.
Again, I am bushed, so its time to take a little napsy poo.
Be well, I'm rolling strong with good vibrations
cheers.
Today I awoke, stretched, and set up our table, then visited with Will Allen and his wife Kate. It was their farm in Vermont I worked on after Farm Aid which kicked off this intrepid wayfarer's incredible omnivores odyssey around the States, and now Mexico.
My activities after the event was consumed by operating our information booth, spreading the FVC gospel and pimping out our propaganda to willing listeners. The accomplishment of this activity was made in the payment of finding willing farm owners wishing to place our veterans on farms, as well as selling potentially two more tickets to our event on the 28th in San Francisco.
Again, I am bushed, so its time to take a little napsy poo.
Be well, I'm rolling strong with good vibrations
cheers.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Eco-Farm Conference Monterrey California
Two weeks on the road, nearly 2,000 miles of diverse vegetations, and climate zones have passed beneath me. Each experiance has given me a nibble to add to the entire feast of turf swallowed up.
Currently I am at the Eco-Farm conference held at the ASILIMAR conference complexes where the most people of the highest levels of production and those aspiring to feed communities meet to conspire.
My day in large has been spent in conferences learning about the mysteries of the Farm Bill and its iniative to assist begining farmers. Considerable time and energy has been used to promote our project, and connect not only to potential future projects with other organizations but connecting to former and future members of the horticulture program which I will be attending in the Spring.
It seems I can't swing a stick without knocking into someone who has attended or is affiliated with the program. This experiance has emphasized my thoughts that this is the place for me to come to learn what I must to help feed communities.
Its 1739, I am utterly exhausted and in much need of a rest, food, and time to myself, in 5 minutes I leave to pack up our promotion table and move towards the next objective of our mixer at 2000. No sleep yet, I"ll likely skip dinner to rest, then hopefully the saga of making connections, and new friendships begins anew.
It seems our project has stormed the conference and not a wind blows without carrying the whisper of our project, this community supports us, new communities will as well, and I am all the happier for the path I have chosen to get to this point.
okay, I must go for now.
be well.
Currently I am at the Eco-Farm conference held at the ASILIMAR conference complexes where the most people of the highest levels of production and those aspiring to feed communities meet to conspire.
My day in large has been spent in conferences learning about the mysteries of the Farm Bill and its iniative to assist begining farmers. Considerable time and energy has been used to promote our project, and connect not only to potential future projects with other organizations but connecting to former and future members of the horticulture program which I will be attending in the Spring.
It seems I can't swing a stick without knocking into someone who has attended or is affiliated with the program. This experiance has emphasized my thoughts that this is the place for me to come to learn what I must to help feed communities.
Its 1739, I am utterly exhausted and in much need of a rest, food, and time to myself, in 5 minutes I leave to pack up our promotion table and move towards the next objective of our mixer at 2000. No sleep yet, I"ll likely skip dinner to rest, then hopefully the saga of making connections, and new friendships begins anew.
It seems our project has stormed the conference and not a wind blows without carrying the whisper of our project, this community supports us, new communities will as well, and I am all the happier for the path I have chosen to get to this point.
okay, I must go for now.
be well.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Matt McCue is starting his farm!!
Greetings everyone, this is something my fellow farmer-veteran, and Peace Corps-music cohort recently scribbled about his current predicament.
Its been a long journey for Matt, he's came a long way from being a soldier in Iraq to a young farmer starting out on his own. The only way to live is to find a passion, and suck the marrow out of it. America, meet one of its heroes.
Soil tests, water tests, lease agreements, loans, co signers, bankers, and letters of intent.
These are things that flow through my mind as I search for the piece of land that will produce the food that will sustain my life and career; food that will become a small piece of the backbone of the bay.
Upon completion of every financial form imaginable I dream of bringing seeds to the soil. They will come alive and convert sunlight into sugar molecules. I will grow them in straight rows and space the plants in such a way that I can weed them mechanically.
In a few months I will become a part of a living system that will involve water reservoirs, underground pipes, filters, hose fittings, heavy machinery, light machinery, and plastic drip tape. All this technology and industry is built to catch the power of the spring and summer. Every agricultural machine ever made is a subservient juggernaut waiting for the days to become longer and the spring to come.
I will search Berkeley and the East Bay for our 150 CSA member quota. I will make it work because that is what I do. Horticulturist, Mechanic, and Businessman are some of the hats I have to wear; keeping the dream alive through soil tests, water tests, lease agreements, loans, co signers, bankers, and letters of intent.
Matt Mccue
Shooting Star CSA
Its been a long journey for Matt, he's came a long way from being a soldier in Iraq to a young farmer starting out on his own. The only way to live is to find a passion, and suck the marrow out of it. America, meet one of its heroes.
Soil tests, water tests, lease agreements, loans, co signers, bankers, and letters of intent.
These are things that flow through my mind as I search for the piece of land that will produce the food that will sustain my life and career; food that will become a small piece of the backbone of the bay.
Upon completion of every financial form imaginable I dream of bringing seeds to the soil. They will come alive and convert sunlight into sugar molecules. I will grow them in straight rows and space the plants in such a way that I can weed them mechanically.
In a few months I will become a part of a living system that will involve water reservoirs, underground pipes, filters, hose fittings, heavy machinery, light machinery, and plastic drip tape. All this technology and industry is built to catch the power of the spring and summer. Every agricultural machine ever made is a subservient juggernaut waiting for the days to become longer and the spring to come.
I will search Berkeley and the East Bay for our 150 CSA member quota. I will make it work because that is what I do. Horticulturist, Mechanic, and Businessman are some of the hats I have to wear; keeping the dream alive through soil tests, water tests, lease agreements, loans, co signers, bankers, and letters of intent.
Matt Mccue
Shooting Star CSA
Friday, January 9, 2009
Harvesting Ties With Afganistan
Hello all, been out of the picture for a while. Thought I would observe the world for a while instead of write about it. Here is a fantastic article, enjoy. Today my task is to communicate with these people mentioned and see what our organization can do to potentially start sending our farmer veterans to Iraq and Afghanistan in the next coming years.
A good place to begin reconciliation would be the dinner table, wouldn't you agree?
Without further adieu.....
Harvesting ties with Afghanistan
By Tom Vanden Brook - USA TODAY
Posted : Wednesday Dec 31, 2008 8:10:28 EST
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Growing up on a farm with no electricity or indoor plumbing in the rolling, wooded hills of southwestern Wisconsin may be the best training Col. Martin Leppert could have had for what he’s facing here.
Leppert leads the new National Guard program, spearheaded by farmer-soldiers from middle America, to teach Afghans how to bolster their yields from crops and livestock.
“I can appreciate what they’re going through,” he says. “I had a little Afghan experience in my own upbringing. It’s hard living.”
In Afghanistan, eight of 10 workers scratch a living from the bleak landscape. Just 12 percent of the land in a country about the size of Texas can support crops. Devastating droughts are common here; overgrazing has depleted pastures. Small improvements can help make farming more viable, Leppert says. They also can help wean some farmers off opium poppies, which feed the heroin trade and in turn nourish militants such as the Taliban.
The war in Afghanistan, says Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, will be won in rural areas with programs like the Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team effort. Such aid will be as important as bullets, he says. Afghans won’t reject the fundamentalist Muslim Taliban and the narcotics trade until they feel more secure and see government efforts to improve their lives.
“These are the tactics that have been responsible for virtually every modern success in irregular warfare, and the Guard’s efforts are an example of the only path to success,” he says.
The National Guard’s teams began deploying here this year. The program is based on efforts over the past 20 years by the Guardsmen to improve farming in Central and South America.
Gen. David McKiernan, the top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, calls the program “tremendous” and salutes the Guardsmen.
“They bring with them sometimes experience and skill sets that are absolutely needed in this country,” he says.
The focus is in eastern and central Afghanistan. Guardsmen from eight states — Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas — have been involved or are sending soldiers. One month of training is followed by 11 months in the field.
The teams assess farmers’ needs and often ask for a small plot of land to show them how new practices can increase their harvests.
Near Bagram, farmers have been growing grapes on mounds of earth for generations. The grapes lay on the soil, limiting yields, exposing them to contamination from fertilizer and slurping up water that has been sluiced to them in trenches.
The teams taught them to build trellises and train the vines to climb off the ground and irrigation techniques to reduce the amount of water needed.
“We’re here to provide Afghan solutions to Afghan problems,” Leppert says.
It helps, says Col. Rondal Turner, chief of staff of the Kentucky National Guard, that many Guardsmen are a little older, a little more mature than most soldiers. He finds that language and cultural barriers erode quickly.
“This fits so well with our people, our soldiers,” Turner says. “A lot of our folks are part-time farmers. We have orchards and vineyards, tobacco, corn and wheat back home just like this.”
He met recently with village elders to discuss how the Kentucky Guardsmen could help.
“I had a flashback to when I was a kid when all the old farmers talked about what worked and what didn’t at the country store,” he says. “You have that common bond with them. They’re decent farmers. They want to increase their yields.”
Lt. Col. Howard Schauer of the Nebraska National Guard has worked as a farmhand and a state meat inspector. One of the biggest challenges for Afghan farmers, he says, is that decades of conflict have destroyed farming traditions. Prior to Soviet occupation in 1979 and the civil war that followed, Afghanistan could feed itself and export crops. Today, the country must import wheat and many citizens rely on international aid programs for food, according to the State Department.
“They lost a whole generation of farmers with 30 years of war,” Schauer says. “A lot of them knew how to farm by watching their fathers and grandfathers. That disappeared. Our challenge is to show them benefits. They’re hard workers, very hard workers and they’re not dumb by any stretch of the imagination.”
They need help, he says, planting the right grasses for livestock to graze on. “Right now, you’ve got a weed that barely a goat would eat,” he says.
Afghanistan remains an exquisitely dangerous place for Afghans and the Guardsmen working with them. Leppert says security forces make up more than half of each team of about 50 soldiers. But working in the field and sharing risk is critical.
“I never look at Afghans as the enemy,” Leppert says. “‘Prove me wrong’ ” is my motto. You’re not going to trust me unless I’m out there with you, if I don’t sit down and have chai with you, just be a human being with these people. We’re diplomats of the United States.”
Still, he says, his soldiers wouldn’t hesitate to use their weapons.
“We’re like the Peace Corps with an attitude,” he says.
A good place to begin reconciliation would be the dinner table, wouldn't you agree?
Without further adieu.....
Harvesting ties with Afghanistan
By Tom Vanden Brook - USA TODAY
Posted : Wednesday Dec 31, 2008 8:10:28 EST
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — Growing up on a farm with no electricity or indoor plumbing in the rolling, wooded hills of southwestern Wisconsin may be the best training Col. Martin Leppert could have had for what he’s facing here.
Leppert leads the new National Guard program, spearheaded by farmer-soldiers from middle America, to teach Afghans how to bolster their yields from crops and livestock.
“I can appreciate what they’re going through,” he says. “I had a little Afghan experience in my own upbringing. It’s hard living.”
In Afghanistan, eight of 10 workers scratch a living from the bleak landscape. Just 12 percent of the land in a country about the size of Texas can support crops. Devastating droughts are common here; overgrazing has depleted pastures. Small improvements can help make farming more viable, Leppert says. They also can help wean some farmers off opium poppies, which feed the heroin trade and in turn nourish militants such as the Taliban.
The war in Afghanistan, says Anthony Cordesman, a military analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, will be won in rural areas with programs like the Guard’s Agribusiness Development Team effort. Such aid will be as important as bullets, he says. Afghans won’t reject the fundamentalist Muslim Taliban and the narcotics trade until they feel more secure and see government efforts to improve their lives.
“These are the tactics that have been responsible for virtually every modern success in irregular warfare, and the Guard’s efforts are an example of the only path to success,” he says.
The National Guard’s teams began deploying here this year. The program is based on efforts over the past 20 years by the Guardsmen to improve farming in Central and South America.
Gen. David McKiernan, the top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, calls the program “tremendous” and salutes the Guardsmen.
“They bring with them sometimes experience and skill sets that are absolutely needed in this country,” he says.
The focus is in eastern and central Afghanistan. Guardsmen from eight states — Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas — have been involved or are sending soldiers. One month of training is followed by 11 months in the field.
The teams assess farmers’ needs and often ask for a small plot of land to show them how new practices can increase their harvests.
Near Bagram, farmers have been growing grapes on mounds of earth for generations. The grapes lay on the soil, limiting yields, exposing them to contamination from fertilizer and slurping up water that has been sluiced to them in trenches.
The teams taught them to build trellises and train the vines to climb off the ground and irrigation techniques to reduce the amount of water needed.
“We’re here to provide Afghan solutions to Afghan problems,” Leppert says.
It helps, says Col. Rondal Turner, chief of staff of the Kentucky National Guard, that many Guardsmen are a little older, a little more mature than most soldiers. He finds that language and cultural barriers erode quickly.
“This fits so well with our people, our soldiers,” Turner says. “A lot of our folks are part-time farmers. We have orchards and vineyards, tobacco, corn and wheat back home just like this.”
He met recently with village elders to discuss how the Kentucky Guardsmen could help.
“I had a flashback to when I was a kid when all the old farmers talked about what worked and what didn’t at the country store,” he says. “You have that common bond with them. They’re decent farmers. They want to increase their yields.”
Lt. Col. Howard Schauer of the Nebraska National Guard has worked as a farmhand and a state meat inspector. One of the biggest challenges for Afghan farmers, he says, is that decades of conflict have destroyed farming traditions. Prior to Soviet occupation in 1979 and the civil war that followed, Afghanistan could feed itself and export crops. Today, the country must import wheat and many citizens rely on international aid programs for food, according to the State Department.
“They lost a whole generation of farmers with 30 years of war,” Schauer says. “A lot of them knew how to farm by watching their fathers and grandfathers. That disappeared. Our challenge is to show them benefits. They’re hard workers, very hard workers and they’re not dumb by any stretch of the imagination.”
They need help, he says, planting the right grasses for livestock to graze on. “Right now, you’ve got a weed that barely a goat would eat,” he says.
Afghanistan remains an exquisitely dangerous place for Afghans and the Guardsmen working with them. Leppert says security forces make up more than half of each team of about 50 soldiers. But working in the field and sharing risk is critical.
“I never look at Afghans as the enemy,” Leppert says. “‘Prove me wrong’ ” is my motto. You’re not going to trust me unless I’m out there with you, if I don’t sit down and have chai with you, just be a human being with these people. We’re diplomats of the United States.”
Still, he says, his soldiers wouldn’t hesitate to use their weapons.
“We’re like the Peace Corps with an attitude,” he says.
Friday, December 12, 2008
HOLY SHIT!
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, HOLY SHIT!!SHIT!! SHIT!!SHIT!!
I'm in.
In what you ask?
CASFS BABY!!!!!
Center for Agricology and Sustainable Food Systems!!!!
I can't quite explain how euphoric I feel at this moment, its like getting into the Peace Corps, better than getting out of the Army, but not as much as getting engaged earlier this year...but how is this all related?
Its another step towards my dream not only to live back on my farm, but to feed communities and provide to my family.
Sooooooo it looks like this year is going to be another that I won't break that $15,000 annual income mark, BUT, I'm attending the Harvard of Horticulture.
I"ll make my millions later.
Be in peace everyone, I am truly a happy happy happy little boy!!!
Man, whatever.
I'm in.
In what you ask?
CASFS BABY!!!!!
Center for Agricology and Sustainable Food Systems!!!!
I can't quite explain how euphoric I feel at this moment, its like getting into the Peace Corps, better than getting out of the Army, but not as much as getting engaged earlier this year...but how is this all related?
Its another step towards my dream not only to live back on my farm, but to feed communities and provide to my family.
Sooooooo it looks like this year is going to be another that I won't break that $15,000 annual income mark, BUT, I'm attending the Harvard of Horticulture.
I"ll make my millions later.
Be in peace everyone, I am truly a happy happy happy little boy!!!
Man, whatever.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Its begining to feel a lot like a wayfarer's christmas!!!
Greetings all wayfarer's, especially those near Kansas City
I'm almost home, needless to say, totally excited to be coming home after such a brief but intense trip around California and Baja Mexico.
One step forward, one step back, but eventually a kid always finds himself back home right?
A new mandolin has been ordered and is waiting for me at my moms, thanks to the help of some very nice people, I am utterly grateful for their help, and love you all.
My first day of arriving to Berkeley I walked about 6-7 miles round trip to play mandolins at a music store. One of the people working was a local singer-song writer and he sat down to play with me, we shared an exchange of songs, his much better, Man my tail was waging! I was just stoked to play again. For what its worth, I held my own, well however much someone can with 2-1/2 years of experience compared to his 15-20.
I've said it many times, I can be stranded anywhere with no id's, money, or home and be fine, but I start stressing when I don't have a mandolin to sing the blues, or highlight the good times. No bueno!!
For the last couple weeks I've only had one harmonica in the key of Bminor, boo!
Yesterday the boss and I caught a meeting between innings at the big league ball field of California agriculture. Salinas.
Salinas Kansas?
No silly billy's Salinas California!
Imagine a place that feeds a large portion of the United States as well as pockets of the world, but ultimately doesn't feed its own population.
How is this possible? Its like living next to a well, but never being allowed to take a drink.
Disparities in our culture force me to consider what my villagers back in Niger would think about this absurdity.
If there is food, the community prospers, kids study and go to school, mothers watch their families grow, and fathers are proud to provide for their own tribe.
Imagine that.
Aside from this paradox, it was wonderful to crash a meeting with some of state and national leaders in Agriculture. Similar to jamming with a pro' at the music store, the tail was wagging. It is really gratifying to be able to rip off a good riff or pop a good question or opportunity arises.
At this point I feel to be exactly where I should be, I am a geek about agriculture, history, and I don't know social Darwinism, and the thought of being in a place that will someday be compared with the ancient Aztec floating gardens that essentially supported the entire empire from farmers. (Xochimilico MX, so been there) Yet members of its community starve, this deeply perplexes me .
Or how about the fertile crescent, which was known to feed a lion's share of the masses during that period in history, pretty much all of the known world. Nothing big.
What's my part? Who knows of any, and we'll wait and see how it will play out, but hopefully I'm connecting with the folk in this historical region as well as others to help make possible the means for the next generation of farmers able to feed our communities .
Again, here I am back in Berkeley, a hiccup of humanity, a pleasant reshuffling of the masses through a interconnected diaspora that has swept the modern world.
Yesterday, the boss and I went to eat at a Indian-Pakistan resteraunt…..yes I typed it right.
Imagine that, maybe there is hope in humanity, what does it say about our species ability to put aside their differences. Especially in these times when the atrocities of the recent Mumbai attacks is the irritant beneath escalating tensions between the two States.
Not only did both parties agree to the horror of this event, but they came to together as neighbors, and met on a common ground. The dinner table.
Do you see the peace and strength in this?
I'm almost home, sit tight, and see you all soon.
Allah Kiraye!
I'm almost home, needless to say, totally excited to be coming home after such a brief but intense trip around California and Baja Mexico.
One step forward, one step back, but eventually a kid always finds himself back home right?
A new mandolin has been ordered and is waiting for me at my moms, thanks to the help of some very nice people, I am utterly grateful for their help, and love you all.
My first day of arriving to Berkeley I walked about 6-7 miles round trip to play mandolins at a music store. One of the people working was a local singer-song writer and he sat down to play with me, we shared an exchange of songs, his much better, Man my tail was waging! I was just stoked to play again. For what its worth, I held my own, well however much someone can with 2-1/2 years of experience compared to his 15-20.
I've said it many times, I can be stranded anywhere with no id's, money, or home and be fine, but I start stressing when I don't have a mandolin to sing the blues, or highlight the good times. No bueno!!
For the last couple weeks I've only had one harmonica in the key of Bminor, boo!
Yesterday the boss and I caught a meeting between innings at the big league ball field of California agriculture. Salinas.
Salinas Kansas?
No silly billy's Salinas California!
Imagine a place that feeds a large portion of the United States as well as pockets of the world, but ultimately doesn't feed its own population.
How is this possible? Its like living next to a well, but never being allowed to take a drink.
Disparities in our culture force me to consider what my villagers back in Niger would think about this absurdity.
If there is food, the community prospers, kids study and go to school, mothers watch their families grow, and fathers are proud to provide for their own tribe.
Imagine that.
Aside from this paradox, it was wonderful to crash a meeting with some of state and national leaders in Agriculture. Similar to jamming with a pro' at the music store, the tail was wagging. It is really gratifying to be able to rip off a good riff or pop a good question or opportunity arises.
At this point I feel to be exactly where I should be, I am a geek about agriculture, history, and I don't know social Darwinism, and the thought of being in a place that will someday be compared with the ancient Aztec floating gardens that essentially supported the entire empire from farmers. (Xochimilico MX, so been there) Yet members of its community starve, this deeply perplexes me .
Or how about the fertile crescent, which was known to feed a lion's share of the masses during that period in history, pretty much all of the known world. Nothing big.
What's my part? Who knows of any, and we'll wait and see how it will play out, but hopefully I'm connecting with the folk in this historical region as well as others to help make possible the means for the next generation of farmers able to feed our communities .
Again, here I am back in Berkeley, a hiccup of humanity, a pleasant reshuffling of the masses through a interconnected diaspora that has swept the modern world.
Yesterday, the boss and I went to eat at a Indian-Pakistan resteraunt…..yes I typed it right.
Imagine that, maybe there is hope in humanity, what does it say about our species ability to put aside their differences. Especially in these times when the atrocities of the recent Mumbai attacks is the irritant beneath escalating tensions between the two States.
Not only did both parties agree to the horror of this event, but they came to together as neighbors, and met on a common ground. The dinner table.
Do you see the peace and strength in this?
I'm almost home, sit tight, and see you all soon.
Allah Kiraye!
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