Cold Hard Facts
When customers and friends ask us, “How’s everything going at the farm,”
we usually relay a story about something dominating our decision making on that
day, but truthfully, sometimes it’s hard to know how everything is actually
going in the bigger picture. We see the size and quality of the produce coming
out of the fields, and we see the health of the animals as they graze, but we
also keep a lot of records at Elmwood Stock Farm to track our many enterprises.
Every day, we have a list of what and how much to pick and pack to fill
CSA shares, or take to a farmers market, or supply a special order. This list
becomes a production and harvest record. But, tracking where the product went,
and at what price, is a bit trickier. About 18 months ago, we invested in a
point-of-sale system, called ShopKeep, to use at the farm and farmers markets
in order to track vegetable and meat inventory and sales. Once product
information is entered into the program, we can sort distribution by product,
by location, by date, etc. We can
actually trace your veggies back to a particular row in a particular field. If
you see us punching in your order at the market, that informs our
decision-making later on—for example, we now know things like salad mix sells
better than heads of lettuce at certain markets while vice versa at others—and
lets us know how our meat inventory is looking, rather than having to count
individual packages like we used to.
Eggs are counted as they are gathered so we can estimate our rate of lay
(how many of our pasture-based hens are laying an egg every day.) After cleaning
and candling, we record how many dozens are packaged. If more eggs than usual
are cracked or otherwise unsaleable, we know there may be a feed issue or an
egg-handling problem.
None of these records help us to know if any of these individual
enterprises are profitable. We keep all sorts of other records for that. All of
us at the farm track what we did throughout the day: How much time was spent
picking/washing/packing each of our 30+ food crops? How much time is spent
prepping for or delivering CSA shares? We put this data into Veggie Compass, a
software developed by Jim Munsch and the good folks at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, which tells us our profitability for each crop or
enterprise. Before this software, farmers with such diverse offerings as ours
found it next to impossible to determine profitability on a crop-for-crop
basis. We are investing quite a bit of staff time to generate good data to
analyze, but we are already reaping the rewards of better decision-making by
doing so.
Some of us may bristle up when we hear growers say they are not
certified organic “because of all the records they make you keep.” This
information is required for organic certification, sure, but we keep these
records because we need to know the details anyway, certified or not, as a
matter of good farming and good business.
As if those were not enough records, we are also in our third year as a
farm cooperator on a University of Georgia and UK energy study. For them, we
track fuel usage and all off-farm inputs—everything we purchase. Plus,
everyone’s work is rated on its level of strenuousness. This all goes into
their modeling software to evaluate how much energy various farming systems use
to produce a calorie of food. It will take a few more years of data before any
firm conclusions can be derived, however our energy efficiency ratio is
“looking good” in very unscientific terminology.
So, now you may understand why we give a wry smile when asked, “How's
everything going at the farm?” We know some things to be great. We know some
things need attention. We know we’re going to know later but not right now
because we have to wait for the data. As food farmers, we will make emotional
decisions to grow some of the tasty treats you eat (such as organic
strawberries), even if the numbers don’t add up. But we continue to explore new
production techniques, as well as trial new varieties, to try to make sure they
do.
In Your Share:
Beets
Broccoli
Carrots
Lettuce
Onions
Spinach
Kale Greens
Recipes
Broccoli Spanikopita, from Steamy Kitchen
You can add chopped, cooked spinach or kale to this take
on spanikopita to pack a mix of veggies into this Greek-inspired recipe.
2 T. olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 head broccoli, finely chopped
pinch ground nutmeg
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
3/4 c. feta cheese
1 egg, whisked
20 sheets filo dough (about 1/2 package), covered with
barely-damp towel
4 T. melted butter
Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Swirl in
olive oil and sauté the onions until transluscent. Add garlic and broccoli and
sauté for 3 minutes, or until broccoli is just starting to get tender but still
bright green. Season with nutmeg, salt, pepper and lemon juice. Remove from
heat and let cool until no longer steaming. Stir in egg and feta cheese.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lay 1 filo sheet on clean
surface. Brush completely with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top. Spoon 2
tablespoons of broccoli filling 1" from the bottom edge, in the center.
Fold the left side of the filo sheet over, then fold the right side over. Fold
the bottom edge toward the top and roll. Place on baking sheet, seam-side down.
Brush the top with melted butter. Repeat with remaining to make 10 rolls. Bake
20 minutes or until tops are golden brown and crispy.
Black Rice, Beet and Kale
Salad, adapted from The New York
Times
This recipe uses black rice, but you can substitute wild
rice or another grain. Add goat cheese, feta or plain greek yogurt as a
topping.
Salad:
1 lb. beets, halved
⅔ c. uncooked black rice (sometimes called "forbidden
rice")
1 ⅓ c. water
½ c. pecans, roughly chopped
2 c. packed, shredded raw kale
Dressing:
2 T. apple cider vinegar
2 T. flaxseed or extra-virgin olive oil
1 T. whole-grain mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried thyme (whole, not ground)
1 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste
pepper, to taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Roast beets in a foil
packet for 1 1/2 hours, until tender. Cool until comfortable to handle. Cut
beets into bite-sized pieces or wedges. Add to a large bowl.
In a medium pot, add rice and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover
and cook 40 to 45 minutes. Fluff with a fork and add to beets, along with kale
and pecans.
In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients or shake in a jar. Add
to salad. Toss to combine, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
(Overnight is best.) Before serving, taste and adjust seasoning, if desired. This
salad will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Beet
Hummus, adapted from The Picnic
Even if you don’t like beets or you don’t like
hummus, you owe it to yourself to try this as a snack or appetizer! This dip
will keep for a week in the refrigerator.
2 medium red beets
1 ¾ c. cooked chickpeas
3 T. tahini
juice of 1 large lemon
2 T. water
1 large garlic clove, smashed
1 tsp. fine sea salt
extra-virgin olive oil
chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Preheat the oven to 375° F. Wrap beets in aluminum
foil and place in the oven in a small baking dish. Roast until very tender when
pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Unwrap the foil and set beets aside to cool.
Once cool enough to handle, peel and coarsely chop.
Put beets, chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, water,
garlic and salt in a food processor and purée until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes. On
serving plate, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with crusty bread or fresh
vegetables.
