This past week, we had two very different groups of students on the farm. Early in the week a small class of UC Davis Vet students were here to check out our chicken operation. It is always interesting to hear what they have to say about what they see on our farm. The primary questions they ask are around the topic of disease prevention and treatments. How do we treat, how do we prevent? We so seldom have issues with our birds, it isn’t much of a problem for us. The houses, the nest boxes, watering systems are all sanitized. We move the birds onto some fresh pasture, add rosemary extract to their water, along with grapefruit seed extract and sometimes Rescue Remedy. This all seems to do the trick. Of course, we have also sent birds to Davis to be tested to find out what happened to them, but so far nothing really serious has occurred. I think they were surprised by all of this because it is fairly different from what they are taught and experience. How much of a difference does it make that our birds live outside in the fresh air, roaming the pasture, eating plants and bugs? Our girls look really happy, and healthy.
On Thursday a group of 6th graders from Prospect Sierra in El Cerrito came for a visit. They do a large farming project every year, and part of the visit includes an interview of the farmer. They come prepared with questions and followed a specific format. We all sat around my kitchen table while they interviewed me. One of the questions they asked was what is my favorite thing to do on the farm? My answer was quick and simple, “this; what we are doing right now”. For me, there is no greater joy than sharing with our young friends the importance of eating fresh food. Explaining the freedom and joy one gets from knowing how to cook, and how that ability can literally change your life, is one of the most important things I can do with my life. We live in a world that constantly tells us cooking is drudgery, it is too expensive to eat healthy, buy this cheap unhappy meal instead. Share family time together while everyone eats their own frozen meal. And by the way, kids don’t like vegetables.
We have a lot of loud voices to overcome to make change, but working with young people is the best way I know to get there. Showing kids around the farm and letting them taste vegetables like chard and kale, that they just picked out in the field, opens their mind to completely new experiences. Set them loose in a strawberry field and tell them “YES, eat as many as you want!” Well, that is life changing. just ask the many young CSA members who come up every year for Strawberry Day, they know!