This past week I spent some significant time learning about exotic, invasive species. Invasive species are non-native pests that make their way across the vast oceans to wreck havoc on us unfortunate farmers here in America. These pests have no natural predators here so they tend to multiply quickly and do a lot of damage before an outbreak is even recognized. And then it is frequently difficult to identify what caused the problem since the pest may never have been seen in this part of the world.
With the increase in global trade – especially when it comes to food – along with the cutbacks in government oversight of imports, invasive species are increasingly doing damage to our food system. This makes us farmers the last roadblock to their establishment as a source of frustration for future generations. And so I spent a couple of days this week learning as much as I could about these pests in case they show up here at our farm.
Some of the new exotic, invasive species are truly spectacular in both their ability to consume vast amounts of food and their frightening looks. I won’t go into all of them but just discuss a few of the more destructive.
The first and perhaps largest potential new pest is the lowland mountain gorilla. As you can see in the attached picture this gorilla is helping himself to a few stalks of celery and some greens. During my short 15 minutes of observation I witnessed him consuming the equivalent of one whole celery plant as well as two plants worth of a lettuce-like substance. I can only imagine the destruction a group of these creatures could inflict on an unsuspecting Midwest organic farmer.
The next non-native, invasive species I will bring to your attention is the stingray. As you can see from this photograph the stingray is consuming large amounts of romaine lettuce. In the past we had problems with deer eating our romaine but I have to say this stingray makes the deer look like a minor nuisance.
Of course you are all thinking, “Hey wait a minute Chris. How can fish and stingrays be bothersome to your farm? You don’t farm underwater.” That is a typical naïve question. Sure we grow our produce on land in the dirt. But what does dirt do? It makes things dirty. And how do you think we get the dirt off your broccoli and romaine? That’s right. We submerge it in our wash tanks. I can only imagine what would happen if we got a few of these stingrays, angelfish or even worse manatees setting up residence in our wash tanks. No more lettuce or broccoli.
Of course most of these pests haven’t made their way to Minnesota – yet. It will only be a matter of time though. So over the next few years those of us at the forefront of organic farming will need to determine organic methods for controlling and managing these pests. Otherwise I suspect it will be the end or organic farming as we know it.
Now a couple of very important messages:
EggShare
I’d like to announce our latest product EggShare. Since we have only 25 or so chickens and no room to add more to our coop, we have a limited number of EggShares to sell this year. EggShare will be an every other week program of one dozen eggs from our free-ranging, bug-eating, omnivorous chickens. The eggs come in multiple colors including white, brown, a lovely cream and a couple different shades of green. The sizes are also quite variable. The price is $45 for nine weeks of eggs. We are limited to 20 EggShares. Limit one per customer unless there isn’t enough demand. If you would like EggShare for the 2012 season please let me know ASAP.
CoffeeShare
I thought I would make a special announcement re: our CoffeeShare. CoffeeShare is a monthly delivery/pick-up of organic, fair-trade, sun-dried, shade-grown coffee from Velasquez Family Coffee. Everyone who has tried their coffee raves about it. They have many different blends and flavors. If you like coffee and want to support a small, family coffee business (Cathy and Guillermo live here in St. Paul and their extended family own the coffee farms in Honduras) please consider buying CoffeeShare. You can find an order form here.
Prorated Spring FruitShare
I just thought I would mention what we received in this week’s FruitShare. Perhaps it will entice a few more members to partake in the delicious fruit of the season. This week we received a pineapple, avocados, Pink Lady and Fuji apples, kumquats, navel and blood oranges. If you’d like to partake in delicious seasonal fruit please let me know and I can give you a prorated price for the rest of the spring season (until mid-June). We of course also have FruitShare coinciding with the VeggieShare season. Summer/Fall FruitShare is ten weeks of certified organic fruit from small, family orchards. It makes for a great add-on to the veggies. Let me know if you would like to add FruitShare to your VeggieShare.
Business Directory
We have our first two businesses in our member business directory. If you are looking to have some electrical work done or some nice flowers for an upcoming event, please consider hiring one or your fellow farm members! And if you have a small business and would like to get the word our to our members please send me an graphic and brief description along with contact information. Cost is just $25 for the year.
Herb Plants
Since it isn’t on the order form I thought I would mention we sell herb plants by the six pack. The herbs within the six pack do not have to be all the same. This is a great way to have fresh herbs all summer long (though of course you will get some with your VeggieShare as well). See Herb Plants for more details or Herb Order Form to order herbs (or just send me an email with your list of herbs).
Payments due this month
Just a reminder that for those who put down a deposit for veggies last fall, your final payment is due this month unless you arranged a payment plan. Payment for other resale shares (Meat, Cheese, Fruit, Coffee, etc.) is due at the end of May.
As always, if you have any questions do not hesitate to contact me. And if you don’t get a response please send out a search party. I may be tussling with a lowland mountain gorilla!