News from Terra Firma Farm

Most people take it for granted (TFF CSA subscribers excluded!) that they can walk into a supermarket and find just about any type of food they want, for a price that that isn't much different then it was last week or last year.
It's one thing to have cereal, bread, rice, or other grain products as well as dry beans available all the time. These crops are harvested once a year and stored for up to three years. Farmers and commodity traders worldwide have access to statistics on supply and demand of these crops, and this system has proven effective at feeding consumers in the developed world. Government subsidies for most of these crops have encouraged farmers to err on the side of overplanting, by guaranteeing a minimum payment. For decades, farmers in the U.S. have generally produced more of many commodity crops than necessary, while simultaneously cutting their costs and raising yields in an effort to stay in business.
    It now appears that this decades-long abundance is over, as China and India swallow up any excess crop production. With little or no crop surplus, any disruption in production anywhere in the world causes prices to spike for one or more commodities. Farmers can respond to this by switching acreage from one crop to another, but the USDA reported recently that there is very little productive land in the U.S. that isn't already being farmed. By this spring, most of that land will get planted. Bumper crops worldwide in 2011 could balance out supply and demand, but droughts or other disasters would cause prices to spike even more. Either way, in the near future, people might have to get used to seeing prices for their staple foods increasing.
SO WHAT ABOUT BROCCOLI?
There's no Broccoli Index at the Chicago commodities exchange, and vegetable growers don't get subsidies from the government the same way corn growers do. Yet you can go into a supermarket anywhere in the U.S. every day of the year and buy broccoli. Very little of it is imported: the majority of the nation's crop is grown right here in California. And although the price does move up and down depending on the weather, and is higher the farther it gets trucked from California, it is pretty consistent.
     The California broccoli industry accomplished this by developing numerous varieties of the crop and planting them in different areas of the state 12 months of the year. The crop is grown in cool coastal areas in the summer, in the Central Valley in the spring and fall, and in the Imperial valley in the winter. In this way, they have guaranteed that high quality fresh broccoli is available almost every day of the year.
    But California is not the only place where broccoli can be grown. So after decades of seeing the majority of the broccoli eaten there trucked 3,000 miles across the country, a coalition of farmers and researchers on the East Coast has started working to create a regional broccoli industry there. As reported in this week's Sacramento Bee, their goal is to develop new varieties that will allow them to grow the crop year-round, somewhere between Maine and Florida. It's a long-term project, no doubt, but one can only hope they get it figured out before the diesel used to transport the broccoli from California hits $10 a gallon.
In the future, all food -- from corn to broccoli -- is going to cost more as demand rises, the climate changes, and the fuel used to produce and transport it gets more expensive. As you probably know, I believe that locally grown food is the only answer to this dilemma, and I hope to see lots more governments and farmers taking on the challenge of feeding the world this "old new" way.

. Thanks,
Pablito

Restaurant-Supported Agriculture
In addition to our CSA, Terra Firma sells our produce to a number of restaurants in the Bay Area. Many of them have adapted their menus to our seasonal production, just as our CSA subscribers have adapted their diets. We always appreciate the chefs and restaurant owners who make the time to work directly with us when it is so much easier to order whatever they want from another supplier. So I was particularly amazed to learn recently about restaurants that are making an even larger commitment to support agriculture directly, whether by contracting in advance for a season's crop, or in at least one case starting their own farm.
During my recent visit to San Francisco, I ate dinner at the vegan Mexican restaurant Gracias Madre on Mission Street. The restaurant has its own organic farm that provides them with most of their produce, which turns out to be just a few miles down the road from TFF. They make delicious food based on traditional Mexican dishes but using mostly seasonal, locally grown produce. And rather than seek to hide the vegetables under heavy sauces or lots of cheese, they spotlight them using simple techniques and perfect seasoning. Their food is also reasonably priced. All in all, I left the restaurant inspired by their pioneering efforts to provide diners with affordable, delicious, locally grown, organic, nutritious and filling vegetarian/vegan food.

Vegetable Tacos. Gracias Madre makes delicious single-vegetable tacos with a variety of items, including winter squash, greens, and roasted peppers. The recipe below is my attempt to duplicate their dishes at home. You can also saute everything, but roasting allows you to cook multiple vegetables at the same time. This is a great way to feed a large group of people, but it also works to provide a small household with several days worth of food than can be pulled out of the fridge and heated up in just a few minutes. You can do just a few or all of the different vegetables. Organic California avocadoes are in season right now, but you can also make a traditional salsa with fresh or canned tomatoes if you prefer.

Heat the oven to 425.
Peel 1/2 of one butternut squash. Remove the seeds and slice the squash in pieces 1/2 inch by 2 inches. In a large bowl, combine 1 T. olive oil with 1 t. cumin powder, a dash of cayenne pepper, and salt.
Place the squash in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast on both sides until browned.

Trim 1 head of cauliflower and cut into florets, then slice the florets in half. Toss with 1 T. olive oil and salt, and arrange on a baking sheet. Roast until tender and brown. Toss with 2 T. minced green garlic and 3 T. lemon juice and roast for another 2 minutes.
Clean 1 or 2 leeks and julienne them into thin strips 2 inches long. Toss with olive oil, salt, sesame seeds, and pepper and roast or saute in a skillet until crispy.
Mash one avocado with lemon juice until you have a thick liquid. Add salt and fresh diced jalapeno or other hot pepper (optional) to taste.
Shred cabbage to make several cups.
Shred jack or cheddar cheese (vegan or regular)
Heat corn tortillas and fill them up with one or more vegetable, then top with cabbage and cheese and drizzle with the avo-salsa.