News from Terra Firma Farm

Boxes are charged on Monday for the week's deliveries at:

$14 Small
$24 Medium
$32 Large

For a payment of $300, get a 3% bonus. Your account balance will be $309.

For a payment of$850, get a 5% bonus. Your account will be posted as $892.00

For a payment of $1,400, get a 7% bonus. Your payment will be posted as $1,498.

Vacations are charged weekly when notice is given as a fee, no charges occur during the vacation week.

$4 Small
$8 Medium
$11 Large

Pledge of Authenticity

Terra Firma is a real farm. We grow 99% of the produce that goes into our boxes on our 220 acres of certified organic land in Winters. If we do buy produce from other farms, it's almost always from a neighboring farm and we give them full credit in the box list.
The owners of Terra Firma are involved in every aspect of making your boxes a reality: walking the fields, planting the crops, selecting and checking what goes in the boxes and finally delivering them to you. We eat the crops from our fields every day, just like you do. Thanks for supporting our efforts and enjoying the food we grow.
Paul, Pablito, & Hector

Payments, Billing, and Changes

Schedule vacations, change box sizes, make payments or sign up for autopay by logging in to your subscriber account at terrafirmafarm.com

News From Terra Firma Farm

Community Supported Agriculture

Greetings!

On this gorgeous sunny November day, there's activity all around the farm. Sure, we're busy here at Terra Firma harvesting crops for your boxes, planting a few last items, and digging our fall potatoes. But just next door, our neighbors are spreading compost on a conventional processing tomato field. And across the road, they're planting a cover crop in a young walnut orchard. The orchard is not organic.

In case my point is too subtle: all around us, conventional farmers are using techniques that just five years ago were almost exclusively done by organic farmers. Some of them farm small amounts of organic crops and have seen the positive results. Still others have seen their neighbors doing something and decided to give it a try.

Don't get me wrong. These farmers are not about to transition all their land to organic farming. They are simply cherry picking practices that they feel comfortable with. This is how change happens.

The reason I bring this up is because several subscribers have emailed me asking me about the Farm Bill -- the enormous federal legislation that funds everything from Food Stamps to direct subsidies to commodity grain farmers. A group of environmental, food justice, and sustainable agriculture advocates are lobbying hard to reform the Farm Bill this year. One of their goals is to increase funding for organic farming.

For the record, I don't believe in agricultural subsidies -- payments to growers simply for growing crops -- for anyone. I think the subsidies to corn, soybean and other commmodity growers should be eliminated. Now is a great time to do it, since farmers growing these crops are benefiting from high prices and strong demand right now.

And I really don't believe in subsidizing organic agriculture. Why? Because organic farmers and consumers have built a market without any help from the government. Subsidies tend to distort things like supply and demand. They would attract farmers who otherwise have no interest in organics, and would create alot more opportunities for fraud, necessitating harsher enforcement of organic standards. Finally, they would give naysayers yet another reason to dismiss organic farming as a fad, a trend, etc.

What I do believe in is rewarding and encouraging innovative and sustainable practices such as water conservation or cover crop planting. Many of these practices are cost-effective in the long run, but the upfront cost can be daunting for farmers who haven't tried them. The EQIP program in the Farm Bill provides cost sharing for such practices, and is popular with both farmers and environmentalists. If any part of the Farm Bill should continue to get funded, it should be programs like this.

Organic farmers are proud of what we have accomplished in the last 30 years, and you as organic consumers should be as well. Instead of advocating to get us a space at the federal funding trough, we should be demanding that the playing field be leveled and that conventional growers farm without subsidies. The ones who survive might just choose to go organic of their own volition. Or maybe they'll just spread compost and plant cover crops. Either way, the result would be a win for taxpayers with little risk to food security.

Thanks,

Pablito

Thanksgiving Delivery Schedule: Reminder
If you pick up your box on Thursday (SF) or Friday (Davis, Sacto), please note the following change: Your box will be delivered on Tuesday, November 22nd.

Wednesday boxes , you can skip to the next section of the newsletter. Your box will be delivered as usual on Weds., November 23rd.

If you plan on taking a vacation next week, you must let us know by Friday, November 18th.

Note: credits will not be issued for boxes delivered Thanksgiving week that are not picked up.

Thanksgiving Box Preview
We have done our best to draft a list of the items that will be going into your boxes next week for Thanksgiving. As always, I need to add the disclaimer that this list may change by the time you get your boxes:
Spinach, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes, Broccoli, Apples (All boxes)
Onions, Parsnips, Dino Kale (Medium and Large)
Delicata, Turnips (L)

We are keeping a close eye on the Satsuma Mandarins with the hope that they will ripen in time for us to include them in the boxes.

In Your Boxes
Escarole is a leafy green that is popular in European cuisine and which grows well in the fall here in Yolo County. It is a hardier, stronger flavored cousin of lettuce that can be eaten raw in salads or cooked lightly. Unlike most other greens, it has the ability to simultaneously absorb liquids without disintegrating, which is why it is often served cooked in soup or broth.
Escarole takes some care in washing, as grit tends to collect at the bases of the leaves. Before using, separate the leaves and soak them in water. Rinse each leaf and check the base for any dirt that may still be hiding there.
Arugula in today's boxes comes in a bunch, instead of loose in a bag. When the leaves are this size, they are perfect for "wilting": tossing with hot cooked items just before serving. Think pasta, roasted potatoes, pizza, etc. They also make a hardy substitute for lettuce leaves on your sandwich, guaranteed to stay crunchy while providing a nice flavor kick.
As I mentioned above, Satsuma Mandarins are taking their sweet time to ripen this year. Many subscribers will remember that harvest is normally in full swing by this time. We love them as much as you do, and hope to be picking and eating lots of them soon as we have a bumper crop on the trees.

Recipe -- Braised Carrots with Cumin and Red Pepper
This is from a New York Times collection of vegetable side dishes for Thanksgiving.
Trim 1 bunch of carrots and cut them in halves or quarters lengthwise.
Thinly slice 2 cloves of garlic.
Toast 1/4 t. cumin seed and grind it coarsely.
Heat 1 1/2 T. olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Add the carrots and turn to coat with oil, then salt generously. Add the garlic and 1 C. of water.
Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, raise the heat, and cook away any remaining liquid.
Sprinkle the cumin over the carrots along with 1/4 t. hot pepper flakes and 1/2 t. paprika.