Happenings on the Ranch

Just had to snap a picture of our meal tonight.  Now this is truly a homegrown meal!  Pasture-raised roasted chicken with stuffed bell peppers over spinach pasta.  Peppers were stuffed with ground pork, fresh herbs, tomatoes, potatoes and onions topped with melted cheese.  There was not a single thing on these plates that didn’t come from our farm, which makes it just that much more satisfying.  Yummo!!

Speaking of farm fresh, I anticipate we will have a ton of beans – green, purple and wax –  ready this week along with the much anticipated sweet corn!  It’s been a rough road for both so I’ll be happy to finally share these goodies with all of you (and eat them, too, of course).

See you at market!

~Karin

As I sat here taking a break after harvesting before getting ready to finish grading eggs and pack up for farmer’s market this afternoon, I was trying to think of a topic to write about.  As I bit into my sandwich it hit me.  No, the sandwich didn’t hit me (although my food has been known to fight back on occasion); the idea hit me.  I am thoroughly enjoying this sandwich.  And it’s because it’s homegrown and fresh.

It’s just a simple sandwich of salami, cheese, mayo and mustard with onion and tomato.  But it tastes fantastic!  There’s nothing better than homegrown produce and these are no exception.  They make a plain ol’ sammy taste like a gourmet meal.  Of course, the fact that I refuse to eat tomatoes in the off-season (unless they are our canned tomatoes) may have something to do with it.  When you’re starved for something I guess it may seem that much better when you finally have it.  But I think I’m right, and many of you will agree, when I say fresh, vine-ripened tomatoes and just-dug onions can’t be beat.  Nor can cruchy right-off-the-vine cucumbers or tender baby zucchini.

I was going to take a picture of my sandwich for you … but it’s already gone.   ~Karin

The ciy of Drexel, MO last week had to, once again, issue an order for residents not to use their water in any way, shape or form – even if boiled.  It seems that every year after any heavy rains routine testing of their water turns up high levels of the weed killer, atrazine.  The most recent test in mid-June showed the atrazine level to be 10 times the EPA “safe” level.

Atrazine, made by Syngenta, is the most widely used herbicide in the country.  Run off from its use has long been a problem in ground water supplies  and can be carried up to 600 miles on the wind.  Here’s the kicker; it has been found (even in low concentrations) to lower sperm counts for men and increase the risk of breast cancer and fertility problems in women. When tested on frogs, it was even powerful enough to turn males into functional females.  And it’s okay to spray this stuff on our food supply?

Which begs the question, if it’s okay to spray it on our food why is it not okay to drink it, bathe in it or wash dishes with it?  Seems like quite a contradiction to me.  But now, cities are fighting back. Sixteen cities in Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, and Iowa have filed a lawsuit demanding that Syngenta pay for removal of atrazine from public water systems. It’s estimated the cities involved have spent more than $350 million trying to filter the herbicide from their water.

Apparantly it’s not even a particularly effective herbicide.   Even the USDA concedes that banning atrazine would reduce agricultural productivity by just 1.2 percent.  So why haven’t they just banned it?

Syngenta, obviously, says they haven’t done anything wrong since the EPA approved the use of atrazine in 2006.  Of course, this was two solid years after the European Union banned its use completely.  Somebody please remind me of what the job of the EPA is.  Doesn’t seem to me like they are doing a good job of protecting the environment or us.