in the fields's picture
by: in the fields

In June of 2009, my family and I moved to 20 acres south of Minneapolis. We are working slowly to start a sustainable farm. During our first summer, we sold about 50 pasture-raised meat chickens, and we plan to sell many more this summer. Within the next several years, we hope to put all of our tillable land into pasture for livestock, and we're also hoping to grow and sell Vegetables. Our farm is called Fields of Light.

My greatest victory: 

Buying the farm and having enough faith to slowly learn how to be a farmer.

My signature wrestling move: 
Listening
Favorite movies: 
Sweet Land
Inspirational reading: 

Testament of Devotion by Thomas Kelley

Where I buy groceries: 
Just Foods Co-Op
Groups I belong to: 
Land Stewardship Project
Sustainable Farming Association
Interests: 
Sustainable farming
traditional food preservation
My website: 
Go to the fields
in the fields
In a room full of farmers
in the fields
For the past six weeks, I spent every Wednesday with a group of farm women who wanted to learn about financial management. There were several organic farmers, a horse farmer, conventional dairy farmers, and a strong representation of corn and soybean farmers. Although I have been ...
in the fields
Scared of my soup
in the fields
  I like to make chicken stock from scratch, letting it simmer for a whole day while the house fills with its delicious smell. Chicken feet are supposed to make soup broth nutritious and tasty, so when we ...
in the fields
Well, probably not
in the fields
I was telling my mother again about the microbes that live in soil, because really, who does not enjoy chatting on the phone about the germs that live in dirt? Microbes help plants draw nutrition they need from the soil and they protect plants from disease, I said. When ...
in the fields
Not signing my name
in the fields
I registered with the Farm Service Agency last week. We talked on the phone couple of times before I set up an appointment, and showed up at their office to sign some papers. When I arrived, they had pulled information about our property and had drawn up the necessary ...
in the fields
Spreadsheets
in the fields
...
in the fields
Tasting the soil
in the fields
Billions of microbes live in organically farmed soil, I bubbled to my mother. They change the soil so that it's more resistant to drought! They help feed the plants, and they help keep diseases away from plants’ roots! My mother is not keenly interested in soil or microbes, ...
in the fields
Hi Elenabella
in the fields
Thank you so much for the encouragement. I don't know of a growers' group like that here. How neat!
in the fields
In a room full of farmers
in the fields
in the fields
In a room full of farmers
in the fields

For the past six weeks, I spent every Wednesday with a group of farm women who wanted to learn about financial management. There were several organic farmers, a horse farmer, conventional dairy farmers, and a strong representation of corn and soybean farmers. Although I have been to a number of sustainable farming conferences and classes, I had never been in a class with both conventional and alternative farmers, and it felt really important to me.

 

in the fields
Scared of my soup
in the fields

 

I like to make chicken stock from scratch, letting it simmer for a whole day while the house fills with its delicious smell. Chicken feet are supposed to make soup broth nutritious and tasty, so when we had our own birds processed, I requested that the feet be saved. There they were when I went to pick up my chickens – about 90 chicken feet divided between two clear plastic bags. 

in the fields
Well, probably not
in the fields

I was telling my mother again about the microbes that live in soil, because really, who does not enjoy chatting on the phone about the germs that live in dirt? Microbes help plants draw nutrition they need from the soil and they protect plants from disease, I said. When those microbes are dead, then the plants growing in that soil need a lot of chemicals because their natural way of going about things doesn’t work so well anymore. That is why it takes so long to transition from conventional to organic agriculture. The soil has to heal, and the microbes have to come back before the plants can thrive.

In the interest of a balanced argument, my mom interjected, “Certainly, when people started using these chemicals they thought it was a good idea.”

in the fields
Not signing my name
in the fields

I registered with the Farm Service Agency last week. We talked on the phone couple of times before I set up an appointment, and showed up at their office to sign some papers. When I arrived, they had pulled information about our property and had drawn up the necessary paperwork. It was all under my husband's name. They asked me to sign his name, and then write "by" and then sign my name.

At no point previous to this had I even mentioned my husband.

in the fields
Spreadsheets
in the fields

Here it is January, and we need to be planning for the next season, and so far, we have reached clarity about two things: We need a better filing system, and we need to organize our finances.

I find very little romance in this.

in the fields
Tasting the soil
in the fields

Billions of microbes live in organically farmed soil, I bubbled to my mother. They change the soil so that it's more resistant to drought! They help feed the plants, and they help keep diseases away from plants’ roots! My mother is not keenly interested in soil or microbes, but she listened supportively to my little rant, and then surprised me by telling me something I had not heard before.

"Cousin Pauline said the soil tastes different now than it did when she was a girl, because of all the chemicals they use on the fields now," Mom said. Pauline, a very warm and grounded woman, grew up on the farm where my grandma was born in northwest Minnesota.

“She tasted the soil?" I asked.

“She must have,” Mom answered.

in the fields
Fields of light
in the fields
in the fields
Elizabeth O'Sullivan
in the fields

In June of 2009, my family and I moved to 20 acres south of Minneapolis. We are working slowly to start a sustainable farm. During our first summer, we sold about 50 pasture-raised meat chickens, and we plan to sell many more this summer. Within the next several years, we hope to put all of our tillable land into pasture for livestock, and we're also hoping to grow and sell Vegetables. Our farm is called Fields of Light.