I have a group of friends that really appreciate my urban farming experimentation. They partake and celebrate the paradox of lush food in backyard and urban street life in front yard. However, these same friends refused to put a fatally sick hen down, or even quarantine her from the rest of the flock. This had disasterous results.

I’ve even had one chap tell me he was excited that the leaf curl fungus was living on an apple tree. He felt they were supporting one another…

Uhm, so this is where we learn the difference between naturalists and farmers. Agriculture is hands on. Farmers are in it for the full game- cultivate, grow, harvest, prepare and eat. Naturalists are hands off. They observe what nature does on her own. Which means you may end up with some real sour apples (Hard cider, woowoo!).

My point is this, farming is for utility. When it comes to animals called livestock, they’ve been bred with very specific intentions. For example, the Chantecler is a breed of chicken developed by Trappist monks in Canada. These birds are extremely cold-resistant, and suitable for both egg and meat production.

Which brings me to my next point, moral distinctions. As a novice agriculturist, I am just learning the science, art, and busniess of producing crops and raising livestock. I learned quickly not to view my animals as pets. I do not eat my pets but I do eat animals. This is a crucial distinction to be made and its not always an easy one. Not everyone can relate to the ability to draw this line but a lack of clarity can ultimately be a burden on you and those around you.

Stefani at Sicilian Sisters Grow Some Food did a great piece on Pets vs. Food. I highly recommend reading it (click here). My thought on the matter, is that if you are not comforatble with the full lifecycle of a livestock animal, whether it be for food or to retire its use and support it as a family pet, don’t raise it.

I am not trained in agricultural science and I did not grow up on a farm. I am an urban hack that loves food, plants, dirt, animals and most combinations thereof. There is simplistic beauty to just rolling up your sleeves and jumping into something so vibrant as growing your own food and raising livestock, but still I know little. Thus far, I have had the great fortune of not having a sick mammal on my hands. I’d feel pretty buried if that happened. Part of my farm equation is to not spend loads of money on my activities which means no $1,000 vet bills. No way.

So as I continue to flirt with the idea of having a small scale subsistence farm beyond the backyard, I am grounded in the reality that I have much to learn. For example, this cottage industry law thing got me thinking “Wow! Maybe it’d be possible to sell milk and cheese too.” Yet, the regulations are so tight around milk. A fellow blogger El, from Fast Grow the Weeds, directed me to some resources to understand the history of milk regulation, Milk by Anne Mendelsohn and Real Food by Nina Planck.

Another reader commented that “The regulations started when they connected cattle to tuberculosis.” I did a cursory search for information and found a paper from UC Davis’ School of Veterinary Medicine, entitled Tuberculosis in Cattle. Apparently, bovine carry a form of tuberculosis that can be passed to humans with one source of bacterial exposure being raw milk products. It appears goats suffer from tuberculosis far less than cows. Technically they can be infected but it is less common. Good to know.

Though my summer reading list is ever growing, I am adding Milk to the list and will keep writing on the topic. I like the direction of the cottage industry laws, no, I love the direction of the cottage industry laws and eager to understand their economic, public health and political context.

What I love most about this sunflower is that it chose a life apart from a neat little row in a delineated box.

After writing about the ridiculous farm raids on backyard farmers, I noticed a post by fellow blogger El on Fast Grow The Weeds. Apparently, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is about to sign two cottage industry farm bills that allow home producers to make or package certain foods in their kitchens instead of having to use a commercial food operation. Baked goods, jam and jellies, candy, vinegar, dried fruit, herbs and mixes made in your kitchen could all be sold publicly provided they are properly labeled to reflect that they are homemade and identify all ingredients under guidelines provided by the state. An individual residence could make up to $15,000 gross annually from such sales. Michigan Rep. Pam Byrnes, D-Dist. 52, co-sponsored the bill package.

Specifics on House Bill 5280 (2009), (PA 112 of 2010)

Specifics on House Bill 5837 (2010), (PA 113 of 2010)

You can read about the Michigan Cottage Food Law at the Michigan Department of Agriculture website.

This makes me wonder about the history of legislation for dairy products. Why do cow/goat dairies have such stringent regulations? Looks like I have something to research.

I’ve heard of farm raids in Humboldt County and the like, even stings for illegal workers. However a recent article in Grist (click to read) claims raids are increasing on farms and private food supply clubs for the FOOD being supplied. Undercover agents are going to farms to expose criminal milk and eggs. Hmm, does law enforcement ever go undercover on big ag farms to discover criminal working conditions? No, you say? Oh, I didn’t think so.

The article does offer tips for surviving a farm raid:

1. Be wary of strangers who want to join your private buying group or herdshare: Before they seek out a search warrant, regulators invariably nose around and infiltrate private buying groups or raw milk herdshares to gain information on “probable cause.” They’ll often make up sad stories as to why they should be allowed to join. Gary Cox of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund recalls how an undercover agent from the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets infiltrated Meadowsweet Dairy LLC, a private organization of 120 Ithaca consumers who bought shares to gain access to raw dairy products, in 2007: “He was insistent. ‘I live so far away, and I only come here so very infrequently, so can’t I at least have some (milk) today, PLEEEEEEEASE, because otherwise I won’t be able to get any for a long time.’ Barb Smith felt sorry for him and relented. We know what the consequence was of her kindness.” The consequence was an open-ended search warrant that agents used several times in late 2007 and early 2008 to confiscate product, leading up to a legal challenge to the LLC that is currently under appeal following rulings in New York state courts against Meadowsweet.
2. Have a video camera at the ready: Since search warrants are usually specific as to what can be searched and/or seized, a video recording of events inhibits abuses by regulators and other law enforcement personnel. Regulators and law enforcement officials definitely don’t appreciate being videotaped, and sometimes will simply disconnect videos or order targeted individuals to put the videos away. According to Aajonus Vonderpanitz, in the June raid of his Rawesome Foods outlet, “They unplugged our surveillance camera to hide their actions. They threateningly refused video capture of their raid when members commenced filming.”
3. Have a plan of action: Much like planning how your family might escape a fire, decide in advance who will handle the video camera, who will collect business cards or take down the names of all agents, and who will interact with the regulators. The regulators and police count on the element of surprise to sow confusion, and keep the targets from responding intelligently.
4. Read the search warrant fine print: Sometimes there are limitations on the search warrants that targets can exploit. Vernon Hershberger, the Wisconsin dairy farmer, was able to slow the regulators down because he knew the search warrant in his case likely wouldn’t allow forcible entry, so when agents returned a second time, after he cut the seals on his fridges, he locked his farm store doors and they were forced to leave. They eventually returned with an amended warrant that specifically allowed them to take his computer.
5. Keep computer backups: In nearly all such raids, the authorities confiscate computers so they can document transactions and customer interactions. If you don’t have a backup of what’s on your disk, you can literally be put out of business. Moreover, it’s advisable to monitor what information you keep on the computer in the farmhouse or in your food club. There’s something to be said for backing up every few days onto another computer kept off-site.

Ok. I have to admit, while I enjoyed the Outstanding in the Field dinner, I was irked by a comment made where a speaker referred to someone alive and in the East Bay community as “the grandfather of urban farming.” This bewilders me. Urban farming…like any other small scale subsistence farming is not new. No one gets to claim inventing agriculture. Growing food and raising livestock has been a human practice for a really long time. We are talking for the last 10,000+ years. When our habitats became urbanized, which occurred in the Neolithic era, we grew our food within the city limits. As cities became more dense and technology introduced…we still grew our own food in the city. Today, in highly urban and dense cities around the world, people still raise livestock and grow their veggies- look to Beijing, China or Havana, Cuba.

Early cities like Machu Picchu, Persia’s Parsa, Mexico’s Tenochtitlan, and Egypt, to name a few, maintained a symbiotic relation with agriculture. All offer models of urban farming. And it’s not like this occurred in ancient times, was forgotten, then got picked up again at the turn of this new millennium. These places have maintained their practices. Urban farming is old people, really old. The grandmothers and grandfathers of this practice are not alive today. They’re certainly not from Alameda County.

If you aren’t buying that urban environments are ancient, as are their urban agricultural practices (I suggest reading up on the topic), let’s fast forward to industrialized nations. Agricultural practices have always been around even in those cities and continue to be practiced heavily in immigrant communities. My own grandparents kept squab, rabbits and veggies in the Mission District of San Francisco. Interestingly, we did not flaunt the fact because we did not want trouble. Ironically, in 2006, I knew of some folks that reported a gentleman named Jose for keeping chickens in Berkeley, CA. They felt it was dirty. He felt it was a great and cheap source of eggs and meat for his family.

I am beginning to think this whole urban farming thing may have some of the typical power struggles that seems to tinge other politicized activities, activities that garner attention, potential markets, and funding. Did you see the film The Garden? I strongly suggest it.

If you’d like to learn more about ethnic practices of urban agriculture read the delightful book The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture, and Sustainability in the Gardens of Ethnic America by Patricia Klindienst.

The beauty of practicing urban farming today is that we get to preserve, share, and celebrate deep wisdom on nurturing ourselves, our land, and each other. Plants, animals, and food tie into many cultural practice. They are common mediums used by everyone for millennia.

I had the excellent opportunity of participating in the dinner event Outstanding in the Field this holiday weekend. Their mission is to “re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it.”  For this most recent Bay Area dinner this translated into amazing chef Nicole LoBue creating a masterpiece of a dinner with my rabbits.

The weekend started with my processing the first litter I raised. I had a helper along the way with the care and handling (thanks Ellie!). Dressing the rabbits went exceedingly smooth and I discovered they are much faster to process than even chickens. Via Nicole’s magic, the rabbits were transformed into grilled rabbit confit with plum and preserved Meyer lemon, with greens’ they called “everyone’s greens.” This I am assuming meant they took the collective greens from the various urban farmers.

tea break with hides

legs in duck fat

Rabbit confit dinner

For some lucky reason, several urban farm purveyors sat at the same table. I had the delight of speaking with Brooke Budner and Caitlyn Galloway from Little City Gardens whose products were featured in the Little City Gardens salad of greens, cucumbers, fava flowers, borage and goat cheese from one of the Pineheaven Farm (an goat farm in Monclair). Next to me were Kevin Bayuk and Ben who provided the duck eggs for the crazy good duck egg, frilled porcini, nasturtium custard.

duck egg Ben and other attendees

And across the table was a woman named Lisa who interned with Donkey and Goat Winery and incidentally helped make the 2009 Isabel’s Cuvee, Grenache Rose we had with our first course.

Lisa, Danielle, Olivier, & Novella

And natch, Novella was there. Her Ghost Town Farm produce made its way into several dishes including a heavenly dessert of grilled figs with berries and green coriander chantilly. Damn that was good.

There was an interesting viewing in the winery from the Edible City series. In preparation for our dinner, this clip featured Jim Montgomery processing a rabbit. The summer night was a typical crisp night, so cold in fact that the organizers moved the tour bus alongside the table to block the Arctic wind.

Aside from the wind chill factor the event seemed a success with lively conversation, great food and connection to how the food was produced.

I was just thinking about how anxiety and joy are really the same vibrant energy. The difference being that one is experienced through a filter of fear and the other trust. Hmm, trust. Read an excellent Goethe quote recently, “As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.”

Speaking of energy, mine has been focused on other matters. I guess this is when the “urban” of urban farming stands out. I’ve been on a bit of a journey for a few months now. It has had my urban farming in flux. I’ve had less vegetable growing, more rabbit keeping (Which is going exceedingly well. They will be part of the Outstanding in the Field event coming up) and lots of reading and painting. Oh yeah, I paint. I love painting natural forms. Though I have not been immersed in the garden exactly, my window over looks a verdant garden that is the love child of Stefani. The angle of the light in the yard is such that each dawn and dusk a golden light engulfs the space. It is truly gorgeous. It’s the inspiration for my current mural. I’ve only just started and its not farming related but what the heck, I’m going to share.

Dipak says the “colors are calming, but beware of the snake.” I say that even in calm beauty rests the most powerful and frightful truths…and I love each and every one of them.

I know nothing. Its all trial and error. Lots of trial. Lots of error.

I enjoyed a recent Grist article on raising your own meat. The last paragraph especially stood out for me:

“…livestock aren’t pets. They are on a farm because they serve a purpose. If I can’t raise an animal to eat, then I shouldn’t keep sheep whose purpose is to become meat. Furthermore, if I can’t eat meat that came from an animal I know was loved and respected, that had a good life playing in the sun and eating grass, then I should go back to being vegetarian.”

What I most appreciate in this statement is the emphasis that livestock are not pets. There seems to be some urban confusion about that. The truth is, each domesticated livestock species was bred for a very specific function, even flavor. So if you are considering raising livestock it is useful to know what you want out of the experience.

For instance, acquiring Yokohama chickens because they are neat looking without knowing anything about the birds will land you will chickens that take longer to mature (food costs and coop clean up without the reward). Once they do lay they don’t lay well and they can’t tolerate foul weather. If you want ornate feathers, great. If you want eggs, not so great.

That said, the basic considerations are:

Identify your need- meat, byproducts (honey, eggs, milk), activity.

Assess the amount and type of space they will need to be healthy. For instance, chickens need dirt to scratch on. If you raise them on concrete, they can develop problems with their feet. Or rabbits don’t do well in direct sunlight all day. They get overheated easily.

The next thing is food, shelter, other physical needs, and life cycle. I also look for information on temperament. Some animals are known for being easier to handle than others.

I am also research the amount of sound, mess and smell they might produce. If you are not prepared for a noisy, sloppy and stinky animal in your urban setting, it could be disastrous.

I encourage others to consider breeds listed on American Livestock Breeds Conservancy watch list. I try to select breeds that are listed as Critical or Threatened. This preference is balanced with availability and cost of the preferred breeds. I also consider the source of the animals. I had a bad experience with chickens from a hack breeder. The pullets were infected with a common avian virus and the entire flock died within the first month or so.

I research by finding books and sites on breeds. I seek out resources that are affiliated with a university. As we well know not all sites/forums are equal and I am less interested in cute anecdotes.

Once I have narrowed down some selections I jump on online forums, and call breeders and farms to discuss specifics, to find sources, and to get gems of knowledge.

Regarding poultry: chickens are by far the easiest, most self-sufficient and resource efficient birds to keep. Ducks were not. They go through crap loads of water, make a huge mess of their pen and are really noisy. However, FYI- Novella Carpenter informed me that Muscovy Ducks do not quack.

Though a bit of a pain relative to chickens, I like keeping turkeys. They need more space,  make more of a mess with their huge droppings, and are harder to handle but I enjoy their company. The heritage breeds I’ve kept have tasted great. I’d really like to keep a couple of geese for the holidays. I did not think to do it last year and when I went to purchase one frozen I was stunned by the price of $70 for one little goose that would not even feed my family. Being water fowl, I suspect they are also messy. Geese also make great watchdogs because they are territorial and honk at intruders. Things to consider…

All this is assuming that you’ve check your city ordinance to at least know how you are breaking the law.

If I missed anything about choosing breeds and you have questions, let me know!