Organic family farming

Life on an organic family farm is a unique experience full of hard work and great rewards. Growing up on such a farm in West Brattleboro, I have many fond memories of this way of life. My family was what only can be adequately described as self-sufficient. My younger siblings and I grew up making maple syrup, growing fruits and vegetables, and raising horses, cows, and chickens. Hiking the mountains, throwing hay bales, and sleeping under the stars was a way of life for us.

We would wake at 6 a.m. to do the morning chores, then it was off to school or work, to return to more chores. During sugaring season, we worked around the clock. It may sound intense, especially given that our annual Fourth of July celebrations always included butchering chickens, but this was the good life. We raised egg-laying hens, as well as meat birds, and would enjoy fresh eggs with bright yellow yolks that seemed to rise out of the cooking pan as if to say, "Good Morning." Our mountain had it all: hills for sliding, ponds for swimming, woods for hiking, and fields for riding horses and growing crops.

Our beef cows always had nicknames, as if they were family pets. My sister once became so attached to Yogi and Boo Boo that she refused to eat their meat. My father quickly explained that someone at the butcher shop had agreed to switch meat with him, so she wasn't really eating our family pets at all. Years

later, we realized he had been less than honest with us about the origin of that meat.

As a self-sustaining organic family farm, we did not rely on the outside world for much of our food, and even bartered our fruits and vegetables for other foods at a local farm stand. We froze and canned extra fruits and vegetables for the winter months. The dairy farm across the road sold us raw bulk milk that, in addition to drinking, we used to make cheese.

Compost was a treat for the vegetable gardens, and we always had an abundant supply. The food scraps the chickens wouldn't eat were thrown into the compost mix, along with horse manure and sawdust, making the perfect soil enhancer. The first vehicle I learned to drive (when I was 10) was an old Ford tractor. With all its add-ons, we used this tractor to move compost, spread manure, split wood and pick rocks from the fields.

Creating our own nontoxic pesticides ensured that the fruits, vegetables and meats we ate were free from chemicals and antibiotics. We hand-picked Japanese beetles off our garden plants and threw them into containers of soapy water, and sent slugs to their doom via beer-filled cans. We would spare Monarch caterpillars, and set them aside in jars to watch in awe as they transformed into chrysalises and then into butterflies. Bats and birds kept away the bugs, so we made houses for them. Living as one with nature is a must in organic farming; working with other living creatures and incorporating them into daily life is crucial.

Life on an organic family farm isn't easy, but to many, the benefits outweigh the costs. One builds muscles, enjoys fresh air, learns valuable work ethics and becomes increasingly resilient. I hope to have the opportunity to revert back to my roots in farming someday, now that I have experienced where my wings can take me.

Lissa Stark works as a planner for the Bennington County Regional Commission. She is a photographer, nature lover, dedicated yoga practitioner and vegetarian. She also serves on the board of directors of the Bennington County Conservation District. This is the first in what will be an ongoing and possibly motley series of columns by Conservation District Board members and staff, whose mission is to promote rural livelihoods and protect natural resources in southwestern Vermont.