We started our Thursday out as we normally would, with a 6am farm team meeting to discuss the day's plans. Knowing the day would be hot, we started early, but the air was already dense with smoke. We knew smoke was coming, but we didn't expect the intensity of the particulate matter, or how heat and smoke would compound each other. With farm camp forced inside, we made the difficult decision to call off all non-essential farm tasks for the day.
That said, we were still outside feeding and watering our livestock, who took the day slowly as they struggled to breathe through the air. We still donned masks and watered our seedlings, fed our aquaponics system, and kept up our irrigation schedule, shuffling water through the fields. But for two days, our crops went unharvested and untended, fields went unplanted, farm store deliveries were halted, and we all went indoors to wait out the air quality.
As a non-profit, our mission comes before our margins. We had that luxury for a couple of reasons: our farm team traded their usual half-day Saturday for a full one, working through what's normally their afternoon off. We looked out for their health; they looked out for the farm. We're also fortunate to have a CSA program and a farm store, which gives us room to adapt when emergencies like this hit. And, decades of farming has taught us how to navigate a changing climate.
Many of our farming friends weren't so fortunate — they harvested straight through the smoke in N95 masks to prepare for Saturday farmers' markets. It's peak season for us all, and many farmers depend on their weekly farmers' markets for their financial footing.
As one farming friend put it: "...our work on a local level is more important than ever. And at the same time, it is more hazardous than ever."
So when you see tables full of fresh vegetables, fruit, meat, and eggs at farmers' markets this week, know it came from farmers working outside when they may not have had the option to stay in. And if you notice changes in availability at farmers' markets or even at our farm store, understand that growers and grazers are outside right now, caring for their animals and crops, doing their best with the hand they've been dealt.
If you can, make it to our farm store or the farmers' market this week — not just to buy, but to see for yourself what it took to get that food there and share your appreciation with that farmer. Thank you for supporting local farmers in your purchases and in your kind words. If you need us, we'll be outside.
