CVSF 2013 Living,
Learning, and Leading
What’s going on…on
and off the farm?
In 2013, we are refocusing on our core – Family, Community,
and CVSF.
As many of you know we are trying to purchase this farm…that
process is ongoing. We’re finding that this entails MANY moving parts. To
borrow a relationship term, it’s complicated. We’re persevering while staying
open to other paths to securing our farming future. Long-term land tenure is a
HUGE issue across agriculture and an area of common ground between conventional
and sustainable producers. Through his position on the Illinois Local, Food,
Farms, and Jobs Council, Jody hopes to influence policy that addresses the
whole while learning ways to solve our very small piece. We’ll keep you posted.
On the 19th, CVSF will partner with our hosts at
Wine Styles in Naperville for a tasting. We hope to have additional tasting
events at our other sites throughout the year. On the 28th we’ll headline
the North Center neighborhood CSA
Night at Begyle Brewing –
a new brewer that offers a beer CSA. March 2nd takes us back to the Hideout for a Farmer Talent Show and
CSA Fair. On March 16th will be at UIC for the Good Food Festival. Along with
Peasants Plot and Radical Root farms, we’ll staff the CSA Info – Ask a Farmer
Booth.
We are working on our presentation materials for the
education events we have next month, and we’re excited to be taking the whole
family to the Upper Midwest Organic Farming Conference at the end of February;
and presenting there for the first time. It’s so nice to fill our heads with
new ideas while connecting with so many friends who are working so hard to
change the world. Plus, the boys get to hang out with friends and play in the
indoor pool!
All this activity is to grow the farm and the CVSF business.
To that end, we will add a delivery site in the NW Suburbs. Look for details in
our February newsletter. We hope to have a site up and going by the time we do
our March CSA events. Last fall we made the decision to either add a farmers
market or a delivery site to grow. It seemed saner to add a site than another
farmers market, so that’s what we’re doing. We’ll continue our June through
October schedule at the Logan Square Farmers Market.
In the past few months, Beth has lost two cousins -men whom
we wish we’d known better. We've decided that funerals should not be the sole
event that reconnects a family. A reunion is being planned. In March, we’ll be sending Duncan to Texas to
stay with Jody’s parents for a couple of weeks. Richard did this a couple of
years ago, and it continues a tradition of a grandchild (Duncan will be the
sixth of seven) getting to spend special time with them.
Richard continues to play club soccer for the Chicago Magic.
He and Duncan are teaming up for an entry in the Destination Imagination
competition this spring. Beth is their coach mentor. Jack starts basketball at the YMCA this week;
and Jody is looking forward to coaching all three boys in a spring soccer
league. Richard and Duncan will be on the same team for the first time!
The family is making good use of their winter Y membership
and staying active. Jody is training for a half-marathon in April and will
return to the Spartan Race in July. Several 5k races (in delivery
neighborhoods) are planned as well.
In the office/at the computer Beth is working on redesign of
our website and is creating our new blog site, Opinionated Peasants. Look for
news of its debut next month. Jody is working hard at getting some great
content written for that venture. Don’t be surprised if he sends out a request
for a guest post now and again!
On the farm we’re increasing our pig herd, we may add a
couple of cows, and we’ll be training a new set of livestock guardian dogs (to
back fill our current pack) and adopt out a working pair to another farm. One of our females, Sasha, had pups a few
weeks ago. Also, we’ll continue our regular chicken and egg production. That
has, happily, has become routine – as long as we keep getting good help, of
course.
Whew! Here’s to a productive 2013 for all of us!
