If most of us trace our lineage back far enough, we’ll probably discover that somewhere along the line, at least one of our ancestors farmed, but for most of us nowadays the connection between field and plate is far more distant than just walking outside to harvest your dinner. Until moving to Minnesota, that was largely true for me, too, as I am at least two generations removed from agriculture. The farmland that remains in my family is back in Michigan and the last time I visited it I was about three years old, so while my green thumb might have some genetic basis to it, farming is not something I grew up with. In other words, my learning curve is pretty steep, and every year I am struck by just how much more I need to know. Mother Nature also likes to remind me of just how little I can control certain things. This is good for someone like me who prefers to have everything line up neatly and in its place, on time and according to plan. Perhaps one of its most important gifts, farming seems to provide (force?) a path to humility.
One of its other most important gifts, for me, is the community of CSA members that we’ve been building these past two years. It has been my privilege to get to know you and your families and to have your support and encouragement, especially this past year which drought made one of the toughest so far. Knowing that you would hang in there with us even if you weren’t going to get everything we planned for this year helped us to stay motivated to still do the best we could. Whether it was learning that your kids gorged themselves on strawberries the moment they saw them or that they ran around pretending to be a farmer when their veggies arrived or that you discovered ground cherries and fell in love them, hearing the stories of how you enjoyed our veggies was the best part of my job. Thank you for joining with us for Season 2 of the Middle Fork Farm CSA! You are all wonderful and we’re so glad that we get to be on this journey with you!
Middle Fork Farm 