Day 3: Welcome to Hawthorne Valley
This was our first day at our host farm, the reason I applied to Climate Farm School in the first place. I started buying fermented sauerkraut from Hawthorne Valley thanks to Chef Yadi and started following their instagram. When they posted that they were hosting the first Climate Farm School in the Hudson Valley I jumped at opportunity. It was kismet, I was miserable and I needed a silver lining, and there it was. I will be forever grateful to the fermented kraut that brought me on this journey.
We got to the farm bright early and met Spencer Fenniman, the farming director, and walked up a hill overlooking the farm. The first thing Spencer did when we reached the top was acknowledge the history of the stolen land of the Mohican people that we were standing on. Read the land acknowledgment Spencer read to us here. Wherever you are, it is so important to acknowledge the history of the land and the people who created a life here before colonialism aggressively tried to wipe them out. It is no secret that America is stolen land built on the backs of slave labor.
After the beautiful acknowledgement and some grounding in the grass, Spencer took us on a tour of the farm. Here we got the lay of the land. We learned about the non-profit model the farm operates on, the Waldorf School, Hawthorne Valley’s CSA model, the farm store, edge effect, the creamery operation and the fermented foods branch of the company which is now it’s own for profit entity. As we continued the went tour and explored the farm we learned more about the benefits of regenerative agriculture, a holistic approach to food and farming systems that improve biodiversity. Learn more about these practices in the Hudson Valley here. These practices will vary from location to location, but is a more profitable way of farming in the long term. Since large corporate owned farms are motivated by money over people, they have difficulty converting their farming methods. Before you can make money, you have to lose some money, and that is not on the agenda at these farms who own large amounts of land everywhere in the U.S *womp*.
Every farm will be a product of their circumstances, so there is something to learn wherever you are. Have you ever looked into the food system in your area? It’s so important we invest in supporting local farmer’s markets and make them accessible to all humans. It was amazing to walk with Spencer and get his insight on life as a farmer in the Hudson Valley.
After breaking for our delicious lunch, we returned to the farm for a lesson in soil health. We met Laura Legnick, an award winning scientist who’s been in the game for 30 years and counting. I learned that the ideal soil is made up of moisture, organic matter and structure minerals (sand, clay, silt). Don’t worry, you can absolutely change the health of your soil. We did an experiment to measure the soil health at Hawthorne Valley, and surprise, they had great soil in the areas that they were growing crops, and not so much in the areas where there was no growth. Here my wheels started turning, I realized that as an aspiring urban gardener soil health is something we all need to be testing in order to cultivate quality food for our communities.
As I reflect on this day, I realized that sometimes all we can do is our best with what we have. Situations beyond our control are just that, out of our control. We can only focus on what we can control, ourselves. I may not adopt an urban garden or secure farmland tomorrow, but the dream will never die. In the words of the late Nipsey Hussle, “the marathon continues” and I’m just getting started. I will continue to learn, honor my ancestors and speak up to create a better world and a better food system.
Find more photos of this day on my instagram, @ysaventuresfood.
