I have been trying to develop an Excel sheet for farm income options this week... it has been a challenge because I am just trying to get the data into some kind of a projection order. I haven't been able to operate a farm yet, so I need to know maximum CSA possibilities before it can even begin to make sense, but the idea of making money farming is important to me and to Working Together.
In my ongoing research about food issues, I decided that CSA's are the way for small farms to go because each farmer can work to find their own customer base. Income sources can be expanded to other products or activities, like Farmer's Markets, restaurant supply, and finished products for retail sales, but the funding that CSA's provide can be the base that keeps a farm going. Once you know the minimum and the maximum number of CSA's your farm can handle, they become your goals and your limits.
My primary focus is poverty populations. I have never been able to take advantage of CSA's because they are often way beyond my income level. I would need some kind of monthly payment plan. In my Excel effort, I have CASH and CREDIT options at FULL, HALF, and QUARTER share levels. The cash, paid in full, option receives a major discount, the credit, pay by the month , option is charged a 20% credit fee. The product shares are the same for each category, but the pricing levels are different. It works on paper as a guide, now I need the real figures to decide how to make it work in real life.
A lot depends on what is available during each month of the year... and I have the price of the share as my guide for product contents. It seems to me that vegetables and fruits are not the only food that needs to be included... eggs, cheese, meats, and other farm products can also be included in the share contents. The details are the issue for me... I need to know how many acres, what kind of land, where it is located, what to grow, how much it costs to produce and deliver. Just a little bit of details.... :-)
These are the directions I am moving in, and business plans with cash flow projections have gotten me started.
I am wondering if a co-op would work, if urban options can work, if I can find land on major bus routes to let low-income households reach me, and lots of other possibilities. I want to find a way to make it achievable... and have a lot more to learn about the process of reaching these goals.
If you have any great details to share, let me know them...
In Christ,
Deborah Martin
http://work2gather.us
Showing posts with label farms. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farms. Show all posts
Friday, May 6, 2016
Thursday, April 9, 2015
9 APR 2015 :: Introduction - and a recipe!
It looks like I have found the blog title for food issues... it is a constant reminder that we cannot live without food, and we need water to create food, and seeds, and land, and air...
I don't know how the content of this blog will develop. The issues concerning our food supplies are great, and little people (most of us) don't have the power to change what is happening in government and farming and commerce. What we can do is to try to grow our own food, as much as possible, and learn how to make it last through the best recipes and preservation techniques.
For many years I have been trying to discover the best ways to preserve different food. The idea, to me, is to recover the ways it was done before we had electricity for refrigerators and freezers. Solar power may help to create better food storage that isn't dependent on someone else providing it...or the equipment needed to process food for long-term storage.
I like to collect as many ideas about food creation in urban areas as I can because big cities don't have the land space to grow a lot of food, and when neighborhoods start community gardens on vacant lots, they get lost to future development. Roof gardening is a great concept, but buildings need to be reinforced for the added weight to the roof activities. All of these things need to be explored.
GMO practices are taking over our food supplies, which means we need to make sure heirloom varieties don't disappear. We need to learn how to make and save our own seeds...the smallest containers (or space) needed for different plants...new ways to grow food of all sizes, from herbs to tomatoes to trees. I don't know how much we can accomplish in the area of GMO food, because a lot of damage has already been done, but we have to try. The documentary GENETIC ROULETTE is worth watching. Rodale has always been a leader in organic farming methods. Permaculture seems to be the current rising force for permanent investments in healthy, organic, food sources.
I hope we can find ways to share our wisdom, but I have to figure out this blogging process on the way to that destination.
I decided to add a recipe that I use in my own kitchen. Hope you enjoy it, and that I can provide more low-cost recipes in the future.
In Christ,
Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
=========================
I don't know how healthy this quick and tasty (in my opinion) dressing recipe is, but it came from my family history. I don't know its origins, but it has been a stand-by for hard times in my kitchen.
HOMEMADE FRENCH DRESSING
Equal parts of white granulated sugar, cider vinegar, oil, and ketchup, with added garlic cloves, and a "marinating" period before use.
That's how I learned it as a child...watching my mother make it.
----- In my adult life, I have tried it with white vinegar instead of cider vinegar, sliced garlic cloves or garlic salt instead of cloves, and spiced ketchup instead of regular flavor.
I'm not sure what else I might try as I make it in the future, but I do like the cider vinegar, several cloves of sliced garlic that let it fall into a salad as you pour it, and Heinz ketchup (they have a jalapeño flavor of natural ketchup now, which works really good in this recipe). I use safflower oil now, but have used canola oil in the past, and maybe vegetable oil.
Glass vinegar bottles are really nice for this recipe, but plastic vinegar bottles work fine. The small size bottle works for 1/2 cup portions of the main ingredients; a full recipe is usually 1 cup of the main ingredients and fits in the large vinegar bottle. Since the recipe is made with equal parts of sugar, vinegar, oil, and ketchup, you can make any amount you want.
I recently used this dressing for a HEATED pasta salad meal because I needed to sauté some veggies before I added the pasta and canned beans. It worked out great! I loved it, and plan to do that again soon.
I don't know how the content of this blog will develop. The issues concerning our food supplies are great, and little people (most of us) don't have the power to change what is happening in government and farming and commerce. What we can do is to try to grow our own food, as much as possible, and learn how to make it last through the best recipes and preservation techniques.
For many years I have been trying to discover the best ways to preserve different food. The idea, to me, is to recover the ways it was done before we had electricity for refrigerators and freezers. Solar power may help to create better food storage that isn't dependent on someone else providing it...or the equipment needed to process food for long-term storage.
I like to collect as many ideas about food creation in urban areas as I can because big cities don't have the land space to grow a lot of food, and when neighborhoods start community gardens on vacant lots, they get lost to future development. Roof gardening is a great concept, but buildings need to be reinforced for the added weight to the roof activities. All of these things need to be explored.
GMO practices are taking over our food supplies, which means we need to make sure heirloom varieties don't disappear. We need to learn how to make and save our own seeds...the smallest containers (or space) needed for different plants...new ways to grow food of all sizes, from herbs to tomatoes to trees. I don't know how much we can accomplish in the area of GMO food, because a lot of damage has already been done, but we have to try. The documentary GENETIC ROULETTE is worth watching. Rodale has always been a leader in organic farming methods. Permaculture seems to be the current rising force for permanent investments in healthy, organic, food sources.
I hope we can find ways to share our wisdom, but I have to figure out this blogging process on the way to that destination.
I decided to add a recipe that I use in my own kitchen. Hope you enjoy it, and that I can provide more low-cost recipes in the future.
In Christ,
Deborah Martin
work2gather.us
=========================
I don't know how healthy this quick and tasty (in my opinion) dressing recipe is, but it came from my family history. I don't know its origins, but it has been a stand-by for hard times in my kitchen.
HOMEMADE FRENCH DRESSING
Equal parts of white granulated sugar, cider vinegar, oil, and ketchup, with added garlic cloves, and a "marinating" period before use.
That's how I learned it as a child...watching my mother make it.
----- In my adult life, I have tried it with white vinegar instead of cider vinegar, sliced garlic cloves or garlic salt instead of cloves, and spiced ketchup instead of regular flavor.
I'm not sure what else I might try as I make it in the future, but I do like the cider vinegar, several cloves of sliced garlic that let it fall into a salad as you pour it, and Heinz ketchup (they have a jalapeño flavor of natural ketchup now, which works really good in this recipe). I use safflower oil now, but have used canola oil in the past, and maybe vegetable oil.
Glass vinegar bottles are really nice for this recipe, but plastic vinegar bottles work fine. The small size bottle works for 1/2 cup portions of the main ingredients; a full recipe is usually 1 cup of the main ingredients and fits in the large vinegar bottle. Since the recipe is made with equal parts of sugar, vinegar, oil, and ketchup, you can make any amount you want.
I recently used this dressing for a HEATED pasta salad meal because I needed to sauté some veggies before I added the pasta and canned beans. It worked out great! I loved it, and plan to do that again soon.
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