Theme: Jordan Dixon

News From the Farm | October 10, 2016

This week we are sharing some correspondence that we received:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Recently, my 8th grade history teacher had my class and me give up one of our favorite foods for five days.  The purpose of the experiment was to show us what it might have been like for Europeans to go without some luxuries when they searched for new lands. [Read more…]

News From the Farm | September 12, 2016

Top Ten Reasons to Come to the Hoes Down 

Summer for most farms in this area is the busiest time. Produce is growing rapidly and the summer bounty is thick. Everyone is rushing around to complete his or her work from sunup to sundown. I love everything that the summer brings from tomatoes and melons to finally getting to swim in Cache Creek. However the fall is my favorite time of year. There is delicious acorn squash and chard, but also everything slows down for just a moment.  The Hoes Down is our last big hurrah to say goodbye to summer and hello to the fall. Here are ten reasons why you should join us in ushering in the new season:

Contra Dancing One of the most popular events each year at the Hoes Down is the amazing Contra Dance. People of all ages from the old to the young join hands on the dance floor to be lead through the dances. We have been so lucky to have Driving with Fergus and caller Erik Hoffman to lead our dance every year. Even more exciting we have moved Contra Dancing to the LocaLore stage this year to allow more space for each of you.  [Read more…]

News From the Farm | September 14, 2015

I began working at Full Belly Farm as an education coordinator.  The other Beet articles that I have written have all been based around that. I love being part of the education program that the farm has, but those responsibilities do not always fill up my time. There are other projects I find myself working on during the year. These include the Hoes Down Harvest Festival, which is right around the corner. I don’t have to tell you that, as I am sure you have already purchased your tickets. Farming projects such as planting, packing, harvesting, and weeding also fill my time.  However, the projects I love the most are connected with cooking at Full Belly Kitchen (https://fullbellyfarm.com/events/full-belly-kitchen/).

In May we completed our certified kitchen and it is beautiful. The inside is crafted using exposed wood, lovely butcher-block counter tops and large hill-covered storage rooms. The outside is covered in reclaimed redwood panels from barns around Yolo County. Other parts of the building have sand and clay from the creek bed to give it a natural adobe look. On top of all, that the grounds are excellently landscaped with native plants growing all around. My favorite part of the whole building though, is the fun and imaginative creations happening inside. [Read more…]

News From the Farm | May 25, 2015

I have always been interested in where my food comes from. As a child I loved going to pumpkin patches and you-pick farms. My siblings and I were always excited to have the chance to walk through a pumpkin patch searching for the perfect and biggest one we could find to bring back home. We would also pick the sweetest berries from the blackberry brambles that grow wild all over Nevada County. As a child I was more concerned with getting the darkest berry and the largest pumpkin. That’s still true today, but there is much more to it now.

We have become detached from knowing where our food comes from. There is an expectation that everything we buy in the store is clean and safe. How can we be sure or know for certain? Knowing more about your food can be your own source of food safety and regulation. As consumers we should be regulating the farming practices we like and don’t like by doing what consumers do best, buying. Instead we allow the government and other agencies to regulate and tell us what is safe.  [Read more…]

News from the Farm | April 14, 2014

The Third Graders Are Coming!

Spring has always been my favorite time here on the farm. Most people enjoy the beautiful flowers popping up, the green rolling hills, and the birth of the myriad baby animals. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of the aforementioned changes that happen during this time of year, but it’s the arrival of the third graders here at our farm that brings me the most joy. Springtime for me means school group season, and it is my job to teach groups of rambunctious Waldorf third graders about farming.

I began working at Full Belly eight summers ago, when I was asked to be a camp counselor for the farm’s summer camp program. During the first summer I was simply a camp counselor. I loved being a camp counselor so much that the next summer I found myself back at the farm. Over the years I began to pick up more leadership roles during summer camp. I began teaching lessons, which meant others depended on my knowledge of the farm. Eventually, I could not be torn away from the farm. I would arrive weeks before camp started and would remain weeks after camp had ended working in the fields or the shop, helping with anything that needed doing. Half way through college, I decided that I wanted to return to Full Belly Farm after graduation. [Read more…]