Was it an echo from the barnyard? Yesterday we walked the turkeys… (not to Boston!) to the paddock adjacent to the barn… No, these turkeys appeared to be the wake-up committee, scattered about the barnyard & entire hill pasture, vocalizing awfully close to bedroom windows of our farmhouse, the barn guesthouse and Laura’s folks home!
Had the predator just struck then in the hazy dawn? Or had it been overnight and all were just awakening to reconnect? Were any of them going to start helping themselves to sweet potato leaves before we even got to enjoy any? Were they previewing the space we are preparing to process these beautiful birds Thursday?
Eventually we counted 68, plus 1 good sized chunk of feathers but no carcass in sight. Back at breakfast we recounted our good fortune of getting 69 of 70 through the summer.
Did neighboring wildlife watch us closely enough to know that now is their moment, that the electric fences are easier to access than the walk-in freezer! With 2 nights left until we have that degree (-6°F to be exact. Wink.) of predator control, do we park the electric car on the woodsward flank with lights and radio on?
Farming is humbling, at times heartbreaking. But we see a bright future where regenerative farming does for the planet just what we and this flock of turkeys have done here. By grazing across our landscape together we are restoring old pasture, favoring pollinators & biodiversity, cycling carbon & nutrients to deepen topsoil, protect water quality and quantity amidst climate chaos. All the while producing clean & nutrient dense meat.
Yesterday was a day of proud celebration of our farm’s regenerative approach and commitment to all the natural systems of which we are a part!
Judson Green from Vermont Agency of Agriculture delivered our sign certifying our farm’s environmental stewardship. Conceptualized in 2016 in response to statewide water-quality and environmental challenges, the Vermont Environmental Stewardship Program (VESP) is a voluntary program that encourages and supports farms to achieve environmental and agricultural excellence. VESP’s goal is to accelerate water-quality improvements through voluntary implementation efforts, and to honor farmers who have already embraced a high level of land stewardship.
The recognition is purely social at this time but it is part of the alphabet soup of programs looking at how to value the ecosystem services that regenerative agriculture contributes? And how do we account for the cost of ecosystem damage often present in mainstream agriculture?
Over the years we were attracted to the program’s rigorous standards and by 2020 we were excited to be part of the 8 farms across 5 Vermont counties involved in the program’s pilot phase. We celebrate multiple good efforts of Vermont farmers, researchers, government experts, activists and elected officials wrestling with how best to recognize and remunerate farm practices and outcomes which support or at least don’t negatively impact ecosystem services. And we encourage all of you who support our farm to broaden our collective perspective on these concepts.
Here are a few good resources and clever graphics to get you started!
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) organizes ‘ecosystem services’ into four broad categories. Source: Metro Vancouver.
