Cabbage Pushes Through
Each photo in this series is of a different plant, but imagine if you will, it is one plant that is beginning to push through the soil, lifts it out of the way, and pokes its head into the light.
Slow Money
A friend of mine forwarded me this story from NPR:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101794001
Dante the dairy farmer is trying to do exactly what we're trying to do, though we're asking our friends for far less money. It's essentially side-stepping the conventional lending system to seek capital from lenders who value much more than just the return. From our request letter:
"Starting up a brand-new farm operation is difficult, to say the least. We face numerous barriers including access to land, equipment, and capital. Fortunately, we've hurdled the first two barriers: access to land and equipment, both of which we will lease. We are now facing the final barrier – access to capital. We would like to avoid borrowing from a bank. Since we see our farming and the way we've been given access to land and equipment as an alternative to the industrial food and agriculture system, we are proposing an alternative capitalization plan. What we are asking of you, is to invest in Montana and the community by loaning us a portion of the much-needed start-up capital. In many ways we are attempting to navigate outside the system that tends not to value community-based ideals unless a price can be put on it. In addition to a modest return, you will get one share in our Thanksgiving CSA (winter squash, potatoes, onions, and a heritage turkey) and the knowledge you're helping to strengthen rural Montana and build a healthy Montana food system (not to mention, giving two native Montanans the chance to create a living back home). This could be considered a form of highly personal, community-based socially responsible investing. You will be investing in friends, in rural Montana, and in people you know well, who are dedicated to not only the community of Conrad and central Montana, but the greater community which makes up both Courtney's and my network that spans the length and width of our state."
I should mention, one friend we had asked for money reminded me that banks are part of the local community, too. He's right, and earlier this week I went into the Conrad Wells Fargo to talk to them about the possibility of a small loan should we be unable to raise what we need. Aaron, the loan officer, told me they have a few options for small businesses. The only one that actually would work for us would be a small business loan with an interest rate of 8-9%. Though that may be the reality in the conventional lending world, that seems high to me, especially for a small farm starting out. He suggested I visit with the FSA office to talk to them about loans for beginning farmers.
I'm hoping this first year we won't need to use the banks, local or otherwise, but can raise what we need from friends. I suspect, if all goes well, we'll need the banks for our future enterprises, so it's good to talk to them now.
All those friends we've asked have expressed their support, and we've received one loan so far.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101794001
Dante the dairy farmer is trying to do exactly what we're trying to do, though we're asking our friends for far less money. It's essentially side-stepping the conventional lending system to seek capital from lenders who value much more than just the return. From our request letter:
"Starting up a brand-new farm operation is difficult, to say the least. We face numerous barriers including access to land, equipment, and capital. Fortunately, we've hurdled the first two barriers: access to land and equipment, both of which we will lease. We are now facing the final barrier – access to capital. We would like to avoid borrowing from a bank. Since we see our farming and the way we've been given access to land and equipment as an alternative to the industrial food and agriculture system, we are proposing an alternative capitalization plan. What we are asking of you, is to invest in Montana and the community by loaning us a portion of the much-needed start-up capital. In many ways we are attempting to navigate outside the system that tends not to value community-based ideals unless a price can be put on it. In addition to a modest return, you will get one share in our Thanksgiving CSA (winter squash, potatoes, onions, and a heritage turkey) and the knowledge you're helping to strengthen rural Montana and build a healthy Montana food system (not to mention, giving two native Montanans the chance to create a living back home). This could be considered a form of highly personal, community-based socially responsible investing. You will be investing in friends, in rural Montana, and in people you know well, who are dedicated to not only the community of Conrad and central Montana, but the greater community which makes up both Courtney's and my network that spans the length and width of our state."
I should mention, one friend we had asked for money reminded me that banks are part of the local community, too. He's right, and earlier this week I went into the Conrad Wells Fargo to talk to them about the possibility of a small loan should we be unable to raise what we need. Aaron, the loan officer, told me they have a few options for small businesses. The only one that actually would work for us would be a small business loan with an interest rate of 8-9%. Though that may be the reality in the conventional lending world, that seems high to me, especially for a small farm starting out. He suggested I visit with the FSA office to talk to them about loans for beginning farmers.
I'm hoping this first year we won't need to use the banks, local or otherwise, but can raise what we need from friends. I suspect, if all goes well, we'll need the banks for our future enterprises, so it's good to talk to them now.
All those friends we've asked have expressed their support, and we've received one loan so far.
First Life
Some of my onions have germinated! Now that they're poking through the soil, I want to get them some sunlight, but it's just too cold, so the fluorescent lights will have to suffice for now.
The sunrise this morning.
The sunrise this morning.
Cold
It's cold outside. It was 7 below zero this morning and has warmed up to 3 below. My germination rack is keeping my seedlings warm (enough), holding a steady temperature of 60-70 degrees when I seal up the rack with panels of insulation at night. In the morning there were icicles hanging from the bottom of the plastic covering the rack.
I'm quickly running out of room on the rack, though, so this weekend Clyde and I worked on building a smaller greenhouse within the big greenhouse, so I can heat a smaller space.
I'm quickly running out of room on the rack, though, so this weekend Clyde and I worked on building a smaller greenhouse within the big greenhouse, so I can heat a smaller space.
So Moved
We finally made the big move to Conrad from Missoula. With the help of Court's brother Steve (and Renee and Sam) and dad Clyde, we loaded up 2 flatbed trailers, 3 pickups, and 2 cars with a lifetime of Court's stuff, a lifetime of my stuff, and 4 years of Court's and my life together (plus 3 cats and 1 dog). We (just me, actually) had essentially accumulated a farm's-worth of things before we had a farm. So, with the packing and the moving, I've been slow to get going in the greenhouse. On Monday, I spent the day in the potting shed preparing the germination rack, picking up a pallet of potting soil, and seeding trays and flats of onions. The greenhouse itself doesn't have any heat. It once had a propane heater but the tank and pipes are outdated and wouldn't be serviced by a dealer without an overhaul to the system and money to make it happen. I haven't raised all the start-up capital yet, so spending money right now doesn't sound like a good idea. So, I'm trying to make do with the germination rack. I spent today insulating it and seeding more onions. It's snowing outside right now and the temperature has dropped to 7 degrees - 10 below with the wind. Next week doesn't look any better, with below zero temps and more snow.
The leaning tower of potting soil.
Getting ready to seed onions.
The germination rack, pre-insulation (and pre-below zero temps).
The leaning tower of potting soil.
Getting ready to seed onions.
The germination rack, pre-insulation (and pre-below zero temps).
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