Third Way Farm

12/1/2022 0 Comments

Tis the Season

The holiday season is upon us. I know, I can’t believe it either. The year has just been flying by and we are already approaching the end. It’s now the season of slowing down, visiting with friends and family, and reflecting upon the countless blessings that abound. But there is something about this time of year that I personally grapple with. That is consumerism. So much attention is directed towards scoring the best deals at the mall, making wish lists, and buying everyone in your life a materialistic item they may not even need or use. The culture around the holidays, especially Christmas, feels stressful and overwhelming to me. So I am working on shifting this paradigm, starting with myself and hoping it will spread to my family and friends, and trickle out into my community.

The first step I have taken, and have been practicing for a couple of Christmases now, is alternative gift giving. This is a simple first step because it does not deviate too much from the norm. It still involves the giving and receiving that people are used to, but it shifts the focus away from the fleeting trends that color the usual exchange of material items. This way, the spotlight is on the thoughtfulness of the gift and how it can help cultivate a deeper relationship between the giver and receiver. For example, I spent numerous hours over the summer canning tomato sauce and dehydrating herbs for my parents, aunts, uncles, and siblings. On Christmas they will open a thoughtful, homemade gift that they know I put much love and care into. Now they can taste the freshness of Summer in the dead of Winter. If you ask me, there is not a much better gift to receive than that.

In this day and age, everything is at our fingertips. If we decide we want the newest Iphone or a popular new outfit, we can access it very easily without even having to leave our houses. With the advent of online, same-day delivery shopping, how can we expect to get someone a gift they will love, appreciate, and not already have? Honestly, it's a struggle for me. Which is why I make farm goodies as gifts because it's personalized and unavailable at the store. I know my family will love whatever I prepare for them because it's a reflection of my passion and eagerness for farming. My free time is limited, so when I spend multiple weekends over the Summer in my kitchen with mason jars all over the counters, tomatoes coming out the wazoo, teary eyes from all the onions I’ve chopped up, stove tops going all day, and overall just making the biggest mess imaginable, I’m bound to finish with a delicious tomato sauce made with love that will absolutely bring smiles to my family’s faces.

If you're not confident in your homemade gift making skills (even though anyone can find something they are good at making. Look up a recipe for Christmas crack and all your relatives will be begging for more), supporting small, local businesses is a great option. The farmer’s market always has cool vendors selling things like candles, jewelry, and specialty food products like olive oil. This is great because you are connecting with your community and not just buying gifts that are from a big box store. Other alternative gift ideas include giving someone an experience rather than a material item. This could be going out to eat, purchasing tickets for a concert or a day at Longwood Gardens, for example. This will create memories that people can cherish forever, a wonderful gift.

Another way to shift the modern mindset regarding the holidays more towards one of community, love, and friendship is simply to spend quality time with your loved ones. Now that I am older and on my own, I have to make an intentional effort to devote time to seeing my family. And when I do go home I want the time we have together to be meaningful. This holiday season I have been and will continue to extend an invitation to my family members to join me at church. We were all raised Catholic, but my twin sister, older sister and I are the only ones who continue to attend mass regularly. This is a great time of year to remind people of the beauty and peace that comes from cultivating a relationship with God. When we take the time during the holidays to be thankful, it's hard to forget that God is always with us. Even when we face tremendous obstacles, God continues loving us and being with us through those lows. Expressing my own faith and helping my family rekindle theirs puts the focus on the true meaning of Christmas, which is to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

On Thanksgiving, my siblings and I all went to church together. It was such a nice occasion. I pray my little siblings especially develop a deep devotion to their faith as us older sisters encourage them on this journey. I urge any of you who are practicing Christians to offer this same encouragement to your friends and family and reignite the sacredness of Christmas in their hearts this holiday season.

Lastly, giving to charity and volunteering in your community is an exceptional way to unite all the suggestions I mentioned above. It is an opportunity to give to those less fortunate with a gift of the materialistic kind such as food, clothing, or a toy for a child; or, it may be simply a gift of your time, which we all know is often limited in our hustle and bustle lifestyles. Giving your time to someone else is also an experiential gift for yourself and the receiver. Whoever you are supporting in your volunteer work will be thankful for your efforts and happy to see a welcoming face. You may also choose to bring your family along and create the space for developing new friendships within your community. This is especially valuable if you have young children as it will teach them the importance of doing things for others. Finally, volunteering your time to a worthy cause is a reflection of the ministry work of Jesus Christ. Walking in solidarity with those who are struggling is what Jesus calls us to do. What better time than the season we celebrate Christ’s birth is there to carry out this mission? All in all, giving back to the community reminds us of all the blessings in our own lives and spurs an attitude of gratitude within our hearts.

I hope you accept my invitation to challenge the status quo this holiday season and try out one or all of my suggestions. You definitely will not regret it! And if you want to support us on our calling to feed our community nutritious produce, eggs, and meat consider donating to our Pay it Forward Program. This is a project of ours we have started to get our customers involved in helping distribute food to those who cannot afford it. You can make a one time donation or recurring ones, whatever you are willing. We would greatly appreciate your support.

And thank you to all who have been supporting TWF this year and years past. I have only been here for 10 months, but without all of you I would not have the opportunity to work in such an amazing place. I hope you all enjoy your holidays and spend lots of quality time with friends and family.

Until next time,
Kate

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11/1/2022 1 Comment

Life at Third Way Farm

It has been a few months since I have been writing blog posts and hopefully you have a good understanding about our approach to farming. Now it's time to give you all a complete picture of exactly what it is like to be an intern at Third Way Farm (TWF). Not only do we work hard all day and get lots done, but we also have tons of laughs and plenty of silliness! The farm also cultivates a strong sense of community, which has allowed me to grow tremendously as an individual since arriving. So please come along with me as I take you through my amazing experience as a farmer here thus far. It includes lots of learning, delicious food, and good times that I will cherish for the rest of my life!

I got to TWF in February when it was still freezing outside. Many of you may be thinking, “Why on earth did you start working on a farm in the dead of winter? Isn’t there not much work to be done?” And that is a common misconception I hear from many people. There is still plenty to do on a farm in the off season. During the winter we still have to take care of the animals. We continue to rotate their paddocks because if they stayed in one area they would completely destroy the pasture, creating lots of muck. And because the forage is not as optimal in the winter months, we practice bale grazing with the ruminants. This simply means we feed the animals hay to ensure they get all the nutrients they need.

Another major task in the winter is harvesting, which may seem strange since it's cold and things don't grow as readily. However, we have been thinking of fall and winter crops since July to ensure we have a bountiful off-season harvest. These crops include all the greens that go into our spring mix, spinach, arugula, brussel sprouts, turnips, radishes, kale, swiss chard, collard greens, cilantro, parsley, and a few more. We also rely heavily on storage crops such as beets, carrots, kohlrabi, parsnips, potatoes, onions, garlic, and winter squash (which unfortunately did not do so well this year and we already used up our stock of this). So we sow seeds and plant seedlings for the off season harvest in late summer and early fall. We keep those crops alive throughout the winter by employing several different techniques. These include covering crops with row cover to keep them warm, sometimes with double layers. We also rely on the caterpillar tunnels and high tunnels to protect a large amount of tender greens. These crops also get covered with row cover. It is very important that we utilize this space as efficiently as we can because it is the most optimal growing space in the winter as it is protected against the elements.

Other winter tasks involve washing eggs, fixing infrastructure, feeding and monitoring the worm compost system, and clearing overgrown areas in our driving paths. The barn store is also still open so you can continue to shop local all winter. As we approach the end of winter we start sowing lots of spring crops in the basement with grow lights. Finally, the winter time is a great opportunity for us farmers to continue learning and also plan for the upcoming season. Online courses are a fantastic way to further our agricultural knowledge because they are readily available to us and we have a little more free time during this time of year because of daylight hours. For example, Michelle is taking a flower course and I am taking a cheese making course. We are always wanting to learn and can’t wait to start our classes. Tommy and Michelle will spend time planning where and when each crop will be planted next growing season as well as grazing plans. This takes a lot of mental energy because they must consider crop rotation, estimate how much of each thing we will want to have, order seeds, and so on. It's hard work. I hope to spend time with Tommy and Michelle this winter and they can show me the ropes so I’ll be ready to create plans for my own future farm.

Overall, fall and winter are wonderful times to be a farmer. We have the chance to slow down a little bit and reflect upon the endless blessings we encounter everyday. Right now it is the constantly changing palette of oranges, reds, yellows, and browns. Just the other morning, I was working with Jason mulching the garlic beds. I looked up for a moment and found myself immersed in a cloud of beautiful yellow leaves falling all around us. I love farming during this time of year!

The summer time is also a blast! There is so much work to be done but it is so rewarding! We spend most of our time in the vegetable field. There is lots of bed prepping which includes cutting out all the old crops (which we feed to the livestock), potentially tarping the bed for a few weeks, adding fertilizer and compost, and sometimes adding a landscape fabric with holes for planting. There is always lots of weeding, irrigating, sowing, harvesting and processing veggies. But the best job on the whole farm is planting! I love doing this task because it becomes very meditative when I get into a good rhythm. I aim to be as fast and efficient as I can when planting mainly because we have lots of seedlings to get into the ground in a limited amount of time, but also because it is fun to see how quickly I can plant.

Since getting to Third Way Farm I have gained agricultural skills and knowledge that I did not have before, and I am thankful for this expertise. However, what I am most grateful for are the relationships I have developed with the other people on the farm. Tommy and Michelle have been excellent role models for me regarding how I want to approach my future farming endeavors. I love that they incorporate ministry in their work and honor this land as God’s Creation. Their love and respect for one another and us interns is unmistakable. They also help me realize my potential as a farmer. To be honest, I am very hard on myself and struggled when I first started my internship. Despite my prior farming experience, I felt like I was incapable of bringing any value to the farm. Tommy and Michelle, however, disagreed and began to help me feel confident in my contribution to the farm. They now ask me questions about farming plans they are considering and valuing my inputs. Most importantly, they have been excellent friends to me.

Peter and Colleen have also been great friends and mentors to me. Without them, I would not have been able to realize my dream of getting a dairy cow. It has been a challenge for me to get to know Mildred and understand how to make her feel comfortable. Thankfully, Colleen and Peter are extremely supportive and we are working together to try to figure out how I can bond with Mildred. Other than our bond through Mildred and Louie, Peter and Colleen are such kind and loving individuals. I love hearing their perspectives, especially because they are both educators. They have a knack for understanding other people’s personalities and helping them understand themselves. They lent me a book about the enneagram, which is a personality model with nine different types. I have learned I am a 3, an achiever. This helped me understand myself and give myself grace when I can’t cross off all the tasks on my to do list.

I have also made friends with the other employees and interns on the farm. Jason and Hailey have taught me a lot about strong work ethics. They are constantly working hard and efficiently. Tom is our newest addition and he has an open mind to all new things. He is hoping to work on various different farms, dairies, and maybe some retreat centers to learn different skills. Finally, Muriel has been a great friend to me. We complement each other’s silliness and have made so many great memories together. There are some other people who come to the farm often and help cultivate a strong sense of community. We all have community dinner every Wednesday, which is a great time to get to know each other. It is also a fun opportunity to cook with all the delicious food we grow and raise on the farm. It's a fun time to be creative. Other community activities include bonfires, game nights, and days out to the Renaissance Faire. We have built a strong community here at Third Way Farm and with that comes the freedom and safety to be yourself. I have definitely come out of my shell since getting here. Most of the time I am laughing so hard I can’t even talk. You’ll hear Tommy saying, “You’re going to have to give her 5 minutes before you can understand what she’s saying.” I just love all the joy running through the veins of this amazing place. I couldn’t have asked for a better environment to learn and grow as a young farmer and as an individual. Because of this I am staying here for another season! I look forward to the laughter, friendship, and education to come next year!

This farm does not just stay within our little community. I encourage you to invite your friends and family into our space by joining us at the Barn Store or market and cooking with our fresh veggies and meats. Don’t underestimate the power of bringing people together with food grown and prepared with love and care. I in fact went home this past weekend to visit my family just outside of Philadelphia. I came bearing gifts: lots of veggies and most importantly, Mildred’s milk from the night before. Me, my dad, step mom, and four of my siblings all took a shot of milk out of Phillies World Series shot glasses. It was a lovely way to share my farm life with my suburban family while also celebrating our home baseball team. It was a fantastic bonding experience. Our TWF community is boundless and can extend into your homes just like it has with mine!

Until next time,
Kate

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10/2/2022 1 Comment

Mama Mildred

Let’s go back to the basics, shall we? Here at Third Way Farm we rejoice in knowing that a large portion of the food we are so very blessed to eat comes from our own fields and pastures. We wanted to take that one step further by adding dairy into the mix. Recently, Colleen, Peter, and I invested in a dairy cow. Her name is Mildred and she is a beautiful light brown mini Jersey. She has the most beautiful white and black outlines around her eyes that look almost like she is wearing makeup. Her left ear is floppy, which, to me, gives the impression that she is all sweet and innocent. Don’t be fooled though! She has some tricks up her sleeve… but more on that later. She is just cute as buttons and we are so happy she is here with us!

Mildred came from Chestnut Oak Minis in Jefferson, Maryland. This operation breeds and sells mini Jersey cows. This business is a branch of a larger dairy farm with a large herd of cows whose milk is sold to Organic Valley, a dairy company you have probably seen in many grocery stores. However, this part of the business is dissolving so that the farmers can focus on their main herd. We had the choice between three cows: Mint Leaf, Amethyst, and Mildred. Mildred was our number one choice from the beginning. Not only was the farmer praising her calm demeanor, good condition (a system that numerically scores the body energy reserves of cows), and herd leadership skills, she shares a name with Peter’s grandmother. We immediately knew that Mildred was the cow for us!

So it's September 3rd and it was the day we had been anxiously waiting for, Mildred was coming!!! Now I was running the farmer’s market so I was unable to join Peter and Colleen when they went to pick up Mildred. Colleen texted me as soon as they had her in the trailer and they were on the road. I announced to my line and the market that my cow was on her way home and everybody cheered for me (thank you all for your enthusiasm about this very exciting moment for me!). Anyway, after market I unloaded the truck as quickly as I could and headed over to Peter and Colleen’s to meet Mildred. They had waited to let her out of the trailer until I got there so we could all welcome her home together. She was extremely rambunctious in the trailer, nonstop running from front to back. I got my camera all ready when Peter opened the door and she busted out. Mildred came right towards me and I quickly jumped the fence to get out of her paddock. I guess she had similar plans because seconds later she ran into the electric fence and her halter got caught. She knocked down the posts and made a run for it.

She ran through the prickly woods, the Bulle Rock golf course, and down route 40. We chased her for four miles. I had a hard time keeping up with everyone and was very far behind as I don't usually do a lot of running and my legs were getting all cut up since I was only wearing shorts. As I passed people on their back porches and golfers on the course, they all pointed in the direction Mildred went. They asked, “Are you looking for a cow? She went that way… about seven minutes ago.” “WHAT?” I thought, “seven minutes. There is no way we are ever going to get her back.” I was hopeless. How would we ever catch a cow running that fast? It was nice being a cow owner for the couple of minutes it lasted.

Finally, I reached the Bulle Rock Route 40 entrance and a man on a golf cart drove by me. He said that they caught her; they had Mildred! So I started walking briskly down the Route 40 median; there was no way I could do anymore running in that thick heat. I could see police lights in the distance. People driving by could see the commotion up ahead and I can only imagine the astonishment as passerbyers saw a cow sprinting down the road. It brought a smile to my face.

So a big thanks goes to Peter for actually catching Mildred! He was getting close to her as she ran through a patch of tall grass. It slowed her down just enough that Peter felt like he had an opportunity to dive towards her and catch her. Thankfully, he was correct! He leaped and grabbed one of her legs, but she was stubborn and kept fighting. Other people caught up and helped hold on to her. Our neighbor, Joe, brought the trailer and we finally got her loaded up. We brought her back home and put her in a barn stall. It would take a while for us to trust her to be out on pasture, but can you blame us after all that had just happened?! It was a stressful afternoon but Colleen, Peter, and I were so grateful to know that Mildred was safe and sound. We had been so excited for her arrival and thinking we had lost her after just getting her was devastating.

Let’s not forget that Mildred was pregnant during her escape attempt. We hoped that the calf inside her was not too stressed out during all that excitement. We couldn’t be sure everything was okay with baby because we do not have any technology to test those things. Anyway, our main objective is to keep Mildred and her baby safe and have them know that we love them. However, Mildred is not as calm and affectionate as her previous owner had made her out to be. It has been especially hard for me to connect with her since I am not with her as much as Peter and Colleen. I visit her on my lunch breaks sometimes, but she normally starts running all over the paddock. I am quite afraid to get close to Mildred because she is so skittish. Thankfully, Peter has gotten comfortable working with her and is working on being able to walk with her. He and I are going to spend some time with Mildred together so that I can try and bond with her. I am beyond thrilled to be one of Mildred’s parents :) I would love to be able to just sit with her in the pasture, talk to her, and pet her without her getting spooked. She is a dairy cow and that’s a major reason we brought her into our farmily, but we respect her and recognize her dignity as a creation of God. Because of that I don’t just see her as a means for all the milk I could drink. I see her as a friend and I really long for a chance to cultivate that relationship with her.

Since we got Mildred when she was pregnant, we have two animals to love and care for. About two weeks ago, we thought Mildred was starting the beginning stages of calving because it appeared that her pin ligaments dropped. This made her tail seem higher up and is a sign of labor. During this time she was also not eating a lot and was experiencing some diarrhea. So we called the vet. In order for the vet to examine her, we moved Mildred up against a wall and kept her secure with a wooden board. This was the first time we had ever seen Mildred so calm. It made me think of Temple Grandin and the squeeze machine she invented that calms cattle down before slaughter. Anyway, she had a clean bill of health but the vet thought she was not as far along in her pregnancy as we had thought. We thought she would calf at the end of September to early October. However, the vet said she was probably no more than seven months pregnant. WHAT?! We still had two months left before the calf would arrive? We were a bit taken aback but then were excited for the extra time to bond with Mildred before a calf came into the mix.

But then… the calf was born just when we had originally expected. On September 29th I got a call from Colleen just as I was finishing up my work day out in the field. I was harvesting golden raspberries and on the phone with my twin sister. I answered the phone and Colleen told me that we have a calf! I screamed at the top of my lungs in excitement (sorry Colleen). Seconds later, Peter called to share the same news as he was the one who found the calf laying on the ground when he came home from work. I got over there as soon as I could and brought Tommy and Michelle along with me. We passed Muriel on her run on our way over and she joined us. As soon as we arrived, Mildred got very scared with all the commotion. She wouldn’t go near her baby. He was shaking and was not standing up.We tried putting them in the stall together but then Mildred trampled Peter. Don’t worry! He is okay. Finally we all gave mom and baby some space to see if he would nurse and stand up.

A while later Colleen, Peter, and I went back out. Mildred seemed to be encouraging the baby to get up but he was so weak. He wasn’t nursing at all. We were finally able to get them both in the stall and we hoped and prayed that he would make it through the night and get some colostrum from Mildred’s utters. After we all took a deep breath, we could not believe we were the parents of two cattle! This is what we have been waiting for!!!

We are still trying to navigate this unknown territory. It took us a couple of days but we finally decided on a name for baby: Louie! As a two day old, Louie is not eating at all from Mama. Peter and Colleen have been working tirelessly to try and bottle feed him some of Mildred’s milk. The vet came by to check on mom and baby and said Mildred looks great but Louie is very weak and we aren’t sure how much colostrum he got. We had to tube feed him some milk because he does not have a strong suckle. It is not the best situation, but it is what it is. We pray Louie will get stronger and learn to nurse. We love him so much already and want to see him thrive.

That’s all for now. Follow Colleen on Instagram (@seecarp) for current updates on Mildred and Louie. I have to wrap it up here because I am going over to see them both now. We are going to be milking Mildred since Louie isn’t nursing. If we did not, Mildred would be in pain and susceptible to infection. Peter and Colleen have already milked her a couple of times and now it's my turn to learn! I am so so so happy and excited to be a part of this journey with dairy animals. I have been eager to learn about this and have a dairy cow of my own for a while and my dream is coming true, all thanks to Peter and Colleen!!

If you want to meet Mildred and Louie, contact us and schedule a visit. We would love to introduce you all.

Until next time,
Kate

PS: I successfully milked Mildred right after finishing this post. She gave us about 1.5 quarts of milk. She was so calm while I milked her. It gave me hope for the bond we will form! I am so excited. I also laid with Louie for a while. I love that little guy!

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The Return of Robinhood

Nestled into a hidden woods on Robinhood Road, in Havre de Grace Maryland, exists a picturesque farm community; a place of green pastures, beautiful woodlands, and colorful fruits and vegetables. And in this thriving place, a place called Third Way Farm, there is also a community on a mission to build a better world through a holistic and regenerative approach to agriculture; a mission grounded in our faith and our belief in a world where all have a place at the table. Where, when we give back to the land, and to one another, all of creation thrives.

Here, in this place, we hope you will be inspired, challenged, and encouraged by our writings and musings at the intersections and connections of all things agriculture, community, faith, justice, and so much more.

Read on and find your way to the Return of Robinhood!

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The Return of Robinhood

Tis the Season

Life at Third Way Farm

Mama Mildred

The Return of Robinhood

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