Thoughts on Labor Day

We’ve just wrapped up another busy Pizza Farm night. The encroaching dark envelops the farm, causing half the crew to scoot off on the golf cart to bring the sheep in from the field and securely lock the poultry in their coops, while the other half of the crew cooks the last of 54 pizzas for the day, collects all the refuse, sweeps the floor, scrubs the tables, and readies Farmstead Creamery for the holiday brunch crowd the next morning.

There really ends up being three shifts in a day on our farming enterprise, which not only raises and grows animals and plants but also serves them to the community. There’s morning chores—feeding and watering the animals, moving fences, harvesting in the garden, and tending the aquaponics—then it’s clean up and work at Farmstead (which on Saturdays is a 12-hour day by itself), then cleanup and head back to the farm for more garden work, chores, milking, and finally supper around 10 or 11 pm and bed…if it’s not one of those days that requires being up until 2:00 am to make sure a job gets done right.

Our first culinary intern (from Johnson and Wales in Rhode Island) arrives this week for an immersion learning experience in the farm-to-table movement. Most farm-to-table operations are just the restaurant aspect, sourcing their goods from local farms. It’s unique to have a facility that is actually on the farm where the food is being grown, run by the same family.

Here’s some of my notes to Olivia, the intern, to help her prepare and pack for her stay through November 20th.
Packing list: Early September to mid-November is going to see a big swing in the weather up here, with a wide variety of tasks and projects. Here are some things to keep in mind while packing.

Two shifts, two sets of apparel. We work diligently to keep our chore clothes and shoes separate from our Café clothes and shoes. Nice casual with footwear that’s comfortable for many hours standing and walking on concrete is good for the Café. Be sure to bring a set of black clothes for hosting special dinners, and remember your farm shirt! For farm clothes, layers are important as September can sometimes still be in the 80’s and November can be frigid and snowy or sleety.

Be sure to have a pair of Wellingtons (tall rubber boots) for wet mornings or mucky chores, breathable shoes for warmer or dryer days, and warm boots for working in cold weather. A sun hat is usually much appreciated by our interns, but also a warm hat, and gloves. I recommend a nitrile dipped pair of gardening gloves for harvest work (you get good grip and dexterity) as well as a warmer working glove. Doesn’t have to be leather, but whatever is most comfortable for you. Also be sure to bring rain gear and long underwear. We take care of animals in all kinds of weather.

If you have a clean pair of crocks or other moisture-resistant footwear (the kind with the non-slip grip are best), we’ll reserve these for work in the aquaponics, which requires its own set of stringent protocol, including designated footwear. My typical daily regimen is to get up in the morning, put on chore clothes, do chores, change into Café clothes, which are clean, work at the Café and in the greenhouse (changing shoes again), then at the end of the day change back into the morning chore clothes and take care of the animals. It’s important to keep the clean Café clothes separate from the chore clothes if you’re going to reuse them so that something like an aphid doesn’t climb over to the clean clothes and accidentally get into the greenhouse.

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Growing used to our intense schedule on the farm is a challenge for any intern, as it was for us starting out on this adventure. I remember the first year as my ankles and calves ached before strengthening to the rigor of traversing uneven ground or hours on concrete. We’ve butchered chickens in snow storms, hauled endless gallons of water to panting sheep in blistering heat, and worked by headlamps to cover sensitive plants in the garden against killing frosts. The demands of the farm never crease, no matter what the weather, your mood, or even the day of the year.

So when thinking on Labor Day, when everyone is out enjoying the lake and the grill, I feel a wry chuckle coming on that my own mental “to do” list for the holiday includes cleaning a chicken coop, picking the green beans, organizing the pantry storage area, and preparing to welcome Olivia to the farm the next day.

Often, the “to do” list for the day may seem so daunting it could be emotionally crushing, but we try our best to focus on one piece at a time, starting with the most urgent. Sometimes the unexpected arrives (the pigs get out, a produce delivery order has to be filled, or a lamb is being born), and the whole “to do” initiative goes out the window for the day. Well, it doesn’t go away, just gets added onto to the next day’s list.

A labor of love? Absolutely. We’re contemplating having a white board at Farmstead showing “a day in the life of” with everyone’s tasks and projects outlined to share a behind-the-scenes view into how it all gets done. So this Labor Day, I hope you did get a chance to relax, enjoy the lake, and pull out the grill. Maybe you even were grilling one of our pasture-raised chickens! Either way, here’s a cheer for those who labor even on Labor Day to keep the local, farm-to-table food scene alive and well in the Northland. See you down on the farm sometime.